Hope for a Shattered World - sample lesson

hope for a shattered world

Visions of reality from Genesis 1 –11

n o s s e L e sampl Teacher’s manual Written by Simon Smart to be used with

Hope for a shattered world Student handbook and

Hope for a shattered world CD-ROM

Published 2006 by CEP Copyright © Christian Education Publications 2006 This resource is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the only part of this book that may be copied without the written permission of the publisher are the photocopiable masters that are clearly indicated. These pages may only be reproduced for use in the Christian Education classes of the purchaser’s school or of the schools in which he or she has the responsibility for the provision of Christian education.

National library of Australia ISBN 1 921137 69 X Christian Education Publications PO BOX A287, Sydney South, NSW 1235 Australia Phone: (02) 8268 3344 Fax: (02) 9283 3987 or (02) 8268 3357 Email: sales@youthworks.net Internet: www.youthworks.net PO BOX 74, Palmerston North Central, Palmerston North, 4440 New Zealand Phone: (06) 358 8180 Fax: (06) 357 0281 Email: cep@gph.co.nz Internet: www.youthworks.net Written by Simon Smart To be used with Hope for a shattered world Student handbook and CD-ROM Editorial: Rhonda Watson, Sue Aiken Cover: Andrew Hope CD-ROM production: Steve Williams, Crosstalk Technical Services 0419 607 429 Typesetting: Andrew Hope

Bible quotes are taken from: HOLY BIBLE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) © International Bible Society 1984 THE MESSAGE © Eugene H. Peterson, Navpress 1993 CEP has, where appropriate, pursued permission to reproduce copyright text and images used in Hope for a shattered world Teacher’s manual. However, if you believe you hold copyright to some of this material and CEP has not requested your permission to use it, please contact us so that the situation can be remedied.

Contents Using Hope for a shattered world Teacher’s manual

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Introduction: The way I see it

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Section 1

The foundation stone Who is God? Who cares?

Genesis 1:1

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Section 2

Good, bad or indifferent?

What kind of world did God create?

Genesis 1:2–2:25

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Section 3

More precious than gold Humanity – echoes of the divine Genesis 1:26–28

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Section 4

Not good to be alone Marriage, sexuality and relationships Genesis 2:18–25

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Section 5

A shattered world Genesis 3:1–24

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Section 6

Feeling the pain Genesis 4

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Section 7

Good news?

A God who judges – Noah and the flood Genesis 6:5–9:17

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Section 8

Darkness before the dawn The Tower of Babel Genesis 11:1–9

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Using Hope for a shattered world teacher’s manual Welcome to Hope for a shattered world teacher’s manual.

This publication is written for teachers of senior students – roughly years 11–12. It is designed to accompany Hope for a shattered world student handbook which focuses on the first 11 chapters of the Bible.

Genesis 1–11 presents the Bible’s bedrock picture of reality. Who is God? What is he like? Who am I in relation to him? What is the nature of our world and where do I fit into it? What does it mean to be made in the image of God? What’s wrong with the world and where does hope lie? The answers to these questions have profound implications for how we view our universe, ourselves, and other people.

In exploring the worldview of the Bible found in Genesis 1–11, Hope for a shattered world allows students to make comparisons to their understanding of reality and to evaluate the Genesis claims and relevance for life today.

This unit forms part of the range of high school resources developed for Christian studies in independent schools and Special Religious Education in State Schools. The material could easily be used in other contexts such as Youth groups or Camping curriculum.

All Christian Education Publications are grounded in the belief that God is the source of all truth and his Word, the Bible, is where God reveals himself and his saving purposes. God has acted in Christ to achieve his saving purposes for humanity.

CEP high school resources aim to help students grow in their understanding of the Christian faith, to respond to the claims of Christ and to grapple with how to apply their faith to life.

CEP high school resources cover the following six aspects of the Christian Studies program assisting students to: Engage with the Bible Students will be helped to read, understand and learn to apply the Bible to their lives and will be introduced to the concepts of Biblical theology.

Know the gospel Students will learn about the life and teaching of Jesus, come to appreciate the significance of his death and resurrection and consider their own response to him.

Examine different worldviews In a safe and supportive environment students will be encouraged to question, discuss and evaluate critically other worldviews and practices.

Learn about their Christian heritage Students will have the opportunity to learn about key events and people who have impacted history as they have put their faith into action.

Examine ethical issues Students will be encouraged to see the relationship between faith and behaviour as they examine a range of personal and public ethical issues.

Have opportunity for personal spiritual growth Students will be encourage to grow in their personal knowledge of God and in their worship, trust and obedience in the context of Christian community and through opportunities to serve others.

