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MODULES 1-10 FOR THE TRANSFORMING STORY

 

- CHAPTER 1 Where did the Universe come from?

 

CHAPTER 1: CREATION

AIMS

To provide a toolkit to both understand and explain Worldviews

  • To develop an understanding of the Biblical Worldview and competing worldviews/religions

  • To be able to understand and explain what it means to be human based on Genesis 1v26-28

  • To know how to use the 4 Key Questions to know how to both critique and affirm Worldviews.

OBJECTIVES:

  • They will know how to use metaphors to understand & explain different Worldviews

  • To know how to evaluate, affirm & critique every ideology based on the criteria of the 4 Key Questions and the criteria for a Worldview

  • To be aware that the burden of proof for explaining all Reality is on every other competing Worldview to the Bible.

  • To face the challenge of our times head on

  • To understand and be able to explain how the Biblical Worldview corresponds with all reality.

 

 

 

 

 

MODULE 1: CREATION & WORLDVIEW

#2-10 on Handout

 

1.

Has anyone heard of the term 'Worldview'? Does anyone understand what this term means?

 

Analogy for Worldview: Jigsaw Puzzle

Question: Has anyone ever completed a Jigsaw Puzzle?

What helped you to finish the Jigsaw Puzzle? The Box Cover

Box Cover= Creation---Fall---Redemption---Consummation-

To know where the individual aspects of ALL REALITY are created to fit. Origins: Where did the Universe come from? What's wrong with the world? What's the solution to what is wrong? Where is history going?

Where does Male & Female, Marriage; Family; Government; all creational structures fit? 

>What's your Worldview? 3:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXnSE0uvwzM

 

2.

ACTIVITY: 5-10 mins- What is your Worldview and why (Interpretation of all reality). Explain

We have to be good listeners to discern how people interpret all of Reality. Although the Gospel has been deeply marginalised in our culture- we do not have to be on the defensive, but we do need to know how to put the burden of proof on the other person.

 

>Patch Adams 'You Treat a Person' 3:41

Key thing to listen for:  The difference in perspectives of how to treat a patient

 

ACTIVITY: What do you think about their perspectives on human beings?

 

Discuss for 5 mins- and how this may relate to the Health Service today in relation to Worldviews.

 

ISSUE: The real underlying issue is the difference of Worldviews.

3.

UNIT 1:  THE POWER OF STORY

 

  • Genesis 1v1: The Story of the Biblical Worldview STARTS with....In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.

  • It ENDS with a New Heavens and a New Earth in Revelation 21-22 but is only the New Beginning

  • Genesis 1 & 2 and Revelation 21-22 are the only 4 chapters in the Bible where is no sin or rebellion against God. KEY POINT: The Beginning points to the End.

  • Creation------------------to the New Creation is the BREADTH of the Biblical Worldview

  •  

  • THE ULTIMATE QUESTIONS OF REALITY such as:

  • Where did the Universe come from-Origins

  • What does it mean to be Human?

  • How do we know right and wrong?

  • Where is History going? Is there life after death are about the DEPTH of the Biblical Worldview

  •  

  • This very first verse in Genesis 1v1 refutes and invalidates all of man’s false philosophies and ideologies concerning the Origin and the meaning of the World.

  • ACTIVITY/QUESTION: What does the story of Western culture today start with?  How does this affect Justice, Truth and Righteousness?

4.

 Key Point: The Story/Worldview of a Nation determines the kind of society that it will build. This will also affect how Justice, Truth and Righteousness and how all human beings are treated.

 

2     Analogies for a Worldview:

  • A Pair of Glasses

  • A Tree

 

A Worldview is like the pair of glasses that we interpret the world through. The glasses represent our presuppositions, what we presuppose or assume reality is. We do not look AT our glasses; we look THROUGH them without thinking.

So also, we look THROUGH the glasses of our assumptions to interpret reality often without thinking.

 

>Analogy to understand a Worldview:

A ROOM WITH WINDOWS means a Worldview that interprets All Reality from a Transcendent base- Meta-Physical means beyond the Physical. Christianity is one of these Worldviews. Judaism and Islam are others. Ancient Greek philosophy like Plato and Socrates. Judaism, Islam and Greek philosophy all reject the Lord Jesus Christ though.

