As It Was in the Beginning: Genesis 1–11, Foundation of our Faith

So many of today’s discussions about the book of Genesis center on questions about the age of the earth, and where and when certain events took place. However well intentioned such questions may be, they have distracted us from the deeper meaning of this extraordinary text. The first eleven chapters in the Book of Genesis provide the foundation on which the remainder of the biblical accounts rest, right up through the Revelation to John. This class takes a deep dive into these compelling stories, which provide for us a spiritual narrative that is foundational to a correct understanding of the Christian faith. Drawing on the writings of the early saints, on other texts and stories to which the Genesis narratives elude, and placing the text in its historical context, we will appreciate more fully what it has to say about our own spiritual lives. What does Genesis 1–11 tell us about God, the created order, the human place within that order, sin, the person of Jesus Christ, and our own salvation?