Christian Beliefs Origins

Origins Name: Course: Date: February 6, 2022 Instructor: Be sure you answer Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and the Reference section of this assignment before submitting. Part One: Christian Beliefs In a total of 250-350 words for this section (1-4), respond thoroughly to the prompt in the assignment. Use the Bible and at least one academic source (textbook, topic overview, or peerreviewed article). Cite all of the resources used with in-text citations. Include all the sources you cite on a reference section at the end of this document. 1. Summary of Christian beliefs about origins: According to the Christian belief, God created the universe and everything in it. 2. Summary of Genesis 1-2: Genesis means beginning. So therefore, Genesis chapters 1 and 2 discuss the beginning of the universe. The universe was created by God in 7 days. Which is why now in today’s world we have 7-day weeks. God creates the world by speaking into the darkness and speaking each part of the universe into existence. Light, sky, land, vegetation, and living creatures over the course of six days. Each day, he pauses to pronounce his works “good” (Genesis 1:4). God created the heavens and the earth. All animals and mankind. He made mankind in his own image and gave them the opportunity to “run” earth. He took the 7th day to rest. Hence why we have Sundays as our ideal day of “rest” and time to give God the glory through worship. 3. Summary of general and special revelation: General revelation is the general information given to us (humankind) as a general community. It is through general revelation that God tells us about his power, strength, existence and glory. He reveals himself by instilling the knowledge in each person on the planet. We as people must make the decision to WANT to hear him and follow him. Special revelation is where Jesus comes in. With special revelation, we learn about Jesus Christ’s redemption for sinners. Hebrews 1: 1-2 says “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” I think that this verse really breaks down special revelation. 4. Summary of three Christian approaches: There are three Christian approaches to Creation the first one is Young Earth creation basically what Young Earth creation is, is it says God created the world in 7 days with one day to rest. And Earth is around 6,000 to 10,000 years old today. The next one of the Christian approaches to creation is the old Earth which is more of a scientific View and says that the Earth is around 4.6 billion years old and that life came in stages such as Evolution and that God did not have much play in the evolution of people. Then finally we have the allegoric approach which says that life evolves by a process that God himself guided and that God created the earth with the plan for life to unfold in naturalistic ways. (Davis, 2022) Part Two: Current Understanding In a total of 250-350 words for this section (1-4), respond thoroughly to the prompt in the assignment. Use the Bible and at least one academic source (textbook, topic overview, or peerreviewed article). Cite all of the resources used with in-text citations. Include all the sources you cite on a reference section at the end of this document. 1. My current beliefs about the origin of the universe: I believe that the universe was created by God in 6 days. I do not even come close to agreeing with anything from evolution. I don’t agree that we came from monkeys or whatever they say we came from. I believe that God created humankind in his own image and made Eve out of Adam’s rib. I believe that He breathed life into Adam and Eve thus breathing life into each human thereafter. 2. My current beliefs about evolution: I do not agree with any part of evolution. I do not think that Earth is 4.6 billion years old. I do not agree that we evolved from animals. I do not like evolution. Personally, I don’t understand how scientists believe that an explosion (Big Bang) created life. Since when has an explosion ever created life since thee “big bang”? Never. You can’t have life forms appear after space rocks just collide and create a perfect livable atmosphere. 3. My current beliefs about the age of the earth: I believe that earth is somewhere around 6,000 to 10,000 years old. It is hard to directly pinpoint the age of earth due to the B.C. and A.D timeframes. But I can for sure say that I believe our planet are in the thousands not the billions of years old. 4. My current beliefs about if the Bible and science can be reconciled: I believe that the Bible and science could be reconciled but I also don’t know if the two will ever become balanced as they are practically opposites. It is hard to balance something that is nearly 100% against something else. Sarah from BioLogos says, “Scientific data can sometimes serve as God’s way of warning us when we are standing too close to the scriptural “picture,” or at the wrong angle, or with the wrong expectations. The purpose of science is not to verify nor to add to inspired Scripture, but science can help us eliminate improper ways of reading it”. (Roels, 2019) Part Three: Impact of Current Understanding In a total of 250-350 words for this section (1-4), respond thoroughly to the prompt in the assignment. Use the Bible and at least one academic source (textbook, topic overview, or peerreviewed article). Cite all of the resources used with in-text citations. Include all the sources you cite on a reference section at the end of this document. 1. Therefore, this is what I believe about the nature of God: I believe that God has three traits. The three “o’s” as I like to remember them as. Omniscience, God knows everything. God knows every human beings thought as well as knowing all that has happened in the past and present and what will happen in the future. Omnibenevolence, God is all-loving. God sacrificed his own son for humanity, which shows how much he loves all human beings without exception because each human is his child, and he wants his children to all come home to him when their journey on earth is over should they choose to believe in him and repent. Omnipotence, God is all-powerful. God is responsible for the creation of the world and the resurrection of Jesus when he died on the cross for all humanities sins. 2. Therefore, this is what I believe about the nature of Humanity: Genesis 1:26–31 says that God made man and woman “in the image of God.” Therefore, humans were created to be true followers of God and be like him. “Like” being the key term there. Humans were never meant to have His power or omniscience. Humans are like God (but not God) through dominion over all that roams earth, and freedom or better known as free will. Some of these are implied in Genesis (dominion over God’s creation in Gen. 1:26). The Fall, however, changed everything. In Genesis 3 we learn about the first sin of Adam and Eve, their removal from the Garden of Eden, and the change of human nature. Adam and Eve sinned when they ate the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:6). They covered their nakedness because now they “knew” good and evil after eating the forbidden fruit. Sin now was part of not only Adam and Eve but all of humanity. One mistake set the rest of humanity up to be sinners that need redemption. Human nature is sin. But when choosing God, we choose to follow God to the best of our abilities and asking for forgiveness when we do sin. Not “if”, but “when” we sin. 3. Therefore, this is what I believe about the care for the Earth: My belief for how we are to take care of the earth and everything in it, is based on Genesis. In Genesis 1:26-30 it says, “ Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.”. It is our job as humans to take care of the world that God provided us to live on. We have no other planet to move to. We need to care for the animals (though it feels like we aren’t doing the best at that with extinction being so prominent). We are to care for the plants so that we can have breathable air. We are to be fruitful and multiply bringing life into the world so that they too may go to Heaven someday. I believe that God has given us this planet to teach us how we should take care of not only ourselves but everyone and everything around us. Our planet is a gift from God and thus precious. It is not something to be taken for granted.