  • A ROOM WITHOUT WINDOWS means a Worldview that interprets All Reality from only inside the Physical world because there is no Transcendent beyond the Physical realm.

  • The Culture we live in used to interpret All Reality from a Transcendent Base, from a ROOM WITH WINDOWS- because of the impact of the Biblical Worldview from the 4th century up to the 18th century.

 

>4 QUESTIONS TO ASSESS WORLDVIEWS/IDEOLOGIES:

1. Where did the Universe come from? Origins/Creation

2. What is Wrong with the world? Fall

3. What is the Solution to what is wrong? Redemption

4. Where is History Going? Consumerism.

 

Does it pass the Test?

A belief system or worldview has to be able to meet certain criteria and to be able to pass certain tests in order for it to be genuinely valid, credible, consistent, coherent, liveable and it especially has to correspond with all reality

Let's look at the following Worldviews to think about HOW they answer these 4 Key Questions

 

5.

>ACTIVITY: 10 mins + How do these Worldviews/Ideologies answer the 4 Key Questions? Think of the Room with or without Windows.

Provide a Handout for the following Ideologies and Give out.

10 mins 

>Genesis 1v1 refutes and invalidates Atheism- because the Universe was created by God

>It refutes and invalidates Pantheism-because God is an eternal Being who is transcendent to that which He created. Eastern Pantheism believes the Cosmos is God- All is Spiritual. All is One.

>It refutes Polytheism- because only One personal infinite eternal God created all things. The Greek & Roman empire was based on Polytheism which means 'Many gods'. This is also known as Paganism

    Offshoots of Neo-Paganism: Buddhism; Hinduism and the New Age Movement.

>It refutes and invalidates Materialism\Naturalism- because physical matter had a beginning.  Physical Materialism/Naturalism believes Reality is ONLY Physical

All is One- All is only Physical- But is also a form of Pantheism therefore it is Religious.

>It refutes Secular Humanism and all of its related ideologies -because God and not man is the Ultimate Reality. Secular Humanism is the same as Atheism-and where humanity becomes deified.

    Some offshoots of Secular Humanism:

Post- Modernism; Consumerism; Humanism, Individualism; Relativism and Cultural Marxism and Neo- Paganism/Hinduism

 

All is One- All is Physical- So also is a form of Pantheism.

>It refutes and invalidates Evolutionism-because God, the Triune God created all things and not random chance through billions of years of evolution.

>Every other ideology under the sun can be refuted and invalidated by this categorical propositional statement in Genesis 1v1 because all other ideologies and philosophies of man start with anything else other than the personal infinite eternal Creator Triune God.

>Even the Monotheistic religions of Judaism and Islam are refuted and invalidated by this verse because they both reject the Lord Jesus Christ who the Father created the Universe through by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Colossians 1v15-23) 

 

·       Handout of ‘Under the Broad Umbrella of Secularism and Neo-Paganism’ for offshoots.

 

6.

            A Worldview is also similar to a tree.

Ideas have consequences.

‘Lesson 3-Part 2 of 4: The power of Story-Worldviews shape our lives and cultures’

Darrow Miller (Roots & Fruits of a Tree) 35 secs to 1:54

3:25 Ideas spread in three ways.

1. They spread geographically from one area to another

2. They pass through time to future generations

3. They penetrate into cultures

 

5 mins: QUESTION: Can you think of some Ideas/beliefs in our own culture that have spread over time and penetrated into the whole culture?

What strengths and weaknesses can you discern in these ideas?

 

When you look at a tree, you observe the Trunk, the branches, the leaves and the fruit. But you cannot see the roots of the tree.

>The Roots=Beliefs

>The Trunk=Values

>The Branches=Behaviour 

>The Fruit=Consequences

Obviously if you plant apple seeds, you will eventually get an apple tree. The seeds or the roots are the beliefs that a person holds to in which to interpret the whole of reality.  

7.

UNIT 2:

God is both Transcendent & Immanent

Diagram of Transcendence & Immanence in Biblical Theism-Deism and Secularism.

