Second Quarter Financial Update!!
“ Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even because of, the lack of evidence. ~ Richard Dawkins
“ 1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. ~Hebrews 11:1-3
Three Weeks ago: “Is the Bible a reliable guide for my life?” Focus Passage: 2 Timothy 3:16-17
This Week’s Question: Are the Scriptures compatible with science on the origin of life? Genesis 1-2
This Week’s Question: Ancient Text vs. Modern Science Genesis 1-2
This Week’s Question: Ancient Text vs. Modern Science 3400 years ago Today Genesis 1-2
What CAN we learn from Genesis 1-2 about the origin of life.
What is the point of the text?
“ Effective communication requires a body of agreed-upon words, terms, and ideas, a common ground of understanding. For the speaker this often requires accommodation to the audience by using words and ideas they will understand. For the audience, if they are not native to the language and cultural matrix of the speaker, this means reaching common ground may require seeking out additional information of explanation. In others words, the audience has to adapt to a new and unfamiliar culture. ~John Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Baker Books, 2006), 19-20.
What do the words mean?
Genesis 1:1-8 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
Genesis 1:1-8 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
Genesis 1:1-8 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
What questions is it answering?
What questions is it answering? NOT: a dialogue with modern scientific ideas about world origins.
What questions is it answering? NOT: a dialogue with modern scientific ideas about world origins. IS: Who are we, where are we, why are we here, who are the gods?
1. There is One True God
Genesis 1:1-8 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
1. There is One True God 2. God created the land and sky (matter) out of nothing with is breath.
Genesis 1:1-8 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
1. There is One True God. 2. God created the land and sky (matter) out of nothing with is words. 3. He creates order out of chaos.
Genesis 1:1-8 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
1. There is One True God. 2. God created the land and sky (matter) out of nothing with is words. 3. He creates order out of chaos. 4. He creates animals in their “kinds”
Genesis 1:24-27 24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
1. There is One True God. 2. God created the land and sky (matter) out of nothing with is words. 3. He creates order out of chaos. 4. He creates animals in their “kinds” 5. He creates humankind as the pinnacle of His creation.
Genesis 1:24-27 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 2:4-7 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the L ORD God made the earth and the heavens. 5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the L ORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the L ORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
1. There is One True God. 2. God created the land and sky (matter) out of nothing with is words. 3. He creates order out of chaos. 4. He creates animals in their “kinds” 5. He creates humankind as the pinnacle of His creation. 6. We are all fallen creatures in Adam
Does Genesis answer how old the Earth is?
“ The seven days are not given as a period of time over which the material cosmos came into existence, but the period of time devoted to the inauguration of the cosmic temple. It is this inauguration and entrance of the presence of God to take up his rest that creates the temple. If the seven days refer to a cosmic temple inauguration, then Genesis 1 as a whole has nothing to contribute to the discussion of the age of the earth. This is not a conclusion designed to accommodate science – it was drawn from an analysis and interpretation of Genesis in its ancient environment. The point is not that the biblical text therefore supports the view of an old earth, but simply that there is no biblical position on the age of the earth. ~John Walton , The Lost World of Genesis 1: Ancient Cosmology an the Origins Debate (InterVarsity Press, 20090), 92,95-96
Recommend
More recommend
