Skeptics - Creation (part 1)
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Introduction
Title of Genesis
Hebrew, “in the beginning” - reshit
LXX (Genesis) - generations -> Latin -> English
Who wrote Genesis?
Most likely Moses, possibly with information passed down from his ancestors; possibly with information received directly from God
Moses was instructed to write down other parts of the law
Jewish and Christian tradition points to Moses
When was Genesis written?
1440 BC - Exodus
1400 BC - Moses’ death
Note how close this is to us - 1400 years + 2000 years
What is the purpose of Genesis?
The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament The Theology of the Book
A central purpose of the book of Genesis is to lay the foundation for the theocracy, that is, the rule of God over His creation
Creation
Rule of God
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
Sin
Covenant - God’s covenant with Abraham, through whom all people of the world will be blessed
Human government
What should we think about creation?
A poet:
Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
To God the creator triumphantly raise.
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
Who still guides us on to the end of our days.
His banners are o'er us, His light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night.
Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished
As forward we travel from light into light.
His law he enforces, the stars in their courses
And sun in its orbit obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.
We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing;
With glad adoration a song let us raise
Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving:
"To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!" Amen.
Words: Katherine K. Davis (very prolific composer/arranger; wrote the little drummer boy)
Music: Ash Grove (Welsh)
A Psalmist:
3 When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, 4 what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him? 5 You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild, 8 the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of the seas. 9 Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!
What should a skeptic see from Genesis 1?
We understand that the light from the moon does not come from the moon. Did
1. There is a God
1. There is a God
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
This is best seen as a summary statement for the rest of the creation account (1:1 through 2:3). God is the cause for all that we see.
2. There is a Design
2. There is a Design
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.
The creation account in Genesis 1 is not meant to be a scientific study in the origin of life on Earth.
We may have questions that go unanswered.
Everything the Bible does say about creation is 100% true
Case in point:
God created light, but did he create the sun at this time? (see day 4)
So whatever evening and morning were, it wasn’t the rising and setting of the sun as we would know it.
My view - Genesis 1 does not imply the duration of the days of creation; it hints that they may be more than 24 hours.
6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” Evening came and then morning: the second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of the water he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” And it was so. 12 The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 Evening came and then morning: the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for seasons and for days and years. 15 They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night—as well as the stars. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, 18 to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21 So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them: “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 23 Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.
What would the skeptic see from the above?
The mechanism for creation is “God said...”
This order is not compatible with the theory of evolution
The order may have significance in other ways (e.g., what is created on day 1 is filled on day 4)
3. There is a Purpose
3. There is a Purpose
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” 29 God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you, 30 for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day. 1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. 2 On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.
What was man’s original purpose?
to rule the earth under God’s authority (1:26)
to fill the earth (1:28)
to have fellowship with God (broken in chapter 3)
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
• What questions do you have about the creation account in this passage? What still feels confusing or difficult to understand?
• How does God’s role as creator affect our relationship with Him? How does it shape the way we see Him?
• If God has a perfect design, why do we break it? What’s at the root of this sin?
• What are some ways you find yourself rebelling against God’s design? Why do you think that is?
• How does being created in God’s image give us purpose and meaning?