Creation
– Clearing the weeds.
a) Did Moses write Genesis? ……Yes!
The Old and New Testaments teach that Moses wrote the Penteteuch – the first 5 books of the Jewish bible (including Genesis.)
Some recent scholars have dismissed this saying Genesis is a collection of four sources (J E D P edited by R). To read more about this visit: http://creation.com/did-moses-really-write-genesis
Genesis divides into 11 sections…sections 2 to 11 begin with “This is the account of…” (See Gen.2:4, 5:1, 6:9, 9:5, 10:1, 11:10, 11:27, 25:12, 25:19, 36:1, 37:2).
b) Genesis is just a set of rehashed Babylonian myths! (No!)
Enuma Elish / Astrahasis
Genesis 1:16, “God made two great lights” not moon and sun!
c) Genesis can’t be true, it’s not scientific!
GENRE: Its closest to poetry.
Verse 1 has 7 Hebrew words. Verse 2 has 14 Hebrew words
Heaven and Earth are mentioned 21 times. God is mentioned 35times.
Good is mentioned 7 times. There are 7 days.
d) How old is the universe?
Gen.1:1, “In the beginning” = “at some point.”
The world is either really old or less than 10,000 years old
What does Genesis 1:1-25 teach?
i) God created everything from nothing.
“In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.” (Gen.1:1)
God is separate from creation.
God predates creation. He’s eternal.
God made everything…and its beautiful. So enjoy it and praise him for it!
“God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.
He also made the stars.” (Gen.1:16)
God spoke creation into being.
“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. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Gen.1:2-3)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…Through him all things we made. (John 1:1)
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14)
ii) God planned and organised creation
This is a carefully constructed piece of writing. Note two concepts:
i) Kinds
Gen.1:12, 1:21, 1:25
ii) Separation
Gen.1:4, 7, 14
The world is full of patterns….so go and do science!
iii) What God made was really good
“God saw that the light was good.” (Genesis 1:4, 12, 18, 21, 25)
However creation has gone wrong. People rebelled against God.
God will make the world new. Jesus death and resurrection can make us new.
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I want to know more:
- To Read: The Message of Genesis, Atkinson, Bible Speaks Today commentary
- To Read: Who Made God? Searching For a Theory of Everything, by Prof.Edgar Andrews. (an excellent response to Dawkins et al)
- To Read: The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine, by Alister McGrath.
- To listen: Alister McGrath, lecture at diocesan conference on science v religion: www.stalbans.anglican.org/content/download/17219/86150/file/AlisterMcGrathWednesdaypm.mp3
- Online: When Faith and Reason Clash: Evolution and the Bible, Alvin Plantinga www.calvin.edu/academic/philosophy/virtual_library/articles/plantinga_alvin/when_faith_and_reason_clash_evolution_and_the_bible.pdf
- Online: Creation Science Movement www.csm.org.uk
- Online: Dawkins Dilemmas, http://matthiasmedia.com/briefing/2006/10/dawkinss-dilemmas/