'Transcendent AND Immanent Dr Jim Altizer'  5:32

 

Immanent= Nearness. God is present/Immanent in 4 ways:

-Omnipresent

-Present in all of human history

-Present in the Incarnation

-Indwelling of the Spirit in the Body of Christ-the Ekklesia

 

  • Read Genesis 1v1 & Colossians 1v15-23 (Christ reconciled All things in heaven & earth)

  • Count how many times the phrase 'ALL THINGS' is in this passage in Colossians.

  • Reflect & Discuss the key points. Why did Jesus shed His blood?

  • Apply>How does the fact that God is both Transcendent & Immanent affect the way we think of 'Mission'?

Discuss this Quote by a Dutch Theologian and Pastor Abraham Kuyper:

'There is not an inch of any sphere of life over which Jesus Christ does not say 'Mine'.  10 mins.

Sources to follow up:


 

MODULE 2: THREE WORLDVIEWS IN HISTORY OF WESTERN CULTURE

#3-6 & 9-10

1.

Please take notes from the following You Tube talk. Think about the 4 Questions and the ideologies we have already covered- (Module 1 # 5)

>Give out Handout of Downward Diagonal Line of Biblical Theism, Deism and Secularism.

UNIT 1:  Diagonal Downward Line of Three Worldviews

Give out Handout of Diagonal line of 3 Worldviews.

>1:35 Biblical Theism diagram-

>7:20-54 Deism Diagram-

>8:00-9:30 Secularism Diagram- Some offshoots of Secularism: Post Modernism; Consumerism; Humanism, Individualism; Relativism and Cultural Marxism and Neo- Paganism/Hinduism

Analogy: Room without windows and the 4 Key Questions that every Worldview must answer

Feedback: 10 mins to discuss their notes= 20 mins +

2.

ACTIVITY: 

15-20 mins.

Romans 1v25 Only Two Religions: Oneism and Twoism (TruthxChange)

8 mins

Feedback on Clip: Write Romans 1v25 on board- Ask for feedback from each one if they understood this Clip.

Read Romans 1v18-20,25 Suppress the Truth & Exchange the Truth (Substitute) for the lie

>Reflect & Discuss- What do you think are the consequences you see in modern life of Western culture both 'suppressing God's Truth and 'Exchanging God's Truth for the lie'.? Give examples and explain.

Explain that comprehensive acceptance across all institutions of both Homosexuality/Gay marriage and Transgenderism means that Western society has become deeply and thoroughly Pagan.

 

 

ACTIVITY:  Compare Genesis 1 and 2 and Romans 1:

Explain Structure & Direction as a simple way to evaluate any nation or culture:

As we go through Genesis 1 in this You Tube clip- write down all the Structures you can think of that God has built into Creation.

 

'Reading Genesis 1 and the Creation Account in Context: Part II (Sandra Richter)'  7 mins

ACTIVITY: Feedback for Structures and Direction and apply to our own time. What structures did you come up with?

How many more Structures can we think of?

 

 

 

3.

ACTIVITY: Write down as many ways that the Church may suppress the Truth of God's revelation in all of Scripture. Use the Framework of Creation-Fall-Redemption-Restoration

Remember that Romans 1v25 reveals only 2 Worldviews: Theism and Various forms of Paganism because the bottom line issue is worship

Sources: Above You Tube talk.


       MODULE 3: THREE CRUCIAL WORDS IN GENESIS 1v1

 

1.

1ST WORD: BEGINNING and the Relevance for our mission.

#12-20

5:10-10:40

Discuss this Quote: 

'In the progress of redemption from Dust to Glory, we are making an assertion that is radical for our whole understanding of:

  • who we are as people

  • what our lives mean and

  • for what we are supposed to be about in this world'

If there is a beginning, then how did it get started'?

UNIT 1:  1st Crucial Word:   #12-20

#16-17 on Handout

Explain Genesis 1v1-

5 mins and how this verse and Genesis chapter 1 connect to the main battle of our times 'What it means to be human'.  5 mins to explain the use of 'Structure & Direction' to evaluate every Worldview/Ideology

 

2.