Unit aim Hope for a shattered world aims to present the worldview of the Bible expressed in Genesis 1–11; to allow students to compare it to their own understanding of reality and to evaluate its claims and relevance for life today.

Outcomes By the end of the unit the students will: Know about: • The central messages of the foundational biblical text of Genesis 1–11 • The meaning of these chapters as originally intended by the author • The large orientating messages the Genesis material has for life today.

Be able to: • Articulate and critically evaluate the worldview presented by Genesis • Understand how distinct this worldview was at the time it was written • Recognise the profound implications for life in the 21st century of the reality presented by Genesis • Establish connections between the foundational Genesis text with the rest of the biblical story • Appreciate the complexity and artistry of the writing of Genesis for conveying fundamental truths.

Have had the opportunity to: • Critically examine the claims of the writer of Genesis and to compare these claims with conflicting systems of thought • Demonstrate an understanding of the text as a complex literary work and hence to gain a deeper understanding of its meaning • Analyse the information of Genesis as a philosophical and ideological means of interpreting the world • Demonstrate oral and written communication skills in illustrating the relevance of biblical texts to their lives • Demonstrate the ability to state their own position clearly and evaluate the intellectual integrity of that position • Consider the implications of Genesis 1–11 as the foundation on which an authentic life may be built.

Structure The structure of the unit is as follows: Introduction Section 1.

The foundation stone, Who is God/ Who cares?

Genesis 1:1 Section 2.

Good, bad or indifferent? What kind of world did God create?

Genesis 1:2–2:25 Section 3.

More precious than Gold. Humanity – echoes of the divine Genesis 1:26–28 Section 4.

Not good to be alone – Marriage, sexuality and relationships Genesis 2:18–25 Section 5.

A shattered world Genesis 3:1–24 Section 6. Feeling the pain Genesis 4 Section 7.

Good news? A God who judges – Noah and the flood Genesis 6:5–9:17 Section 8.

Darkness before the dawn. The Tower of Babel Genesis 11:1–9

Introduction Soren Kierkegaard said that people need to define life backwards, and then live it forwards. What I understand he meant by this, is we need to have a vision for where we are going; where life is taking us if we are to have clarity about how to act. We need to understand something of the end point, in order to make good decisions about how to live today. Kierkegaard found such direction from the Bible and his Christian understanding of the universe and where God is taking us.

I would argue that we also need understanding of where we have come from in order to know who we are.

We need to know about origins, history and foundations if we are to get our identity right and have hope in negotiating our place in a complex world today.

Genesis 1–11 is vital in this regard. These first chapters of the Bible function as a hugely compressed picture of reality. They tell us about the universe, our world and our place in it. They address the issue of the nature of humanity, what it means to be male and female, the connection between the physical and the spiritual realms and our relationship to the creator of all things. These early chapters, perhaps more than any other piece of writing address the questions of how it is that we live in a world that is so full of wonder, and awesome beauty, yet at the same time is a place of fearsome ugliness, cruelty, injustice and pain. Where is hope? What is justice? What are my responsibilities? These are all critical questions for every human to ask. Each is addressed in Genesis 1–11.

As a foundational text for the remainder of the biblical story Genesis 1–11 is a key to understanding a Christian worldview. At the time it was written this material was a polemic against the pagan cultures that surrounded the Israelites, and it stood in stark contrast to them. Its distinctiveness is surely no less today.

A survey of these first 11 chapters of the Bible can provide students with the opportunity to define their own understanding of reality, while making comparisons with the Genesis material. It can give them clarity about just what is foundational in their lives, and challenge them to consider the basis for their beliefs. Could it be that my understanding of foundations are poorly conceived? To return to Kierkegaard’s analogy, could I be mistaken about both the end point and the beginning and therefore be heading in directions that are misguided or even treacherous? These questions are all on the table in Hope for a shattered world.

While the narrative beyond Chapter 2 takes the reader on particularly grim paths, there is light and hope at each stage of the journey. The conclusion of the study focuses on the call of Abram – ‘the dawning of the light’, when God’s plans to sort the whole mess out begin to take shape. The trajectory is towards Jesus and the cross. We will endeavour to forecast the link between creation and new creation pivoting on the one person who could successfully implement the rescue plan.

There are big and complex questions to be addressed in this study and not all students will sit comfortably with the findings. Accordingly one would expect vigorous debate and discussion. An atmosphere that allows this will be crucial.

In a culture that effectively tells each individual that they are the centre of their world, the very first verse of the Bible says ‘no!’ God is. The implications for such a stance are profound. May this and all the other life-enhancing messages of the material challenge, encourage and ultimately enrich the lives of your students, drawing them back to the one true God to whom we all owe our very existence.

