A. Overall Lesson Objective

B. Learning Competencies

C. Lesson

The biblical view of creation, which embodies a universe and earth made by the Creator a little over 6000 years ago, is the context for the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and is fundamental to the Christian faith. Take a minute to consider why. Christ references creation or the beginning of the world several times. He came to redeem people or to bring them back to a relationship with God because something happened near the beginning. We are separated from God due to sin, but the sin is not just the individual actions of a few. The Scripture is clear that all have sinned or gone our own way. When did it start? How did the separation from God occur? The event was near the beginning with Adam and Eve—two real people at history’s beginning. The events are documented in the book of Genesis and repeatedly mentioned as straightforward history throughout the Bible. If creation events did NOT occur as written, there is no need for us to be saved from anything and we can easily dismiss its message.

The Bible goes further than being a spiritual guide and a list of principles. It is a reliable, historical record for Christians (actually for others, too). It follows, then, that God, its Author, must be accurate when He provides assessments or comments on the universe, or the earth, or anything in them. Whether the language is historical or poetic in character, the Bible contains a wealth of information that is a starting point for someone who believes the Record as true. God’s plan for mankind is embedded in His creation. They are inseparable. Therefore, this course asserts the same thing.

Consider Nehemiah 9:6, John 1:3, Acts 14:15, and 2 Peter 3:5 to answer the following questions:

🦕 CT? (Critical Thinking Question): Who is involved in creating in each passage? Is there anything else involved in creating in the verses? Exactly what was created? How is the Creator identified in each passage?

The Bible is full of similar passages, but they all point to the original record of creation in the book of Genesis. One does not have to read very far in Genesis, however, to find a marred history where sin and its consequences changed the initial state of creation. This, too, is recorded in numerous parts of the Bible and is an integral part of the biblical world view. Read the following verses to answer the next set of questions: Genesis 3:19, Jeremiah 32:17-18, Romans 5:12.

🦕 CT? If God states that His creation in all its array was “very good” in Genesis 1:31, what do these verses say it was that changed things?

Nevertheless, the Bible asserts that, even with the effects of sin, God’s creation speaks of the power of God in such a way that it cannot be ignored, which is the statement of Romans 1:19-20, which also refers to the record of creation in Genesis.

The opposing world view, which is dominant in this age, is naturalism. In our age, the biblical view of creation is under attack or is overwhelmed by this naturalistic and evolutionary world view in most parts of the world and in almost all educational institutions. The naturalistic belief system tries to explain the origin of the universe and everything in it through natural, observable laws and processes, but also specifically eliminates any notion of God. Because known processes and laws are unable to explain an allegedly self-developed universe, long extended times (billions of years) are used to increase the probability that a universe can develop randomly or by chance without any external influence or direction.

Both naturalistic and biblical world views are called world views because they are baseline assumptions through which we interpret our surroundings and understand history. A world view is like a pair of ‘glasses’ through which one ‘sees’ reality. One cannot prove (or disprove) them since no one was there at the beginning. While ultimate proof is not possible, bodies of evidence from the past and present can be used to see which view makes a better fit. While we do have the historical record in the Bible of origins, and history is a legitimate form of evidence, this source of history is strictly disallowed in the naturalistic world view. The biblical world view, on the other hand, relies on the biblical historical record (the Bible) and its Author, who was the Eye-witness to what occurred at the beginning.

🦕 CT? Explain the primary differences in the biblical and naturalistic world views.

One should not underestimate the power of underlying world views, because they become the assumption through which things around us are interpreted. The two views deal with the same evidence, the same things that we see and study, but give them totally different interpretations. In short, the two views clash. Most people are not aware of how much they clash. We will consider the clash carefully, but we must start with an orientation to the biblical view of creation, because it is the least known in the current age and it is a core premise of biblical Christianity.

While it may come as a surprise, many believers, educators, and scientists hold the biblical creation view but their voices are often drowned by the dominant naturalistic view that is emphasized in most books, electronic media (TV, movies and the internet), education, and institutions. Since the Bible asserts that God was there and ensured that events were recorded for mankind, those first events will be closely reviewed. One of those key events was the Genesis Flood because its effects define much of the geology, lands, and what happened to living things in the centuries that followed the catastrophe. Several lessons treat the Flood and its ramifications, which also draw attention to the wide disparity between the naturalistic and biblical world views about what and when it happened.

