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Admin • Administrator Posts: 219 Likes: 9	Post by Admin on Oct 27, 2016 5:33:38 GMT -6 The current study is for a relatively small section of Genesis, Genesis 1:1 through 6:8. There is a natural section break between verses 8 and 9 of chapter 6, and we'll focus on that section for now, which will itself take us on a rich journey with intense challenges. We may resume our Genesis study at a later date.

Introduction Posted Oct 27, 2016 5:33:38 GMT -6 Edited by Admin Oct 27, 2016 5:36:01 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top

JB • Dedicated TruthSeeker Posts: 308 Likes: 42 Gender: Male	Post by JB on Oct 28, 2016 20:21:48 GMT -6 Anti-creation commentators have made much of the various ancient creation myths, such as the Babylonian Enuma Elish and others, and their supposed similarities to Genesis. You might hear or read that Genesis borrows extensively from these. Those commentators, many of whom are reputable scholars, evidently don’t think you’ll actually read those ancient creation myths to form your opinion. I’ll save what I think are some useful comments about this for my final post below. That way you can read it if interested or skip it if not. However, I think it’s helpful to understand how different the God that no one created is from the gods men created, so I’ll provide just some brief insights before digging into the text. Genesis 1 is a major break from all other creation myths. For one thing, there is only one god. Of course we know there is only one god because we are Christians, but the significance of that fact may not be as obvious. Gods, above all, are about value systems and exercising power. Two or more gods, unless they are exactly the same (which would be redundant), will inevitably conflict with each other. And that is exactly what happened in all of the pagan systems. All pagan creation stories are built around many gods with competing sets of values, fighting for dominance and rule and trying to outdo each other in the cosmic scene. Pagan gods competed for what they wanted by exercising power over mankind and over each other. This was the only way those ancients could make sense of good and evil in this world. To those ancients, there was no good and there was no evil. There were only the fulfilled desires of whichever god was winning the cosmic conflict at the moment. Conflicting values and desires are absent in Genesis because there is only one God. This one God becomes the standard of holiness because there is no other god to compete with. It is His pleasure and His purpose for which the Earth and the Heavens were created, and good and evil are simply what support or don’t support His purposes. What He creates and what He does are always good. The pagan gods inevitably created chaos because of their competitiveness. Our one God created order. And while pagan people could choose a god that suited their desires and lifestyle, our God is the only standard of value and authority, good and evil. There is no right choice except to choose Him. Evil will enter into the Genesis story, but evil will not be God’s creation – it will be man’s choice. Finally, Genesis 1 is unique from other ancient creation myths in that those all began with some form of matter from which the gods were created. God creating matter, rather than the other way around, is unique.
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Introduction Posted Oct 28, 2016 20:21:48 GMT -6 Edited by JB Oct 28, 2016 20:46:13 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top

