According to Scripture, Adam was the first man and was specially created from the dust by God. Our understanding of the origin of morality is founded in the origin of Adam. Biblical concepts of morality are, then, inseparable from biblical concepts of origins. Recognizing Adam as the first human also refutes the possibility that any … Continue reading –>
Chief Asang was weeping, and no one could console him. I had no idea why he was upset, but I asked God to help me comfort him. I am a student missionary teaching the children of the chief’s people. As I approached the chief, he reached out and hugged me. “Thank you for coming,” he … Continue reading –>
In an earlier lesson, we looked at Paul’s sermon to the men in Athens (Acts 17:16-31). Follow the line of reasoning he used, noting not just where he started but where he ended. What’s so important about the conclusion he came to, particularly regarding the question of origins and morality? Paul’s sermon to the men of Athens … Continue reading –>
God created us in His image, which means among other things that He intended for us to resemble Him in character. That is, we are to be like Him, as much as humanly possible (notice, to be like God is not the same thing as to aspire to be God, a crucial difference). In order for us to be … Continue reading –>
In Genesis 2:23, Adam is given the task of naming his wife, whom he called Havah. This word is related to the Hebrew verb hayah, which means “to live” (Jews sometimes use the related expression lehayim, “to life!”). The Hebrew word for “Eve” (Havah) can be translated as “life-giver.” Eve’s name represents the fact that she is the ancestor of all humans. We … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 1:26-28. What special attribute was given to humans that was not given to the animals? What exactly is “the image of God”? This question has generated a great deal of discussion, and opinions vary. But the verses provide some clues regarding the nature of the idea. First, note that to be made in the … Continue reading –>
Genesis 2:7 depicts God as creating Adam individually, and represents him to be an intelligent moral being rather than as an animal. The text does not say, but one can imagine God using His hands to form the dust into the intended shape and size. One might think that the great Sovereign of the universe would … Continue reading –>
Read for This week’s Study: Gen. 2:16-17;Gen. 1:26-28; James 3:9;Acts 17:26;Prov. 14:31;Matt. 5:44-48;Rev. 20:11-13. Memory Text: “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly … Continue reading –>
The Bible is a book about God and His relationship to us humans and our world. The events of Creation week are unique and supernatural. They are outside the realm of scientific inquiry for at least two reasons. First, they are singularities. Singularities are events that occur only once. Science has a difficult time dealing … Continue reading –>
Sixteen-year-old Anya’s heart raced as she and her father stepped into the small café in the heart of Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Could she ask a complete stranger to turn a business over to some teenagers—even for a few hours? The adventure for God had begun months earlier when Anya and her teenage friends had visited a … Continue reading –>