APPLYING GENESIS 1v1 to WORLDVIEW

>Context as in previous You Tube clip: The Power of Story

Darrow Miller:  Think about the Diagrams in this Clip- we will briefly discuss these diagrams.

>We will discuss and answer this Question: Why do you think that the Church in the West or other ideologies are NOT telling the WHOLE Story? 

Total duration for You Tube Talk: 11: 42

Start to 8:52

  • 4:39 Coram Deo- The Lines reveal that God has a Relationship with His Creation. God is LORD of every aspect of His creation  

  • 7:42 Deism (led to Secularism) The Age of Enlightenment (18th-19th century) The Lines are gone- God is Creator but not Lord and Saviour. He is not involved at all in Creation. There is now a Line separating 'God' and Creation

  • 8:22-52 Deism led to:

Naturalism/Secularism/Atheism/Materialism etc etc.

There is a Line- Below is Nature and Above is a Question Mark ? This is where we have been in the West since the mid 18th century- the Theory of Evolution permeated the whole of Western culture and its institutions.

Since the 1960s until now, Western culture and its militant Secularism/Humanism meant that its basic Worldview is Monism/Pantheism: For example, Secularism/Polytheism/Neo-Paganism with all its offshoots make up the ‘foundation’ that Western culture is built upon- This is why the 20th Century was the most violent of all centuries. Ideas have consequences.  

 

QUESTION: Why do you think that the Church in the West and other ideologies are NOT telling the WHOLE Story?

20 mins.

Analogy: Think of the Room without windows=No Transcendence (Deism- Secularism); 4 Key Questions

1.   Where did the Universe come from?

2.   What is wrong with the world?

3.   What is the solution to what is wrong?

4.   Where is history going?

#17-20 on Handout


 

3.

Beginning- Contrast between ‘Creation and Nothing’ and applying Creation to Jesus and Mission

>Read Genesis 1v1 & Colossians 1v15-23 (Christ reconciled All things in heaven & earth)

The Road from Eden- Understanding Culture- Joe Boot

 

ACTIVITY: Jesus Christ is the Creator and Redeemer of ALL THINGS. That leaves out NOTHING.

5 mins: What is the relationship of the Claims of the Lord Jesus Christ for the culture we live in?

=10-12 mins.

>Mark Greene: The Sacred-Secular Divide

Total= 5 mins

SOURCE: The Great Divide | LICC Read out Examples of individuals who brought change.

'98% of Christians have neither been envisioned or equipped for 95% of their waking lives'

 


 

Ask them to read Colossians 1v15-23 and answer the following 4 Questions.

25 mins for these 4 Questions below.

Write Questions on Whiteboard-

10 mins: Read and jot down your answers.

10 mins: Feedback and Q & A

5 mins: Discuss the Quote = 25 mins.

 

>1. Read Colossians 1v15-23 Count the number of times the phrase 'ALL THINGS' is mentioned

2. Reflect & Discuss: What does this passage reveal about the Lord Jesus Christ and what does this imply about the Church's engagement with the culture?

3. Apply: In what ways does this change the way you think about Mission?

4. Reflect & Discuss  Why did Jesus shed His blood?

 

Question: Why is the Church the Sunday Church and not the Monday Church? What is missing in the Worldview of the Church? How does this affect the Great Commission?

APPLY/ACTIVITY: In pairs or group-Discuss this Quote: ‘By thinking too narrowly about the covenant of creation, the Christian church has come to cultivate a deficiency in its entire world and life view. Instead of being kingdom-oriented as was Christ, it has become exclusively church-oriented’. O. Palmer Robertson ‘The Christ of the Covenants’ p68


 MODULE 4: SECOND CRUCIAL WORD: GOD

1.

11:35-15:25- 5 mins

ACTIVITY:  Is it enough to say to someone 'God created the Universe'? Explain your answers

 

#22-31 in Diagram: The Trinity in Creation

#25 & 29 on Handout

>ACTIVITY:

 

Creation and the Trinity (7:18)

What are your initial comments and thoughts on this brief clip about the Trinity?

 

Question: How can you observe the first indication of the Trinity in Genesis 1v1-3? Look at John 1v1-3, Colossians 1v15-20 and Acts chapter 2 the Holy Spirit is poured out.

