ACTC3    Christian Belief
	Seminar 1	God the Creator

1. Before we start

2. The Course

The approach in this course is topical. We will take a specific Christian topic, such as Jesus Christ or the Trinity, and attempt to understand that topic and how other aspects of the faith relate to it. This is different to the specific study of the Old or New Testaments in that we don't approach it in a linear way starting at Genesis and systematically working our way through to Revelation. Christian Belief takes us out of that historical framework and builds up a doctrinal framework.

Saying that, God didn't give us a theology textbook. Our Christian belief is based on the original scriptures, and is something that from age to age may need to be revisited so we can discover how each topic relates to our lives here and now. While we need to avoid simply changing our beliefs to fit in to society, we have a responsibility to continually think through our faith so that we can more effectively apply it in a way that relates to the here and now that we live in.
 

b. Assignments
The Assignments will look at making topical connections so that we can engage with people's questions about the Christian faith. Often their questions are topical in nature. For example, 'what's the big deal with this Jesus bloke?' or 'What do you think heaven is all about?'

To get the assignment questions, you will need to enrol. If you haven't, contact the national office.
 

3. God the Creator and Other Options

b. Plato’s Demi-urge
Plato (427-347 BC) was a Greek philosopher whose view of the world that there was pre existing ‘stuff’ around, and a Divine Being was essentially a Demi-urge (urge meaning a craftsman or a do-er) who moulded the worlds together from this pre existing matter. This Platonic doctrine perceives God as a do-er, rather than a God who creates out of nothing. When we as humans are being creative, we are Demi-urging. That is, we are workers, doing from pre existing materials. The Biblical picture of God is not of a Demi-urge character. When God created, He breathed and said ‘let it be’ and it was, 'Ex Nihilo'.

c. Ancient Near Eastern Creation Myths
The Ancient Near East is the term that commonly refers to what we now know as the Middle East. In the early days of the Old Testament, there was a whole range of other religions and people groups, and these groups had their own creation myths or stories of how the world came to be. Normally these were stories about the Gods interacting, either as in a fight or as a coming together of divine beings to solve a problem. These myths normally involved a number of Gods and a degree of disagreement amongst them. This is contrasted to the biblical picture of a God in complete harmony saying saying 'let there be'.
 

d. The Demythologisation of Genesis 1
The Ancient Near Eastern Myths had the view that different elements of the world, such as the sun and moon, had a God behind them. Demythologisation (meaning against-the-myths) takes the story or myth of the God away from the story. In Genesis 1, the Stars, Sun and Moon are just lights placed there by God for the purpose of day and night.

He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."  Genesis 15:5

Contrast this to the experience of Abraham in the Near Eastern world. He was a worshiper of other things before God put his hands on him. The two towns he went from were Ur and Haran, which we know to be both moon worshiping centers. When God chose Abraham, He said to him ‘look at the stars’. Now, when Abraham looks at the moon and the stars, instead of seeing Gods, he sees descendants. He looks at the stars in a different way. This is a complete reorientation for Abraham as to what life, worship and reality is. This is part of the demythologisation process within the Old Testament. Normal created objects are looked on as being ‘good’, but they are not Gods.
 

e. Manichaean dualism
Manichism is a religion from across from Persia to the Roman empire and was of significance in the 3rd and 4th century AD. The key element to this religion was dualism. This is where you have two Gods in conflict; one good and one bad. Good things in life come from the good God, while the bad things in life come from the bad God. It was largely based on the supposed primeval conflict between light and darkness. In this line of thought, the role of religion was to release particles of light that Satan had stolen from the world of Light and imprisoned in man's brain and that individuals such as Jesus and the Prophets had been sent to help in this task. Religion was the struggle between good and evil. The origins of the world can be found in the interaction between good and bad Gods, which is in stark contrast to the biblical picture of creation
 

f. Hindu cycles
In Hindu thought, life is a continuous cycle. The aim is to exit this cycle through achieving enlightenment. What happens in next life depends on whether the good things you have done accumulates sufficient good karma. This karma will get you out of the treadmill of rebirth and into a state of nirvana, which is a blissful state of enlightenment which is very not-of-this-world. In this system where birth and death are simply part of a continual cycle, there is no creation; just more of the same

g. Aboriginal Dream time and the Christian insistence on Genesis 1:1
Aboriginal cosmology supposes that nature and culture were formed at the same time, by powers who lived in the world during the Dreamtime. These powers are still very much present, though they have generally withdrawn from view. Aboriginal creation myths do not teach creation ex-nihilo, but of a time where space and time are defined within a dualistic framework. While there are many different myths within Aboriginal religion, the Rainbow Serpant is the predominant character within such myths. It is worthy to note that Christian aboriginal leaders are very keen to teach the principle of the creator God found in Genesis 1:1, as it is in such contrast to the experience of the Dreamtime.

h. Evolution and the Big Bang
Scientific theories of evolution, where life gradually evolves, and and 'big bang' theories where creation happens suddenly Ex Nihilo are comparatively recent theories. For many Christians, the sudden change of nothing to something that occurs in the Big Bang theory is viewed as being very close to the Christian understanding of Ex Nihilo, with the complicating issues of dating and timing. While Darwin's evolutionary scheme displays some similarities to the Genesis model, the focus of evolution is on a gradual change of ‘matter’ than a creation. Some evolutionary theories have no room for creation or annihilation, only transformation. Einstein's e=mc² theory equated matter with energy. The implication of this is that nothing is ever created or annihilated. If matter appears, then it has simply been transformed from pre existing energy.
 