CD-ROM The CD-ROM that comes with the teacher’s manual contains: • supporting PowerPoint presentations for each section that follow the flow of the student handbook pages highlighting headings and quotes. There are two versions of the presentations for each section, one with the Bible text and one without the Bible text.

• pdf version of the Teacher’s manual for you to download and print as required • pdf versions of the Black line masters for each section • pdf version of the short story ‘The Turning’ by Tim Winton, presented with permission.

The Hope for a shattered world Teacher’s Manual This teaching resource allows for flexibility in the activities chosen, to fit a wide range of contexts and time frames. It is not expected that all (or even most) activities will be attempted. Use the ones that best suit your situation and the abilities and interests of your students.

Aims and Objectives These are included at the beginning of each section. They are intended to give you a sense of the focus of the section, as well as provide opportunity for evaluation of the lessons you give on each topic.

Background notes Background notes are provided for the teacher. There are of course any number of ways the material from Genesis could be approached. The notes are there to explain where the section is taking you, and what are the key ideas.

They will help you approach the student pages and any introductory or follow up material in a manner that suits you and your students. It is important to take time to read the notes in preparation for each section.

Controversy Corner This section offers some possible questions and/or objections to the material in each section, and suggestions about how to answer them. These would be worth reading prior to teaching each theme as a way to prepare a fitting responses to some typical student questions.

They are by no means exhaustive. No doubt you will get some unexpected questions. Some that are included may not be of interest to your students. It is good to start to think in categories that your students may be thinking in, being able to anticipate and give responses that are thoughtful and of help to the whole group.

The approach is one of respectful debate, allowing for a range of opinions and responses. Encourage students to disagree, and to voice their objections in appropriate fashion. We really want them to be engaging with the material and that might mean strenuous debate in some cases. Where there is genuine enquiry you may be confident in the power of the message to speak to the students.

Taking it further Extension activities building on the key idea of each section are included in the manual. It is important to read ahead and plan for these, selecting the activities that are most suitable to your time-frame and students. Some of the movie and song ideas would suit an introductory activity.

There are a variety of options including discussion and debate as a whole class or small group. Newspaper stories, poems, magazine articles, songs and real life stories are included. Creative responses to the material are suggested. Extra Bible references and activities help to place the themes in the broader biblical picture.

Movie suggestions include recommended DVD scenes to show and follow-up activities to complete.

Many of the activities come with Black Line Masters (BLMs) for you to copy and use.

Introduction: The way I see it

Genesis 1–11

Background notes How I see the world Genesis 1–11 provides profound answers to big questions. It will be an important part of this study to challenge the students to analyse the worldview presented by the writer of Genesis; to get to the heart of the matter in isolating the big messages to come out of these passages.

The worldview exercise in this chapter will provide an important basis on which to delve into the study.

Students should be encouraged to think carefully about these questions. Either as they proceed or at the end, they should make comparisons and draw contrasts between their own answers at the beginning of the study and what Genesis tells them.

Creation Science, myth, history, art or mixed genre?

How should we read the Bible’s account of creation?

In Christian circles this is a vexed question and one that tends to draw out strong advocates for one view or another. Emotions can run high when debating the problem.

In an attempt to make a complex issue manageable in a study of this scope, we have looked at three ways of understanding the material related to creation – the Literal, Concordist, and Literary. In outlining these three I am following Henri Blocher’s explanation in his work In the beginning. As explained in the student book, either one of these positions may be accepted by people who take the Bible to be the authoritative word of God.

There is a deliberate attempt to show that it is simply not the case that to accept a literal six-day creation is the only way of understanding the Bible’s version of our origins. This is a misconception in the community and perhaps especially among students. What we hope to do here is to help students to understand that there is more than one way of reading this text among those who believe it to be both true and containing critical orienting data on which to build our lives.

Regardless of our own position on this matter, we need to be able to present the students with some of the different ways Christians have interpreted the material over the centuries. We can do that fairly and without prejudice and in doing so take away what may be a major stumbling block to accepting the Christian gospel.

The focus in this study is very much on what all Biblebelieving Christians can agree on. It is the big-picture we are after. The explanation provided in the introduction might be an important means of beginning the discussion in such a way as to leave open a path for all students to engage with the material.

1 section

The foundation stone.

Who is God? Who cares?

Genesis 1:1

Aim To critically examine the first verse of the Bible to discover its meaning and implications for living today.

Outcomes By the end of the chapter the students will: • know the significance of Genesis 1:1 in its original context • understand the profound meaning this verse has for all of life • be challenged to consider the verse as a basis for living life today.

