Genesis: Key to the Culture

Questions

1. What are the main issues in the creation/evolution debate?

   The main issue of the creation/evolution debate is not the age of the earth, whether or not evolution occurred, whether there was a global flood, etc.—those are merely symptoms of the main—but is the issue of the authority of God's Word. {Is the Bible's history, biology, geology, astronomy, etc., accurate? Is the Bible the true, divinely inspired revelation of God, or not? Is God himself true and infallible, or is He a liar?} Thousands of people around the world are refusing to hear the Gospel message because they believe that the Bible's history of earthly things is false, and then further that it's morality and spirituality must be so also (John 3:12). How can we expect people to accept a Saviour and God that they believe never existed, or to be baptized into what they see as a book of myths and fables?

2. What are the seven C's of history?

   Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation

3. What is the difference between the Biblical history of death and the secular world's view of the history of death?

   Bible: Death is an enemy that entered the world through and as a result of Adam's sin. Christ came and conquered sin and death through His own death and then resurrection. Without death as a result of sin, what is the purpose of sacrificing (death) a lamb, or of Christ's resurrection? Also, the human soul is immortal and, in the new (restored) world, there will be no death.

   Secular World: Death has always been and always will be; it is what makes the world go 'round, the great “Circle of Life”. There is no sin, resurrection is impossible, and Christ never defeated sin and death. The soul is not immortal, but dies with the body.

4. Name three things that must be reinterpreted in the Bible when millions of years are added.

   The identity of death; the meaning of “day,” “dust of the ground,” and “very good”; the meaning of the sacrifice and resurrection of God's Lamb.

 

 

5. Why do people make the statement, “How could there be a God of love with all this death and suffering?”

   No loving God could possibly create or allow a world filled with the death and suffering of this fallen earth, yet these people have been taught that death and suffering has been around forever and that it will always be. They do not know that death came as a result of sin through mankind and Satan, or that God is going to wash His people clean and provide them a perfect home in Heaven and a perfect new earth. In their minds, if there was a Creator, then that Creator must have created a world filled with death, suffering, and struggle.

6. Give two scientific evidences that show that long ages (millions of years) are not necessary.

   Cave formations (stalagmites and stalactites) can form rapidly; geologic formations (such as canyons) can also form rapidly.

7. In what way does Jesus talk about geology in John 3:12?

   He asks how we could possibly believe Him on heavenly things if we could not believe Him on earthly (geologic, etc.) things.

8. Does the Bible teach about biology, geology, anthropology, and astronomy?

   Yes; while not a scientific textbook, the Bible does touch on these subjects in telling the general history of the world. The Bible teaches us the origin of life (biology), the way in which the earth and its features were formed (geology), the history and descent of man (anthropology), and the origin of the heavenly bodies and planets (astronomy).

9. Does the Bible only deal with religion, salvation, and morality?

   No; the Bible also deals with the above subjects (see question #8) and teaches a good deal of the history of mankind and, indeed, the world.

10. Does the Bible mention dinosaurs?

    While the Bible does not specifically mention dinosaurs by name, it does tell us that all land animals (like dinosaurs) were created on the sixth day.

11. Should the Bible be viewed as a science textbook?

    Not at all, nor was it ever intended to be one.

12. When did the idea of millions of years become popular?

    During the late 1700s and early 1800s.

13. What book of the Bible is foundational to all Christian doctrines?

    The book of Genesis—aka, the book of Beginnings, or “foundations”.

14. Do we live in the perfect world described in Genesis 1:31?

    No; we live in a fallen world corrupted by sin.

15. If the Bible is not true, then who determines truth?

    Man would determine truth, and there would be no absolutes (because different men would determine different things).

16. What one word best represents the root of all problems in the world?

    “Sin”.

 

* These questions were taken from an assignment in an Answers in Genesis online course (Foundation in Creation Apologetics). The questions go with the film Genesis: Key to the Culture. The answers are my own.