 

The Father commanded creation through the Son, who is the Logos, the living Word. In turn, the Son brought the world into existence by the Spirit.

Community- Understanding the Trinity 1:58

 

2.

ACTIVITY:

Question: What is your response to the Quote by Augustine that 'If you deny the Trinity, you deny your soul'? (Mind, Emotions and Will)

Discuss: 'Life is ultimately about Relationships....because God is essentially a Relationship'.

 

Question: How does Genesis 1v1-3 differ from both Judaism and Islam regarding the Trinity?

Question: What does this imply about Judaism and Islam's view of God? For example 1 John 2v23 If you do not honour the Son, you do not have the Father.

Question: Why is the Trinity so important in the Christian faith?  Use Bullet points for a Handout and Give out

  • Relationship is the essence of life- God is a Relationship

  • Only in the Trinity can you have Unity and Diversity- no other religion or philosophy can integrate Unity and Diversity.

  • The Bible tells us that God is Love- but who was He loving before He created the universe if God is not a relationship?

  • The Trinity is the foundation for authentic human community-

  • The soul is made up of the Mind, the Emotions and the Will- 3 parts but we are one person. Or we are spirit, soul and body- 3 parts but one person.

 

3.

>Creation, Redemption and Trinity: God's Good World: 5:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqXYDs2rXVU

 

Reclaiming the Doctrine of Creation: ‘God’s Good World’ Jonathan R Wilson

 

'Without Creation there is NOTHING to be Redeemed and without Redemption, Creation has no meaning'.

ACTIVITY: Discuss this quote in relation to Traditional Institutional Church in the West 10 mins.

 

Sources:

 


 

 

MODULE 5: THIRD CRUCIAL WORD: CREATED

 

UNIT 1 Created- #33-34

1.

15:30-20:25

Human creativity is a mediated activity- but the Scripture presents God as creating the Universe when there is no medium, there are no pre-existent materials to work with-He created out of Nothing- ex nihilo. God alone can bring life out of death and something out of nothing.

Question:

How could you use the fact that God created the Universe 'out of Nothing' as a way to engage with others?  5-10 mins to think about what you would say and how to engage

2.

>Acts 17 Creation & Providence R C Sproul- 5:00-15:30

10 mins

 

ACTIVITY: Feedback: What do you think are the key points in this 10 min clip and why?

 

Key points: 

  • Creation and Providence are inseparable;

  • In God we live, and move and have our being- Life, Motion and Being-

  • Newton's Law of Inertia= an object remains stationary unless it is acted upon by an outside force. It will remain stationary until acted upon.

  • If In the Beginning there was Nothing and then a Big Bang- What was the outside force that acted upon physical matter- because Nothing cannot explode.

3.

>#35-38 in Diagram of T/Story:  God is both Transcendent and Immanent

 

'Transcendent AND Immanent Dr Jim Altizer  5:32

 

Question: What are the consequences for Mission if you emphasise one over the other? 

Total: 5-10 mins

 

4.

>Diagonal Downward Line of Three Worldviews

>1:35 Biblical Theism diagram-

>7:20-54 Deism Diagram-

>8:00-9:30 Secularism Diagram

 

 

 

5.

Activity: Answer these questions in light of the 3 Main Worldviews in the history of Western Culture.

  • Why is the Church the Sunday Church and not the Monday Church?

  • Why has the Church lost the Creation Mandate or the Cultural Commission which is our main purpose as human beings individually and corporately?

 

Sources:

 

6.

UNIT 2: The Lordship of Jesus Christ

You Tube Clip: The Road from Eden- Understanding Culture- Joe Boot

 

  • Read Colossians 1v15-23

  • Reflect & Discuss: What does this passage reveal about the Lord Jesus Christ and what does this imply about the Church's engagement with the culture?

  • Apply: In what ways does this change the way you think about Mission?

  • For this activity use: SOURCE: The Great Divide | LICC Read out Examples of individuals who brought change.

  • '98% of Christians have neither been envisioned or equipped for 95% of their waking lives'

 


MODULE 6:  3 NEGATIVES & STRUCTURE OF GENESIS 1v2

 

 #40-45 on Handout

1.

