Week 3: What Happened in the Garden
Recommended Reading:
Chapters 7-9 (Pages 175-220)
Total page count excluding chapter bibliographies: ~40 pages
Key Quotes:
Chapter 7:"In a 'good world' we would expect good things to happen if the environment was left to itself…In a dualistic world, we would expect both good and bad things to happen simultaneously and with equal frequency." (176)
"If the world were perfect, the outcomes would be perfect; control would be unnecessary…In a sinful world, 'protection' from sin must be afforded. Attempts at protection constitute control." (182)
Chapter 8:
"Cause and effect is the foundation of the scientific method. If certain causes did not produce certain effects, then a rational study of the universe would be impossible." (189)
"We may be familiar with the formula E=mc^2. Based upon this, we could calculate all the energy to create the universe if we knew of all the mass in the universe… But God's is not constrained to such relationships, nor would such an investment have diminished the energy of the omnipotent God by any measurable amount. " (197)
Chapter 9:
"If the Fall did not occur, the entire legal profession would probably not exist." (207-208)
"Natural law would have provided an adequate regulation of human conduct. However, since our sense of right and wrong (natural law) has been obscured, we need a known and articulated law to govern our conduct." (209)
Engagement Questions:
Chapter 7:
Chapter 8:
Theory: A scientific model which is being tested against future data in order to validate a current claim. It is not something that is to be considered true, but needs to be vetted or confirmed. Example: Theory of Darwinian Evolution
Law: Behaviors and models that have no exceptions and no further evidence would cause the law to be reevaluated or refuted. Outcomes can be predicted. Example: Law of gravity or Laws of Thermodynamics.
Summary:
Chapter 7:
This chapter is the first of several worldview ramifications which are the result of the fall. This chapter specifically focuses on the effects to the world in the realm of human enterprise. A cursory glance at the world around us reveals quite clearly that we occupy a world that is not truly good. It is not in the state of perfection that it originally was and if the world, and its inhabitants, was truly good then we would expect all of society, culture, and morality to trend towards goodness. The reality that we experience is quite the opposite. One area where we see this specifically is in the realm of managerial control. Before the fall, the God had planned, organized, and delegated how things ought to be, and all of those characteristics are present in leadership roles. However, after the fall, a fourth category of leadership is necessary; accountability or control. This is true because the outcomes of our planning, organizing, and delegation do not always yield the perfect results and so accountability or control to measure monitor if goals are being met is needed. It will not be until we are in heaven when everything will be perfect again, but in the meantime we are to use the resources that God has given us and meet His expectations.
Chapter 8:
This chapter begins with a premise or claim. The claim that is made is that in order to conduct any scientific research the proof must hold a logical cause and effect relationship. In other words, the cause and effect relationship of any claim must be consistent, must be rational and observable, and must take into account all of the known data. This is important because without this no study of the universe could be accomplished at all. And if we could not rationally investigate the universe, then we would not be able to identify specific non-refutable laws, such as the law of thermodynamics. This chapter is a bit more technical when it discusses the relationship between those laws and the results that we experience from the fall, but they can be summarized in the following statements: 1) When God was creating the universe, as Creator he is able to operate in such a way as to create energy and violate the first law. 2) When God completed creating, the first law of thermodynamics was established. 3) In that pre-fall state, everything in the world was operating in a manner so that no energy was ever wasted. 4) Post-fall, energy is no longer used perfectly and the result is decay and waste. The fourth point is the world that we operate in now. Everything we see is in a constant state of decay and/or is converting energy into work + waste. That waste energy is what we know of as decay, rust, death. It will not be until after God sets everything right and there will be no longer any pain or death because the world will be operating perfectly as it once was in the garden.
Chapter 9:
In this chapter, Dr. George Crawford discusses the legal ramifications that occurred as a result of Genesis 3. Before discussing the developments of several categories of law he starts off by reminding us that we no longer are able to operate under natural law. Natural law being defined as a law which is engraved on our hearts, which help us to discern what is right and wrong; could also be known as your conscience. The reason that we need codified, written and systematized groupings, of laws is that our abilities to discern right and wrong has been totally corrupted, not utterly corrupted, from the fall. Due to the fact that we can no longer understand right from wrong, we need laws to restrict the spread of evil. As a result we now have laws to help us distinguish between right and wrong (this does not mean that all laws are just though. Laws are still being created by fallible men) and the nature of adjudication, how we judge, has been defined for us in Genesis 3.
