Hillsdale College: Why and How we teach the Book of Genesis
Introduction
Pillars of the college = learning character faith and freedom are the 4 pillars of education
Sound Learning and Character:
-building of a moral character
-cardinal virtues are written into history
-teaching of the Christian faith through precept and example
-Intellect: operation of the mind and moral action to be brave
-Human integrity of body and soul are virtues of excellence
-Philosophy: is the love of wisdom
-Wisdom: is the achievement of the intellect-what you can know-think things through
-not built on principles of faith-ex. Political philosophy
-Classical philosophy: born in pagan times before Christ-recognize things like common
nouns ex. Glass (many kinds but we recognize them all is glass)
-classic human reason-raise kids just a like when little-but 2 when they begin talking
-dogs raised the same way but kids learn to talk but dogs don’t
-kids pick up something that other creatures don’t but the thing that makes us different
we are still imperfect-indwells in a perishable body-
-2nd way we learn think and process
-we don’t know everything at once-we learn as we go and piece things together
-Aristotle says there is nothing in the soul that we can get to without the senses-
Faith and Freedom:
-right of the human being to be free
-exercise his mind to understand the things around him
-all the other freedoms follow
-we are limited
-there is a being that knows everything in an instant
-implications of God in hierarchy of things including us and in the imperfection even
in the highest things we see
-Humanities: raises the question on how are you going to know about God?
-Imagine a perfect being-omnipotent- omniscient sees and knows everything-origin
of things is the creator-
-Greek philosophy-they don’t imagine a creator because they stick with what they see
-planets are there and the patterns of their movement doesn’t change-acorns produce
oak trees so the implications are that it has gone on forever-ask the question of did this all start somewhere? And if so where?
-if there was a creator he has to be outside nature-his is not just a dense lump at the beginnings of things
-to be the source and eternal thing in order to be perfect-picture of God-supported by tradition of learning through Christianity
-God is in the word and that is how humans differ from other creatures
-God speaks to us through His word
-we can’t explain everything at once
-God is the thing we don’t have any sensory evidence-creator of everything-
-Theology: Study of God
-always part of the cannon of the liberal arts
-understanding the faithful part of it
-Natural Sciences: the revealed part of it-different kind of knowing different than the kind
of knowing that we observe-think-record-calculate
-both are valuable-but are different
-call yourself a holy people-holy thoughtful person-think about God
-form integrity- 4 pillars-grateful to God Civil and religious freedom
-best arguments-arbitrate-attempt to understand how and to be excellent human beings
-creatures of God given with a knowing mind
-Genesis, Shakespeare, Aristotle, and Plato humanities
-Genesis is profound serious and mysterious
1st line in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
-who is speaking? Need to be God only? But later is often quoted by then God said so
unclear of who is speaking?
-account of origins of things-both natural science and humanities
-natural question of man when he begins to learn
1st-11th chapters are like each other-mysterious and general
-creation
-garden
-expulsion from the garden
-Noah and the flood
-growth of humanity
-Tower of Babel-and deprivation of language
Last 29 chapters are like each other
-Ch. 12 starts with a particular study
-particular named people in particular places and are given particular responsibilities by God
-Ch. 12 God says to Abraham
-calling of Abraham to move to a place he had never been to make you a great people
-and this will be a blessing to all the people on the face of the earth( look at the language)
-story meant for the benefit for all of us
-the rest of genesis is about the choosing of the Jewish people
-Abraham is tested with sacrifice of son-the son that was promised by God to Abraham-there is meaning to the story
-confusing as God is not a pagan god who demands child sacrifice
-Jacob born- renamed Israel- he has 12 sons- heads of the twelve tribes
-Joseph is the favorite-sold into slavery-part of a great drama
-ends Jacob dies-Joseph speculates going back home some day
-Moses-move into Exodus-Genesis sets the stage for this next great drama
Lecture 1-Adam and Eve
Narrative: Literary qualities in the text
relationships we shall see that dominate the narrative
-God and creation
-God and humans
-Human to human
***Leviticus-humans and creation
-intersection between god and human and human to human relationships
-the way in which face of God show up in human to human in relationships
-creation of Adam and Eve-by his likeness has he made him
-man is the mediator between heaven and earth
-in between divine qualities and earthly qualities-the tension between these two
Genesis 2:5
-God made Adam
-human from the soil
-word play in Hebrew= Adam human being= adoma means from the soil = God blows into his nostrils= it is the divine coming down
-God gives the human (Adom= God breathed into life from soil) a project
-Adam is to till the garden and watch over it
-to till means to serve the land
-to watch/guard/protect (Samar) as keeper of what God has created
-fashioned all the animals and brings it to human to name them
-the original is protected from us after the transgression of adam and eve
***This is the picture of the divine in the midst of human relationship
God gave Adam the 1st commandment:
-you can eat from all the trees and vegetation in the garden but do not eat from tree of good and evil doomed to die
***as the reader at first glance if Adam eats from it he would drop physically dead, but no more plays out in this narrative
Notice the language shift:
-the most startling statement in 1st three chapters in Genesis
-God speaks up this point that “it was good” then “it is not good”
-vs. 18 = And the Lord God said, “It is not good for the human to be alone
-make him a sustainer to bring back “It was good” in nature as God created
-key insight to humans-1st time it is not good is spoken
-sets our place in the cosmos
-we are mediators between the earthly and the divine
-we are not autonomous beings held accountable to no one
-being in isolation is wholly unacceptable
Difference:
-created the animals like the human from the soil, but one difference God doesn’t breathe into the creatures only to man
-notice man is using his words to name the animals
-look at the divine human nature in this exchange
-God would abide by whatever man calls the animals
-man is taking part in this divine project
-participating in creation by naming the animals
-no sustainer for man among the animals
Woman:
-Gen 2:21-23 God took a rib from adam to make woman
-Adam names her Eve (flesh of my flesh)
Beautiful moment
-human personhood is a corporate human personhood-incomplete-we can’t name who we are unless we have that interconnection with other human being
-Adam’s poem exemplifies this isha (wife)-ish(man rib taken) to make isha woman as wife
-only when he names woman does he name himself as a different identity but not a separate identity as they are bound to one another (they become one)
-notion of personhood-is found in this relationship
-stakes out what the human to human relationship
Chapter 3
-we see is the fall
-there is a disruption/rupture of the human to human relationship
-the rupture is she was supposed to be a sustainer to him and also the rupture between the human and divine relationship
opening moment of the transgression:
Theological narrative:
-cunning serpent talks to woman
-tells her they are not doomed to die
-tells her you will be like God knowing good and evil and they both ate
-then they knew they were naked and hid themselves
-God gave them a commandment, but their prideful nature wanted to be like God
-He allows them to be tempted
-giving into the temptation they break the commandment from god
-they break their relationship with the divine
-consequence of this is God escorts them from the Garden of Eden which is a just response
-they had a commandment-they disobeyed-broke the commandment and relationship with the divine
What is the tree of good and evil?