UNIT 1: Genesis 1v2  The 3 Negatives and ‘God said ‘Let there be Light’ and the Structure for the physical world that is created out of this.

#40-42 1v2 Formlessness, Emptiness (Void), Darkness (Chaos)

 

KEY POINT: We must also move and speak into wherever we see and perceive darkness, emptiness/void and chaos.

ACTIVITY:  10 mins to answer this Question:

Where do you perceive spiritual darkness, chaos and emptiness in the area where you live or in the nation?  How can you speak and move into that?

 

 

 

2.

 

  • Read Genesis 2v19-20. What was the first thing that God told Adam to do? When Adam spoke, what happened? (Subdue & have dominion) Now Read Genesis 3v6b When Adam was Silent-Chaos returned

  • Reflect & Discuss: Issues of Authority over creation; Speaking order into existence where there was none; The consequences of Silence and not moving or speaking into wherever we perceive formlessness, emptiness or darkness/chaos

 

  • Apply/Activity:

Answer these Questions for discussion

  • How can we speak up for those who have no voice?

  • What areas of Justice do you feel strong about?

  • How can you bring some kind of order to that area of Creation? 

  •  

  • Silence of Adam and the Church's response to Covid 19 Has the Church moved and spoken into the Chaos? 

  • Adam was a Silent Passive Spectator in Eden when the serpent was tempting Eve.

  •  

  • How does the Traditional Institutional Church reflect the Silence of Adam and what are the consequences for the Great Commission?

  •  

  • Source: (Optional) Romans 13  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MDxSwqhtVCE (Chuck Baldwin-series on Romans 13)

  • Source: Is this Virus God’s Judgment: Idolatry & Judgment Joe Boot Ezra Institute  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m8UnuKEVAbw  Select relevant clip.

 

 

3.

Feedback: Discuss the main points that were brought up in this clip in relation to how John Lennox applied the story of Lazarus to the Covid 19 scenario.

 

4.

UNIT 2:   8 Fold Rhythm & Structure of Genesis 1 & 2

 

Question: How has Secularism affected these creational structures in Genesis 1& 2 ?  (The Image of God; Marriage, Family and later structures of Church & Government)

Question: How does Secularism relate to these 3 Negatives in Genesis 1v2? Suggest ways to engage with this worldview.

#42-45 on Handout  


 

MODULE 7:  WHAT THEN DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN?

 

 #43-48 on Handout 

1.

UNIT 1: Creation Mandate: Glory Bestowed

Psalm 115v16 God gave the earth to Humanity

 

ACTIVITY: Please take notes during this clip

Issues to think about:

The Image Restored, the Gospel in a culture of Identity Crisis. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rUBQ4-N8XGo

19:17-25:36

Discuss this clip: Think of the Connections between

>>Death of God philosophy

>>Death of Truth and

>>Secular Humanism of 20th-21st centuries and

>>Dehumanising secular myths of a post-secular age'.

2.

UNIT 2:

  • Read Genesis 1v26-28 in context of 8x ‘Let there be’.

  • Reflect & Discuss: What does it mean to be human in relation to:

  • The Trinity-

  • The Creation Mandate and

  • the Structures God has built into Creation?

 

 

 

3.

> Listen to each of these different views of what it means to be created in the Image and Likeness of God, take notes so we can discuss after. Think about how this might affect the way you engage with people who do have same perspective as you.

The Imago Dei in Creation and Fall-14 mins

 

Source: Above You Tube clips


MODULE 8: STRUCTURE & DIRECTION

#51-57 on Handout

 

1.

These 2 ideas are very helpful also to evaluate other Worldviews/Ideologies:

UNIT 1: #51-52- Structure & Direction- The Creation Mandate- Many Structures but only 2 Directions (Romans 1v25)

Structures that God built into Creation: Male & Female in His own Image and Likeness- Family; Government and the entire realm of Human affairs developing Creation by 'Tilling & Guarding' meaning 'cultivate', nurture, develop, care for, protect.