Background notes ‘In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth.’ It is easy to skip over this verse and miss its significance. At the time it was written it would not have been as easily overlooked as it is today. The concept of one God alone being responsible for the whole cosmos was a stinging attack on the pagan world that surrounded the Israelites. Only God – the one true God of Moses and his people – made everything. To the surrounding cultures with their multitude of gods, such an idea was preposterous.

It is to the one God that we owe our existence and our loyalty, says Genesis 1:1. It is on his providential care that the whole universe rests. This is as true of an individual life as it is of galaxies. This is the same God who Isaiah says ‘stretches out the heavens like a canopy’, and ‘brings princes to nought’. He is the same God who David says ‘knit me together in my mother’s womb’ (Psalm 139).

So what of the importance of the opening verse today? This is an age where people tend not to be so much atheists as construct their own version of God. Fashioning God in my own image is the common position of this generation. Essentially we want God to fit in with us.

Genesis 1:1 is a challenge that says God is the centre of all things, and not us. In laying down this challenge the verse effectively provides a counter to secular humanism and its determination to put human interests and wishes above everything else.

The implications of this verse cannot be overstated. If God is responsible for creating all things then every single entity that we can think of owes its existence to him.

The statement tells us that we are not an accident but the result of purposeful, intricate planning of the creator God. It says to us that we rely not on blind chance for our survival but the care of an allpowerful maker. He is the centre and foundation for the whole universe!

Delving into the opening verse of Genesis is an important step into the remainder of the study.

Students are encouraged to consider and evaluate the practical implications of the verse. This will be the first of many challenges up for consideration in this study.

The foundation stone

Controversy corner Possible questions\objections So what if the Bible says God created the heavens and the earth? Why should we believe the Bible anyway? What gives it more authority than the beliefs of any other religion?

In the current climate this is not a question to dismiss lightly. The cynicism of students regarding claims to objective truth can make discussion of the message of the Bible tricky. We need to encourage students to at least come to understand and be clear about what it is that the Bible claims.

Importantly they need to know that Christians claim not to have worked things out for themselves but to have received God’s revelation through his word in the Bible, and through his Spirit. The Bible as God’s primary means of communicating to us is the message that needs to get across to the students.

Of course students will then need to decide for themselves whether this is a reality or not.

Surely science has now made the Bible irrelevant – now we know how the universe works there is no need for religion.

There will be some students who will express such thoughts, even if they haven’t fully thought through the implications of what they are saying. There is an attempt in the student book to touch on the issue, looking at the importance of Christian theology to the development of modern science and to highlight the fact that many of the prominent early scientists were strong believers in the Christian faith.

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While there are many (perhaps most) scientists today who are sceptical of religious beliefs, some of the great scientific thinkers are finding that the further science takes us in terms of understanding the complexity of life and the universe the more evidence we have for a creator.

The foundation stone

Taking it further Understanding reality The first verse of the Bible was controversial at the time it was written. It still stands in stark contrast to many modern systems of thought. Use BLM 1 on page 12 as a stimulus for the following discussion exercise.

The exercise would work well in pairs. Cut out quotes from the page and distribute one or two to each pair (or individual if you choose to do it that way). Ask the students to write a short response either agreeing or disagreeing with the thinking expressed in the quote.

They should report to the class by: • reading the quote and summarising its key sentiments • explaining their response (in either agreeing or disagreeing with the material.

Some of the quotes are supportive of a biblical view and others strongly opposed.

The aim is to get students thinking about the gravity of verse 1 of Genesis and considering its impact on the way we all understand reality.

Construct and Visualise Ask the students to construct a diagram representing the relationship between God, humanity and creation. Conduct a discussion on the implications of this for our understanding of living today.

Living out our theories The following is designed as a group exercise. It aims to help the students think through some of the practical out-workings of different ways of understanding the world.

The exercise revolves around discussion of three scenarios. Each scenario is to be considered from the perspective of four different characters with vastly contrasting ways of understanding reality.

Use BLM 2 on pages 13–14 and make enough copies for the exercise. Each student should have the description of each of the characters in the exercise. You might like to cut out the scenarios so that you can hand them to each group in turn – dealing with one at a time.

1. Ask the students to read through the profile of each person, noting the things that look to be the most significant and distinctive aspects of their character.

2. Each group should then address scenario No 1 from the point of view of each of the characters.

Groups should focus on how the worldview of the person concerned would impact the way in which they would process each scenario. They do not have to be too precise. This is intended to be an imaginary creation where groups can ponder the lens through which each of the people described might deal with the situation they are facing.