-so must assert it is made as is because God made it
-The tree was made for good
-as we are told that all of creation was made good
-tree in and of itself is not evil
-but they have been told not to eat of it
Why would God not allow them to eat it?
-God made them in the image and likeness
-he breathed himself into them
-they are these mediators-the earthly and the heavenly
-but are told you shall not have the knowledge of good and evil = to not be like gods
-God abided by the names man made for them but then commands them not to eat from one single tree in the garden-very confusing
-shouldn’t being part of the project is to become like gods?
Clues are in the text:
-why not the sense of good be heightened if they ate of the tree since god is the source of good?
-the warning is knowledge of good and evil.
-the tree has a double source of knowledge
-why would God create all that is good including the tree of good
-then have good and evil
-then tell them no in perpetuity
-knowledge of evil brings them shame
-evil is the consciousness of transgression and the consciousness of shame but the shame comes from the very moment they eat of that tree and exposed to all that goodness
-the more good they are exposed to the more shame they will feel
-each piece of that knowledge feeds off each other
Humans add details:
-the serpent says not to eat from the tree and Eve interprets the serpent and she adds to God's command that we are not to touch it.
-Where did she get this extra part of the command?
-did she eye the tree daily so does she lust after the tree?
-she added to give her an excuse to eat the fruit
-is this command given to her to protect her?
-she repeated what Adam has said
Serpent:
-he tells a lie and truth simultaneously-conflation
-if you eat you will be like God so you will not die but be immortal like God
-you will become like gods knowing the truth
Adam and Eve both eat:
-they hear God walking in the garden
-Where are you?
Existential question for Adam:
-he was called to fellowship with God and now he is hiding from God
-being fearful of God ruptures of relationship with him and divine
God asks questions:
-How did you know you were naked?
-Did you eat from the tree?
God is omniscient asking basic questions of the humans:
-God is calling Adam and Eve into repentance as he is asking Adam to admit what he has done
-They had one commandment
-keep it to stay in the relationship with the divine
It is a blessing to look upon the commandments why?
***Because they are divine given
-commands come down and we meet them upwardly in our human earthly way so we are the proper mediator
-follow commandment-if break-repent-then follow commandment
-desires transgressors to return to God-repent-who told you
-Adam has chance to repent but instead puts the blame unto the woman whom you gave me
-intersection between human and divine relationship combined with the human and human relationship
-what we see is a rupture of both relationships simultaneously
The blame game:
Man:
-the one person he calls his sustainer, flesh of my flesh, but then he cuts her off as the problem
-the woman you gave to me
-in two ways he is passing on this responsibility to the woman and God
-rather than repentance
-he doesn’t take responsibility for his wife
-he doesn’t try to sustain her
Woman:
-God talks to woman
-she passes blame on to the serpent
-she doesn’t even mention she brought the fruit to Adam to eat
-why so unrepentant
-go back and prophesy and commandment
-do not eat from the tree or you shall be doomed to die
How did they interpret doomed to die to mean?
-How did you read that 1st commandment?
-consequence immediate death?
-cuts and eventually decay and die
-fear of death causes them not to repent?
Consequences
-God makes them skin coats
-curses man to till the land
-birth pangs as a reminder to woman
-humans know good and evil
-tree of life is to live
-humans are not immortal
-how to understand the original sin of pride overwhelming desire to be like gods
-get a sense of rivalry between Adam and eve
-he doesn’t want them to be like gods
-notion of repentance
-what is the state of the relationship between Adam and Eve with the divine
-they stand in front of him naked and afraid
-conscious of their transgressions
-they have become like gods knowing good and evil but not able to connect with the tree of life as they are not immortal
-state of shame
-justice and mercy
-justice told you so
-fruit of transgression
-brought to the garden
-transformed this garden God has given them into a a place of mediation to turn it to hell
-hell is a state of shame living in transgression with no way out
Why put the tree in the garden in the first place if it caused all this drama?
-exercise free will
-God doesn’t fear rivalry
-image and likeness
-1st step divine
-event to give them access
-to abstain from it and listen to God
-use free will to obey God then eventually the tree would have been allowed for them to eat with a better understanding of the relationship with the divine
-God is not fearful of his creation
-enormous power rival with whom he made from mud
-participate in the divine life
-original transgression
-cutting them off from Eden was an act of mercy
-stopped them from creating a hell out of paradise
-leads them back to the divine through another path
cont....
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