manoj • Regular contributor Posts: 23 Likes: 2 Gender: Male	Post by manoj on Sept 5, 2022 15:48:01 GMT -6 The Bible tells us a whole story, starting with Genesis and ending with the Revelation. It is one unified story comprising of several sub-stories or sub-plots. A quick look at some story writing concepts, particularly in the context of the movies! Some people do not mind missing the first few minutes of the movie and I too was in that camp, but those are not to be missed. The opening sequence of the movie introduces the main character, also know as the hero or heroine, the hero's goal, and sets the tone for the entire story. The big question is: Will the hero achieve his/her goal. The story is over once the hero achieves the goal or fails to achieve it. The goal may not be clear initially, but the clue is there, and it becomes clearer as the story progresses and you re-examine the beginning. Let us take a recent movie VENOM as an example. If you miss the opening scene of the movie, you might think the story is about Edie trying to get back his job or him trying to win back his love interest. Though Eddie is a major character of the story, it is not about him. The story is about the symbiotes, one of whom is Venom, the titular character of the story. The Symbiotes' goal is to invade the earth. As the story progresses, you see Venom taking on more significant role in the story. Near the end of the story, he changes his goal to protecting the earth from other invaders. The Bible tells us a complete story, but we could get caught in the sub-plots of this story. Through the ages, people have looked at the subplots of this story and interpreted that to be the main point. For example, some people look at the laws and take from it that the Bible is about the laws - the dos and don'ts - whether it be the Mosaic laws or those revealed in the gospels or the epistles. Some Jews thought that the Bible was about the Jewish people and the Gentiles had no part in it. Thus, they insisted the Gentiles be converted to Judaism, get circumcised, etc. to be saved. They too missed the point of the Bible. Then, some take from it that the point of salvation is for you to be happy, healthy and wealthy. They too have missed the big picture of the Bible. What then is the point of the Bible? What then is the point of this story? Who is the central figure of this story? First, let us look at another example of a good story - FORREST GUMP. It pictures several presidents and important U.S. national events in the movie, but the story is not about the American history. You should notice a recurring sentence in the movie, "I kept thinking about Jenny." The story is really about Forrest's quest for Jenny. The film opens with him looking for Jenny, that gives what the movie is all about. In the opening scene, we see Forrest sitting at the bust stop; he catches a feather floating away and puts it in a book he has in his bag. The movie closes with him at the bus stop as his son gets into the school bus. The son is holding the same book - CURIOUS GEORGE, and the feather falls out of it. The end mirrors the beginning, and in a way ties a nice bow around the whole story. The end of the Bible story also mirrors the beginning of the story. In the opening, all things are created by Christ and are subject to Him. In the closing, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Lord. In the opening, mankind is created in the image of Christ, which is tainted by sin. In the closing, we'll all be made perfect, without sin, conforming to the image of Christ. In the opening, man is enjoying communion with God; in the closing, we see again God making his dwelling among men. In the opening, we see the first marriage - Adam and Eve. In the closing, we see the last marriage - Christ and his bride, the church. The first marriage and every subsequent marriage are merely a foreshadow of the last marriage. Who is the main character or the central figure of the Bible story? Let us examine the opening sequence. We see God creating everything in six days. I like many others used to think that is God the Father. Col 1:6 tells us, For by [Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. John 1:1-3 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Heb 1:1,2 - God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Rev 4:11b says referring to Christ, the Lamb, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Thus, I conclude the central figure in the creation sequence, and by extension the Bible story, is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Like FORREST GUMP, the Bible tells us a story of a quest - not man's quest for God, but God's quest for man. In a sense, it is a story of romance - God has been trying to woo His bride to Himself, a simile found in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. I like many others, used to think that the big idea about the Bible is to show us the way to heaven. Revelation speaks of a new heaven and a new earth and a glorious new Jerusalem coming down to earth. And then in Rev 21:3 - And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Therefore, our big goal is not to get into heaven, but to dwell with God eternally. Romans 8:29 - For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Adam and Eve were created in the image of Christ and enjoyed fellowship with Him. That image was tainted, that fellowship broken, by sin. Christ paid the penalty so we could be reconciled to God. The Holy Spirit is doing the work of conforming us to Christ. 2 Cor 5:15 - And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Therefore, the bid idea of the Bible is to bring us into the communion/fellowship with God and to be reconformed the image of Christ. Let us examine ourselves (including me) by asking these questions: a. Am I reconciled or being reconciled to God through Christ? b. Am I being conformed into the image of Christ? c. Am I living for Christ?

Introduction Posted Sept 5, 2022 15:48:01 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top

manoj • Regular contributor Posts: 23 Likes: 2 Gender: Male	Post by manoj on Sept 11, 2022 10:59:30 GMT -6 We could study the first chapter of Genesis, even over-analyze it and jump to various conclusions. We could take away several conflicting ideas from our analysis. One might say that these are six literal days, another that a day refers to an indefinite period of time, not necessarily a literal day. One might determine that the earth is only 6,000 years old; another might not agree with that statement and propose that the earth is much older. As fascinating as these ideas might sound, we could miss the main purpose for which God revealed this to us. In our quest for grand ideas, let us not overlook the simple truth presented in this chapter of the Bible. First, God created everything that exists out of nothing. It demonstrates His power and ability. Look what He can do! This ought to kindle a sense of fear, awe and wonder within us. Just pause and ponder; wonder about it for a brief moment. It is awesome. Secondly, God wanted to show the children of Israel that came out of Egypt, to whom the first five books of the Bible were given through Moses, that God created the sun, the moon, the starts, and other things. Don't worship Sun, it is a created thing. Don't worship Moon, it is a created thing. Don't worship the stars, the animals or the reptiles, those are all created things, not creators. If you know anything about Egypt, you would know that they had several gods; they worshiped Sun, Moon, and many other created objects. IMHO, God wanted the Israelites to see and recognize that these created objects are not to be offered their worship and adoration. God alone is worthy of our worship and adoration. our fore-fathers used to several many false gods, offering them worship, sacrifices and prayers. And you may be thinking I am not in the culture of idolatry; then what can we learn from this passage? What practical application can we take away from it? Let us ask ourselves these questions: What do I hold most dearly? Is it my job? My career? My relationship? My marriage? My parents? My friends? My kindred? Am I going to pursue my career no mater what, no matter who gets upset, angry or sad? One could ask similar questions about their relationship, spouse, marriage, family, friends, other people's approval, etc. Remember this: these people are created beings. Your job, your position was created by somebody. The approval and validation of other people (friends, family, co-workers, boss, followers, fans) are fickle at the very best. Here today, gone tomorrow. We may not worship and bow down or do obeisance to these people, but what do we hold in high esteem? Do we hold God in high esteem or the people? That's the big question. We too must answer the same question that Christ asked Peter, "Lovest thou me more that these?"

Introduction Posted Sept 11, 2022 10:59:30 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top