Torah Crash Course E1 — For many modern readers, the first five books of the Bible—known as the Torah—can feel strange, overwhelming, or confusing. But when we look at these five books as a single narrative, we can begin to see how it sets up a larger story of God’s rescue plan for humanity that is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. In this episode, we’ll start with Genesis. From creation and humanity’s calling as God’s image-bearers to God’s surprising promise to bless all people through one man and his family, Genesis sets the stage for the rest of the Bible. In this episode, Tim traces the structure and themes of the book, revealing how God’s purpose to bring good out of human evil shapes the entire biblical story. This series was taught in the early 2010s at Door of Hope Church in Portland, Oregon.

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

• The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
• Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
• Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

• “Nob Hill Instrumental” by Drexler

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Aaron Olsen edited and remastered today's episode. JB Witty does our show notes.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In modern Western culture, we have two very different narratives swirling around the first two pages of the Bible. In the first narrative, the creation story in Genesis 1-2 represents a literal seven days, and this all happened only a few thousand years ago. In the second narrative, earth and its inhabitants took billions of years to evolve into their present form—and therefore, Bible-believing Christians are fools. What if both these narratives miss the main point of what Genesis 1-2 is all about? In this lecture, Tim explores the Bible’s creation story alongside other ancient creation stories, revealing a very different narrative about the origin of life, our purpose and identity as humans, and what all of this tells us about the God of the Bible.

Tim taught this lecture in January 2016 at Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

• Nothing: A Very Short Introduction by Frank Close
• The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate by John H. Walton
• The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder by William P. Brown
• Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books.

SHOW MUSIC

• “Nob Hill (Instrumental)” by Drexler

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Aaron Olsen edited and remastered today’s episode. JB Witty writes our show notes. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Many people view science and religious faith as bitter enemies with conflicting views of the universe, especially when you consider the scientific explanation for the universe’s origin versus the biblical account. But is this tension real, or is it based on a deep misunderstanding of what the Bible is and how it communicates? Genesis 1-2—written thousands of years ago—says many surprising things about the origins of the universe. But these chapters also leave most of our modern scientific questions unaddressed. So what do we make of this? In this 2011 lecture from a science and faith conference at Blackhawk Church in Madison, Wisconsin, Tim asks what it means to read the first two pages of the Bible as ancient Hebrew texts and considers how they might interact with modern scientific claims.

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

• The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate by John Walton
• In the Beginning... We Misunderstood: Interpreting Genesis 1 in Its Original Context by Johnnie V. Miller and John M. Soden
• Adam and the Genome: Reading Scripture after Genetic Science by Scott McKnight and Dennis Venema
• Science, Creation and the Bible: Reconciling Rival Theories of Origins by Richard F. Carlson and Tremper Longman III
• Enuma Elis (ancient Babylonian creation narrative)
• Atrahasis Epic (ancient Babylonian cosmology text)
• Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

• “Nob Hill Instrumental” by Drexler

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Aaron Olsen edited and remastered today's episode. JB Witty does our show notes. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.