Such a large topic would seem impossible to study. Is it? What if your approach to life depended on which view you took? It does not matter whether you are a young student, parent, or professional; the answer to purpose in life depends almost entirely on your view of the universe. It does not matter if you are a scientist or a goat herder. So, what is the essence of your world view? What is it based upon? A biblical view of creation (a world view of beginnings based on the Bible) is not complicated but the basic principles of the naturalistic view are not that complicated either. However, it takes some thought, a little digging, and some discussion to sift through the subject. You might be surprised at how much these world views affect thinking. Thinking affects actions, and actions yield results in people’s lives. World views govern many goals and how we reach them.

There are 61 lessons in the course, including this overview session and quarterly review sessions. They cover Genesis 1 to 11:9 (creation through the tower of Babel), other significant portions of scripture that refer to the world around us, and the effects of that content on education and work. Each lesson is designed for an hour-long class. Some classes and their exercises can take longer. Two lessons per week are presumed during any given quarter. Lesson titles are good indicators of content. Both titles and subtitles in lessons are in larger text. Please review the table of contents and notice that the lessons are divided into four major units—one for each quarter. The study begins with an introduction to biblical creation, the lesser known world view, but will transition to biblical applications to subject areas in Unit 3. Unit 4 is in two parts. The first part covers a brief comparison of the biblical and naturalistic views with respect to common school subjects. The second part covers applications of the biblical creation view to living in a created world.

A teamed class project is designed for the last quarter to employ some of the knowledge gained during earlier lessons. It can be used in place of or in addition to a final exam.

For the purposes of this study, all biblical text is treated as having information of importance, not just the text that appears to be ‘spiritual’. Hence, the basic questions of who, what, when, where, and how are appropriate if they are included in the text. They should be given attention. Pay attention to word choice and word meaning in plain terms from within the context of passages. Note sequences of events. Note references to times, places and changes in location. Note changes in focus, people, or things. Straightforward grammar rules are important, so identifying parts of speech (subjects, verbs, and objects) is important. For example, if you wanted a report of a child’s day at school and it was important for you to get detail, what information would you want? What would you double check to make sure you had the correct information? Take the same plain approach to sections of the Bible that record important events, especially those that relate to biblical creation. God intends to convey information in the biblical record, so a person is expected to find and understand the information being conveyed. In short, treat the Bible as factual text, written by an Author who knows what He is talking about.

The authority of the Scripture will be addressed in the first lesson, but a summary note follows: the Bible is the final authority on any subject that it covers. This means it is the foundation from which anything else is interpreted. The best interpretation of a passage is other passages, because they are part of that same foundational authority. Bible content may affect other references, but other references do not cause the Bible to be re-interpreted in their light. Where the Bible is silent, conjectures, estimates, and even modeling are possible if they are in keeping with biblical fundamentals and information, but they do not carry the same level of authority.

You will need a Bible that is easy for you to read for this course. It is the primary reference for the biblical view that will be used for the whole study. Particular references in the Bible will frequently consist of book, chapter, and group of verses in this form: the name of the book, a number for a chapter, a colon, and verse numbers (such as: Genesis 1:14-19). The Bible translations most used to draw attention to words and phrases are the King James Version (KJV), but major translations (like the New American Standard Version or the English Standard Version) do not differ with respect to key references mentioned in this curriculum. If there were slightly different words used in the translations, they are usually listed.

D. Assignment

For the next session (Lesson 1), read through some portions of Scripture from several books in both the Old and New Testaments. Most lessons contain less reading, but this assigned reading is needed as a general orientation. We recommend that you read these portions in one sitting as you would read a newspaper or history book. It will take less than 40 minutes to complete. During the reading, notice any terms that indicate big-picture issues in noun form, such as beginning, earth, heavens, and man or mankind. Note action verbs like “let”, “made”, “create”, “form”, or “fashion”. Note words that define time or progress, such as “beginning”, “day”, “night”, “finished”, or “complete”. Note the tense of statements that indicate past (completed) or present or future tense. Here are the references:

E. Learning Activity

Divide into groups and read Genesis 1:1-9. This is a time-competitive activity to read and do the following:

🦕 CT? Answer the following questions from the learning activity:

Compare the answers among the teams.

F. Concluding Assessment

This course will study the biblical creation world view, compare it to the dominant naturalistic world view, and compare these two views relative to popular school subjects. Application of the biblical world view will be studied with respect to its context for the Gospel, effects on observing things around us, and effects on how we can live and work in today’s world. To do this, we will treat the Bible record as a historically accurate textbook that is authored by the Creator.