Subdue & Dominion means our position as Image bearers of the Creator- This was the Glory that the God bestowed on us

You Tube Clip: The Road from Eden- Understanding Culture- Joe Boot

 

ACTIVITY:

 

  • Read Colossians 1v15-23

  • Reflect & Discuss: What does this passage reveal about the Lord Jesus Christ and what does this imply about the Church's engagement with the culture?

  • Apply: In what ways does this change the way you think about Mission?

#53-57 Direction of Culture & Worship

Discuss with Questions: The Culture’s view of Marriage, Family, Human Beings.

How would you connect the 3 Negative words in Genesis 1v2 with Western culture today>

 

2.

>This is a 16 mins clip on different views of the Image of God in Human beings in Redemption and Restoration. Think about how this relates to Structure and Direction in the culture we live in.

‘Imago Dei in Redemption and Restoration- Session 2’

 

ACTIVITY:

 

QUESTION How do some of these points that were made relate to the ideas of Structure & Direction because of the Creational Norms that God has built into creation/reality

>Apply to Globalism, Technocracy and Transhumanism

 


MODULE 9: CULTURE IS A REFLECTION OF THE CHURCH'S ENGAGEMENT WITH  CULTURE

Subtitle: The Creation Mandate represents creational law for society & culture

1.

UNIT 1 #48-57 ON DIAGRAM - Provide Activities for #48-57

The Creation Mandate is Four-Fold:

  • Be Fruitful

  • Multiply and fill the earth

  • Subdue

  • Have Dominion

 

Listen to these 2 Clips and Feedback:

Understanding the Cultural Mandate- Nancy Pearcey 2:19

 

What is the relationship between the Cultural/Creation Mandate & The Great Commission? 2:04 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGJZeSFyzs0

 

2.

ACTIVITY: Feedback: 5-10 mins. Comment on this statement: If you separate the Creation Mandate from the Great Commission- the result is that Mission becomes disconnected from all of life.

Be Fruitful & Multiply means to Develop the Social World- Explore, Build Families, Schools, Governments, Laws,  Nations, Invent.

 

Subdue & Have Dominion means to harness the Natural World- plant crops, build bridges, design computers, compose music, in short build and develop civilisation. Dominion does not mean to dominate.

To subdue & have Dominion means the same as Genesis 2v15- Till & Keep which means to: Nurture; care for; water; develop the Garden. In other words, Cultivate Creation- which is where we get the word 'Culture' from.

Key point:

God decreed Creation to unfold. Therefore the unfolding of culture and society are integral to creation and its development. This was built into creation from the very beginning

 

God’s creational ordinances extend to the Structures of society, to the world of the family, education, art, business, commerce, government.  In short, in every field of human affairs there is a right and wrong way of doing things.  There is nothing in human life that does not belong to the created order. EVERYTHING IS CREATIONAL

If Culture is a Reflection of the Church's engagement with the culture- then the condition of human culture today is a reflection of the faithfulness or not of the witness of the true Gospel (Creation to New Creation) to Impact culture or not. 

3.

Joe Boot: 1:32  ‘Institute minutes: The Structure and Direction of Creation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaQ6nJYUjJk

 

ACTIVITY:

 

  • What do you think are the Key points that he is making in this clip and why? Explain

  • How does this enable you to engage with people to understand their beliefs about Reality?

 

  •  These 2 Ideas of STRUCTURE & DIRECTION give us a tool to evaluate and assess where a culture is at in relation to God’s Creational Structural norms that He has established in Creation.

 

The STRUCTURE of something involves God’s Creational Laws and Creational norms that He has ordained for them> 

 

The DIRECTION is what human beings do with these Creational Structures and therefore determines the DIRECTION that an entire culture will move in- AWAY from God or TOWARD God.

UNIT 2: #58-61 

4.

How has Christianity influenced the modern world?

 

Question: What are the pros and cons of this historic cultural engagement of the Gospel with Western culture?

Discuss following Quote: 'The Christian faith contributed to the rise of the modern world, but the Christian faith has been undermined by the modern world it helped to create. The Christian faith thus becomes its own gravedigger' Os Guinnness 'The Last Christian On Earth' p20-

 

 

5.

UNIT 2: When a culture rejects Truth: Os Guinness https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bkyyTy_IJDU 6:50-12:00

 

Read John 8v32

Reflect & Discuss:

 

ACTIVITY:

In what ways have Western Culture rejected 'Truth' in terms of the Biblical Worldview?