 

4. The Creator and the Creation.

5. Key Biblical Texts

b. Theophanies/ Angel of the Lord
A Theophany is a visible manifestation of God. There are several types of manifestations. Theophanies may occur as a direct message, a message in a dream, a message in a vision, a message by an angel, or a message in a dream by an angel. The term normally refers to manifestations in the Old Testament. This variety leads to some confusion in the terms that are used throughout the Old Testament. In some theophanies, the manifestation is described as the Lord, while in other times it is described as an angel of the Lord. However, both characterisations denote a manifestation of God, in that this seemingly angelic being is either identified as God or recognised as God, marking it out from other angels.
 

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, "My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant.
Genesis 18:1-3

Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty warrior."
Judges 6:11-12

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . .  And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. . .  No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
John 1:1, 14, 18

But to which of the angels has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"? Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
Hebrews 1:13-14

6. Who are we? The Doctrine of Humanity

b. The Image of God
The term 'image of God' has become widely used. However, much of what people include as the 'image of God' does not directly come from any passages of scripture. Two main points can be seen in this passage. Firstly, humans are made to be the rulers of the world under God. They are part of the divine hierarchy of God, humanity and then creation. This has implications for environmental issues. Despite the fact that it has been abused, the earth is essentially here for the benefit of humanity. Secondly, the image of God has both male and female in it. Somehow, the complimentarity, the differentiation and the unity of male and female shows us what God is like.
 

c. The effects of the Fall
In many ways Chapter 3 of Genesis represents a reversal of the created order in which God had placed creation together in the first two chapters. The result of Adam and Eve's disobedience (known as the fall) was a fourfold disharmony, where there had previously been perfect peace and harmony.
 

1. A Disharmony between people and God   They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  Genesis 3:8  in contrast to  Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."  Genesis 2:7-8, 15-17

There was no barrier between the Creator and the creature. He sought a relationship with them. What he created was to be shared. Humanity was created to be in harmony with God. However, Adam and Eve's rebellion triggered a sense of guilt and in their fear of facing the offended they hid from God. The harmony with God had become disharmony. Their relationship with God had permanently changed.
 
 

2. An internal Disharmony within the Self   Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.  Genesis 3:7 in contrast to   And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.    Genesis 2:25

Chapter two makes the strong point that both Adam and Eve were not ashamed. Their disobedience brings about a deep sense of shame about who they are, and they attempt to cover it up. At the end of chapter three, God gives a covering of garments to help them deal with their shame. This enables humanity to survive despite their internal disharmony.
 

3. A Disharmony with Others   He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."  Genesis 3:11-13  in contrast to  Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken."  Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.   Genesis 2:23-24

Eve was made from Adam so that they could share in a perfect relationship. This relationship is so deep that it is like being one flesh. The advent of sin causes people to apportion blame outside of themselves, causing a breakdown in the way people relate to others.
 

4. A Disharmony with Nature   To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." And to the man he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  Genesis 3:16-19

In the same way that the relationship with God was broken, humanities relationship with the nature was distorted. Rather than life being our for pure enjoyment, it is full of struggle and pain as an expression of the disharmony with nature.

Other ways of expressing this brokenness
Original Sin - This term suggests that sin is at the deepest core of humanities being, and that it can be traced back to the original rebellion of Adam and Eve. This single act brings death to the whole of humanity.

Total Depravity - This term does not suggest that we are all thoroughly evil people. Rather, it suggests that, our experience before God is one of total disobedience and that there is nothing we can do in our own strength to pull ourselves out of this predicament.

d. Our need for grace

You were dead through the trespasses and sins  in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-- by grace you have been saved -  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God -- For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.  Ephesians 2:1-10

In this passage, we find that we are under the powers of the world, the devil, and the flesh . There is in all people, a complete inability to lift themselves out of their predicament. In themselves, they are following the passionate desires of the flesh, in the world they just mindlessly follow what the world is doing, and their boss is the evil one, the devil. There is a total depravity in humanity. In the Baptismal service, the aspects of the flesh, the world and the devil are renounced.

God considers us to be 'like the rest'. That is, dead in our sins and completely in need. But, God raised us up with Christ so that we may be saved, not of our own doings, but by grace.

e. Being like God
In the Garden the temptation was that they could become like God, through disobedience.

for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:5

His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature.
2 Peter 1:3-4

7. What's around us? The Doctrine of the Creation

b. Glory and Groaning of creation

Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse;  Romans 1:20

There is more to creation that creation itself.  You cannot necessarily discover God through creation, but his eternal power and nature can be seen. While one person may see the glory within creation, such as its beauty, another person may look at it and see something entirely different, such as natural disasters.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Romans 8:22-25

The Next seminar

The Certificate in Evangelism Index

The Home Page Index