Grace and Peace,
Alex Galvez
Chapter 7:"In a 'good world' we would expect good things to happen if the environment was left to itself…In a dualistic world, we would expect both good and bad things to happen simultaneously and with equal frequency." (176)
"If the world were perfect, the outcomes would be perfect; control would be unnecessary…In a sinful world, 'protection' from sin must be afforded. Attempts at protection constitute control." (182)
Chapter 8:
"Cause and effect is the foundation of the scientific method. If certain causes did not produce certain effects, then a rational study of the universe would be impossible." (189)
"We may be familiar with the formula E=mc^2. Based upon this, we could calculate all the energy to create the universe if we knew of all the mass in the universe… But God's is not constrained to such relationships, nor would such an investment have diminished the energy of the omnipotent God by any measurable amount. " (197)
Chapter 9:
"If the Fall did not occur, the entire legal profession would probably not exist." (207-208)
"Natural law would have provided an adequate regulation of human conduct. However, since our sense of right and wrong (natural law) has been obscured, we need a known and articulated law to govern our conduct." (209)
Engagement Questions:
Chapter 7:
- What are three macro results that came as a product of the Fall?
- Why is cause and effect foundationally to the scientific method?
- How do the laws of thermodynamics relate to the Fall? What were the ramifications?
- Why is it that natural law is no longer sufficient for all of humanity? Why do we need to codify laws?
- What are three categories of law that now exist as a result of the fall and why?
Chapter 8:
Theory: A scientific model which is being tested against future data in order to validate a current claim. It is not something that is to be considered true, but needs to be vetted or confirmed. Example: Theory of Darwinian Evolution
Law: Behaviors and models that have no exceptions and no further evidence would cause the law to be reevaluated or refuted. Outcomes can be predicted. Example: Law of gravity or Laws of Thermodynamics.
Summary:
Chapter 7:
This chapter is the first of several worldview ramifications which are the result of the fall. This chapter specifically focuses on the effects to the world in the realm of human enterprise. A cursory glance at the world around us reveals quite clearly that we occupy a world that is not truly good. It is not in the state of perfection that it originally was and if the world, and its inhabitants, was truly good then we would expect all of society, culture, and morality to trend towards goodness. The reality that we experience is quite the opposite. One area where we see this specifically is in the realm of managerial control. Before the fall, the God had planned, organized, and delegated how things ought to be, and all of those characteristics are present in leadership roles. However, after the fall, a fourth category of leadership is necessary; accountability or control. This is true because the outcomes of our planning, organizing, and delegation do not always yield the perfect results and so accountability or control to measure monitor if goals are being met is needed. It will not be until we are in heaven when everything will be perfect again, but in the meantime we are to use the resources that God has given us and meet His expectations.
Chapter 8:
This chapter begins with a premise or claim. The claim that is made is that in order to conduct any scientific research the proof must hold a logical cause and effect relationship. In other words, the cause and effect relationship of any claim must be consistent, must be rational and observable, and must take into account all of the known data. This is important because without this no study of the universe could be accomplished at all. And if we could not rationally investigate the universe, then we would not be able to identify specific non-refutable laws, such as the law of thermodynamics. This chapter is a bit more technical when it discusses the relationship between those laws and the results that we experience from the fall, but they can be summarized in the following statements: 1) When God was creating the universe, as Creator he is able to operate in such a way as to create energy and violate the first law. 2) When God completed creating, the first law of thermodynamics was established. 3) In that pre-fall state, everything in the world was operating in a manner so that no energy was ever wasted. 4) Post-fall, energy is no longer used perfectly and the result is decay and waste. The fourth point is the world that we operate in now. Everything we see is in a constant state of decay and/or is converting energy into work + waste. That waste energy is what we know of as decay, rust, death. It will not be until after God sets everything right and there will be no longer any pain or death because the world will be operating perfectly as it once was in the garden.
Chapter 9:
In this chapter, Dr. George Crawford discusses the legal ramifications that occurred as a result of Genesis 3. Before discussing the developments of several categories of law he starts off by reminding us that we no longer are able to operate under natural law. Natural law being defined as a law which is engraved on our hearts, which help us to discern what is right and wrong; could also be known as your conscience. The reason that we need codified, written and systematized groupings, of laws is that our abilities to discern right and wrong has been totally corrupted, not utterly corrupted, from the fall. Due to the fact that we can no longer understand right from wrong, we need laws to restrict the spread of evil. As a result we now have laws to help us distinguish between right and wrong (this does not mean that all laws are just though. Laws are still being created by fallible men) and the nature of adjudication, how we judge, has been defined for us in Genesis 3.
Grace and Peace,
Alex Galvez
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