How can you observe a 'Ruthless' power in our society because of a lack of Truth?

Is there a lack of Freedom in our society? How?

How does this relate to Justice?

Apply: How can we take a stand for the Truth, for Freedom and for Justice?

Source: Vishal Mangalwadi ‘The Book that made our world- How the Bible shaped Western civilisation’-

 

6. 

Source: Challenging the Darkness- Os Guinness https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C6Hw9dNF7l4

13:00-18:30- Take notes for discussion

 


 

MODULE 10: TWO MAIN THEMES: IDENTITY & IDOLATRY

 

1.

#62-66 Two themes throughout Scripture are: IDENTITY as Image Bearers of the Triune God and IDOLATRY. We are Called to Reflect God but humans Replaced God with various idols. This means that Human Idolatry subverts/replaces our true created Identity.

UNIT 1:

ACTIVITY: Take Notes for the following Clip- in relation to what the main purpose is of WHY God created Humanity and compare that with how other belief systems answer the Question of Human purpose.

>The Image of God in Man: From Dust to Glory R C Sproul START TO 12:23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVNdgQq9tPU

>Other Beliefs/Worldviews:

Secular Humanism- There is no spiritual realm and there is no Creator God

Cultural Marxism- Political Correctness; All of history is about the struggle of power against the ruling class to get equal rights for all oppressed groups

Post Modernism- There is no objective truth- Truth and Morality is Relative

Hinduism/New Age- the external world is an illusion, the Cosmos is God. Reincarnation

Paganism/Evolution- No Creator God; all is One; no binary opposites; Transgenderism; Transhumanism (Globalism)                                                                                       

2.

The Image Restored: The Gospel in a culture of Identity Crisis- John Stonestreet

 

ACTIVITY: Feedback to listen and discuss their answers re:  Different views of The Image of God in man. Then ask 'How can you use the idea of Purpose to engage people with the Gospel'? Key point: Points of Contact.

 

3.

ACTIVITY:

What view of the Image of God do you think is most accurate and why? Functional/Relational/our Position to rule for the life of the world.

Chuck Colson said 'The most significant thing that the Christian faith can offer humanity is that human beings are created in the Image and Likeness of God'.

ACTIVITY/QUESTION How can we relate Genesis 1v26-28 to our own lives and to the Times in which we live?

 

4.

UNIT 2: The image of God and idols

 

  • Read Genesis 1v26-28 and Psalm 8v5

  • Reflect & Discuss:

  • Question: What is the connection between 'Male & Female' as the Image of God and the Creation Mandate to first 'Be Fruitful'? (Think of creational structural norms that God as built into creation) 

  • Remember: There are many Structures that God has put into creation to allow for human flourishing but only two Directions.

  • Question:  Look at Romans 1v25 then v26-32: What happens to a culture that 'Exchanges the truth of God for the lie by changing the creational distinctions that God has put into creation? 

  • Apply- Look at Acts 17v16-17-

> 5 mins: Jot down some of the main idols in our society today?

Do we feel the same way as Paul did in v16?

How can we respond in the same way by discussing idolatry and the One true God with people?

 

On the basis of the talk we have just heard on 'The Image of God restored'. Another way of explaining what it really means to be Human in the midst of the battle we are in today- there are also 4 ways we can think of humanity:

  • Glory Bestowed in Genesis 1v26-28: Our position as God's representatives on earth to 'subdue and have dominion' despite the Fall.

  • Glory Ruined (Genesis 3)- The 4 Fold Alienation characterises our humanity

  • Glory Redeemed (Colossians 1v15-23)- The Creator of the Universe became a human being.

  • Glory Consummated/Fully Restored (Revelation 21-22)- Genesis 1 &2 and Revelation 21-22 are the only 4 chapters in the whole of God's Word where we can observe humanity with no sin/alienation from God and each other, no pain, no tears, no sorrow.

  • KEY POINT: The Beginning of our humanity in Eden points to the End in Revelation 21 &22 (which is the beginning of our Eternal Redeemed state)

 

                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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