SYLLABUSCOURSE DESCRIPTIONTen hours will be spent studying the first 11 chapters of the Book of Genesis. Topics that will be covered include creation, the fall, the worldwide flood, and the origin of nations. Particular emphasis will be placed on the many theological and historical realities that find their source in the opening pages of God’s Word.

COURSE RATIONALEThis course is included in the curriculum of the Word of Life Bible Institute because Genesis 1-11 lays the foundation of a biblical worldview both historically as well as theologically and sets the stage for the founding of the nation of Israel. Of particular significance are the accounts of creation and subsequent catastrophe resulting from man’s rebellion against his Creator.

COURSE OBJECTIVESIN THE FINAL EXAM, STUDENTS WILL BE EXPECTED TO: « Know the outline of the first 11 chapters of Genesis. « Demonstrate a working knowledge of the details related to the events of creation, the fall of man into sin, the global flood, the origin of the nations of the world, and key persons in early human history. « Provide evidence of a “recent” supernatural creation in seven literal days. « Provide evidence of a worldwide flood and its critical impact in human history and experience. « Identify key theological and practical concepts which find their source in Genesis 1-11. « Confirm they have completed all reading assignments.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING (100 POINTS TOTAL) « Read Genesis 1-11 twice before the first period of the final day of Genesis classes. Reading the text for the purposes of another course cannot be counted for this course. (20 POINTS) « Read all but Section I of Confound the Critics by Bodie Hodge before the final exam. (30 POINTS) « Take the final exam. (50 POINTS)

RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY « Cooper, Bill After the Flood. Chichester, England: New Wine Press, 1995 « Cuozzo, Jack Buried Alive. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 1999 « Davis, John J. Paradise to Prison. Salem, WI: Sheffield Publishing, 1998 « Gaebelein, Frank, ed. Genesis: Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992 « Ham, Ken & Hodge, Bodie A Flood of Evidence. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 2016 « Kidner, Derek Genesis: Tyndale Old Testament Commentary. Westmont, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008 « Leupold, H.C. Exposition of Genesis. Chillicothe, OH: DeWard Publishing, 2010 « MacArthur, John F. The Battle for the Beginning. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005 « Morris, Henry M. The Genesis Record. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2010 « Mortenson, Terry, ed. Searching for Adam. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 2016 « Safarti, Jonathan Refuting Compromise. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 2004 « Safarti, Jonathan Refuting Evolution. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 2009 « Taylor, Paul F. The Six Days of Genesis. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 2007 « Ussher, James The Annals of the World. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 2003 « Waltke, Bruce K. Genesis: A Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001 « Whitcomb, John C. The Early Earth. Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 2010 « Whitcomb, John C. The Genesis Flood. Philipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1989 « Whitcomb, John C. The World That Perished. Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 2009

PROFESSOR’S COMMENTSI AM COMMITTED TO THE FOLLOWING IN ALL MY CLASSES: « I believe I am the one who is privileged to speak to students and not they who are privileged to listen to me. So I will gratefully seek to make this course worth their time. « I will be respectful of differing viewpoints. Just because I express disagreement with a particular perspective does not mean that I intend disrespect for those who hold other views. « I will let students know when I am expressing a personal opinion. I will also be careful not to elevate opinions to the level of a cardinal doctrine of the faith! « I will welcome questions and will do my best to answer them. Sometimes I will defer a question because I know that it will be answered later on in the course material. « I will not pretend to know all the answers. I have not even thought of all the questions, let alone discovered all of the answers! When I’m stumped by a question, I will give a very simple response: “I don’t know the answer but I will do my best to find it!”

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND: « Course notes are quite extensive, primarily because I’ve included the entire text of Genesis 1-11 in the NASB version so that everyone is reading the same thing in class. « The PowerPoints use a yellow/white coloring system. Nearly everything that is in white on the screen is already in the class notes. This is material which will NOT appear on the final exam. Items in yellow on the Video usually need to be filled in by students and MAY appear on the final exam. There will always be something in the notes to indicate where to fill in the yellow items: either a title line to complete, a number or letter heading to write next to, or an asterisk. Occasionally, yellow items have already been included in the notes in order to save time. These appear in bold typeface and should be reviewed for the final exam. NOTE: Bible references do not need to be memorized! They will NOT be requested on the final exam. « The PowerPoint for this course is available on the campus intranet without the videos and without some of the pictures. This is in order to respect copyright protections.

FINALLY, TWO IMPORTANT SUGGESTIONS: « Do not expect that we will be able to pursue every tantalizing, theological rabbit trail or issue raised by the text. That is not possible within the time we have together. Other courses will explore many of them, especially Theology (THEO101/102) and Creationism (BIBL171). Instead, the goal is to carefully lay out the worldview that Genesis is clearly teaching and demonstrate its amazing coherence, consistency, and connection with the world we see and experience today. « Always allow the biblical text to speak for itself instead of trying to impose some particular view on it. If one “messes with the meaning” of any text, then we render its study meaningless! Also, beware of asking questions of the text which it’s not trying to answer. God’s revelation was given progressively over 1,400 years of time. Genesis is just the beginning of this revelation. Though it lays down the foundation upon which the rest of Scripture builds, it does not answer every question or fully explain every topic it introduces.