09: Creation - Genesis as Foundation - Part 2 - Discussion Starters

A flat earth? As hard as it may be for us to understand in this age of exploring the earth and studying the universe, today the Flat Earth Society states that it is growing by 200 people per year, and some claim that a third of all millennials believe the earth is flat. What does the Bible say about the shape of the earth? (Isaiah 40:22). Why doesn’t the Bible say more about a round earth? Why do you believe, if you do, that a round earth makes more sense than a flat one?
Creation in ancient literature. We need a lot more time to understand ancient literature and its interpretation of the beginning of the earth. Have you studied this week’s presentation of what is believed in the Atra-Ḫasis account of creation? What should we tell people we meet who are skeptical about the Biblical account of creation? How do you feel about deeply held common beliefs about the beginning of earth? What is the main obstacle to believing in a world created by a super power (God)? Today we hear the phrase, “intelligent design.” Does that solve the problem of how the earth was created?
Genesis versus paganism. Try to imagine God telling us the story of creation using a set of pagan beliefs such as occur in the Atra-Ḫasis account. Why did He steer away from using terms such as “sun” and “moon”? Why is it important for us to know that nothing that God created was a “why not” incident? If you’ve been a Bible-believing Christian for years, how do you maintain a calm spirit when sharing conversation with a devout evolutionist? How disturbed are you by the huge difference between the Creation story and the evolutionary interpretation?
Creation and time. How long has it been since you read the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi? Have you ever read just the chapters that include the chronology of the Old Testament? Either way, are you happy to see the way Adam is linked to the rest of creation? Are you drawn to names and sequences that remind you of familiar stories you’ve studied? Genesis 5 and 11 are important to understand, in the words of Biblical scholar Gerhard F. Hasel, who stated that we must recognize these two chapters as “both historical and theological.”
Creation in Scripture. How can people pledge allegiance to the Bible as the Word of God but give no place to God’s work in creating this earth? Does it amaze you that all of the New Testament writers support Genesis 1-11 as reliable history? What is the spiritual significance of living in a world linking Adam with the rest of humankind and God with man? How important is that? Which texts listed under this topic in our lesson are directly related to the revelation of how earth was created?

Print/PDF/Email

(7)

Sabbath School Net

Seventh-day Adventist Bible Study Discussion

09: Creation – Genesis as Foundation – Part 2 – Discussion Starters

Comments

09: Creation – Genesis as Foundation – Part 2 – Discussion Starters — No Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply