Genesis and Apologetics
Welcome to our Genesis and Apologetics class! Why the name? We are calling it “Genesis and Apologetics” for several reasons. First and foremost this is the beginning of the Bible. Not just the beginning of time or the beginning of the Old Testament, its the beginning of God’s Word. It is in this book where we learn about the character and nature of God! If you miss that critical point you may very well miss the whole point of the Bible. Secondly in Genesis we learn about the foundation on which the rest of the Bible is built, this is especially important since the Book of Genesis is currently the target of many antichristian movements and even some misguided “Christian” groups.
The often-misunderstood term ‘apologetics’ simply means, “to give a defense” much like what an attorney would do in a courtroom. Saint Peter reminds Christians to be ready to give an answer to those who ask about their faith (See 1 Peter 3:15). Since many fundamental Christian questions or concepts are answered in the Book of Genesis it makes sense to combine the study of Genesis with apologetics training.
I believe most would agree that God is the ultimate author. After all He invented language and the concept of ‘story telling’. Since we don’t read other books from the center or near the end of the book why should we do that with God’s Word? Starting from the beginning is vital for other books, it’s even more important with the Bible. So please join us as we start from the beginning.
Even though I am not a LCMS ordained minister I think you will find this study fun, informative and I pray it will be something special that will help you come even closer to our loving and amazing God!
Keep on praying and God bless,
Dave
Session 2 - Introduction to Genesis
Why study Genesis?
Genesis is the foundation of God’s Word or in other words the entire Bible literally “sits” on top of this book. Stop and think about God being the author of the Bible. Here God, the creator of language, the ultimate storyteller begins His Word with the Book we call Genesis. This is how He chose to introduce Himself and His Word to all mankind. We will learn a great deal about the character of God and the need for a savior.
Session 1 - Class Introduction Questions
Understanding that Christians do not have the same background or maturity we started this class series with a fifty-question survey. The results of this survey were helpful in preparing the curriculum for the class. During the following two weeks of the class we reviewed the questions and everyone’s responses as well as what might be described as a Biblical Worldview response. The survey was taken by 48 individuals present during a class in November 2009.
Discussion of Questions 1-20 (12-06-09)