Once they have discussed Scenario 1 they should move on to number 2 and so on.

3. Groups should report back to the larger group about some of the suggestions they came up with in their discussion time.

Footnote references for the quotes presented on BLM 1 are as follows: 1 http://en.thinkexist.com/quotation/secular_humanists_suspect_ there_is_something_more/191143.html viewed 4/8/06 2 C.S Lewis http://www.christianquotes.org/results.php 3 http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/God/ 4 http://en.thinkexist.com/quotation/i_use_the_word-humanistto_mean_someone_who/184733.html viewed 27/2/06 5 http://www.humanismbyjoe.com/humanism_quotes.htm viewed 27/6/06 6 quoted in http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/atheistquotes.html viewed 27/6/06 7 Eugene Peterson, Christ plays in ten thousand places, Hodder and Stoughton (London, 2005) p 52.

8 http://www.sapphyr.net/buddhist/index.htm

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SECTION 1 – BLM 1

Understanding

Reality

‘Secular humanists suspect there is something more gloriously human about resisting the religious impulse; about accepting the cold truth, even if that truth is only that the universe is as

Tom Flyn

‘I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen:

Matthias

‘Sometimes it seems like God is difficult to find and impossibly far away. We get so caught up in our small daily duties and irritations that they become the only things that we can focus on. What we forget is that God's love and beauty are all around us, every day, if only we would take the time to look up

‘I use the word "Humanist" to mean someone who believes that man is just as much a natural phenomenon as an animal or a plant; that his body, mind or soul were not supernaturally created but are products of

Paul Kurtz

Julian Sorrell Huxley

‘The beginning of wisdom is the awareness that there is insufficient evidence that a god or gods have created us and the recognition that we are responsible in part for our own destiny. Human beings can achieve this good life, but it is by the cultivation of the virtues of intelligence and courage, not faith and obedience, that we will

‘Nearly all peoples have developed their own creation myth, and the Genesis story is just the one that happened to have been adopted by one particular tribe of Middle Eastern herders. It has no more special status than the belief of a particular West African tribe that the world was

Eugene Peterson

Richard Dawkins

‘The sheer wonder of life, of creation, of this place where we find ourselves alive at this moment requires a response, a thank you … wonder, astonishment, adoration. There can’t be many of us for whom the sheer fact of existence has not rocked us back on our heels … we catch our breathe … we say thanks with our lives to life … and not just ‘thanks’, or ‘thank it’, but ‘thank you!’

‘The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology.

Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description ... If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism.’8

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C.S. Lewis

Albert Einstein

SECTION 1 – BLM 2 p1

Living out our Theories JANE Jane has a strong belief in the progress of humanity. She considers religion a relic of the past that humanity has outgrown. Her belief is that mankind is on a path towards constant improvement. Education, science and technology hold the answers to fulfilment.

There is no great spiritual power. The world evolved by chance and, while life is amazing it is explainable by science. The things we are yet to understand, we one day will know. The existence of God is either wishful thinking on the

JOEL Joel believes in some form of god but is suspicious of religion. He thinks that a god power did create the universe. He can’t believe that it all occurred by complete chance. But he thinks that having set it going, god left the universe to play out in the manner that was natural. He therefore doesn’t believe in a personal god who intervenes in the affairs of our lives on earth.

When he sees suffering in the world it confirms in his mind that God either

CARLA Carla is a Christian. She firmly believes that the one creator God made and sustains the entire universe. For Carla, every living thing owes its existence to God who has a plan for the universe. She believes that not only does God have in control the vastness of the cosmos, but is

Melissa would describe herself as a ‘spiritual’ person. She has an interest in the interaction of mind, body and soul and is drawn to Eastern religions and philosophy. She thinks all religions lead towards the same goal and that life is a cycle of birth and re-birth. The life you lead now will determine the life you

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SECTION 1 – BLM 2 p2

Living out our Theories

Scenario 1 Your 16 year-old sister has been out with some friends to the movies. On the short walk between the bus stop and your home she is attacked by a stranger with a metal implement. She is severely beaten, suffers massive head injuries and is left in a coma in intensive care. Her chances of survival are rated as very slim.

How do you process these events?

Scenario 2 You work at the highest level for a pharmaceutical company that is researching a new drug for the treatment of obesity. The drug stands to make the company billions of dollars if it is accepted by the licensing authorities. The problem is that you know that the process of production of the drug is likely to do serious damage to the environment. This by-product would be easily hidden.

How do you handle the situation?

Scenario 3 A close friend is going through a period of inner turmoil, self-doubt and anxiety. She comes to talk to you explaining that she feels that life has no purpose or meaning.

How do you address her concerns?

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