I wrote in The Authority of Scripture, that it matters what Christians believe about Genesis.
Genesis Chapters 1 – 11: God’s Eyewitness Account is our sure Foundation.
It also matters that we have a clear understanding of the foundation that Genesis chapters 1-11 provides for the Gospel, and indeed for all aspects of our faith.
Genesis 1:26-28 explains that God created human beings in His image, male & female. In
Genesis 2:20-25, God also defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Genesis 3:1-24 illustrates how sin and death entered the world, and that we need a Savior to spare us from the consequences of our sins.
Genesis 6:9 – 8:22 narrates the events of the worldwide flood, which explains the existence of the worldwide fossil record.
Genesis 9:18-19 and 10:1-32 show that there is only one race – the human race. We all came from Noah’s sons and daughters-in-law. The modern science of Genetics, via the Human Genome Project, affirms the Bible’s teaching on that.
Genesis 11:1-9 records that all the different people groups were scattered across the earth away from the Tower of Babel, where climate factors such as heat and cold led to the variations in skin tone and other surface characteristics we now observe.
Communicating Between the Competing Foundations.
Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis demonstrated the importance of understanding one’s own Biblical foundation, and of recognizing the different foundation that dominates our culture. He described how to have a calm discussion over some often-heated issues.
Ken gave a speech at the University of Central Oklahoma in front of an audience that included many who were hostile to Ken and his message. Ken took the time gently to explain what he believes and why he believes it. He then acknowledged that people who have the foundation of man’s word instead of God’s word will understandably come to different conclusions about issues such as gender, marriage, and abortion.
He then stressed our common humanity, stating: we are all related. The audience actually applauded that observation!
See: The Relevance of Genesis in a Secular World with Ken Ham for all the details.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPOiy4xtUPM
Teaching the Generations to Think Foundationally
We live in a culture that constantly reinforces the “man’s word” foundation. Our schools, universities, government agencies, public libraries, TV, movies, and social media operate from those assumptions. The culture is openly hostile to God’s word.
We must remain vigilant to spot the atheistic assumptions that are presented as scientific fact, such as Darwinian evolution. We also need to be diligent to teach our kids and grandkids the skeptics’ common objections and the Biblical answers to them. People walk away from the faith when the skeptical objections go unanswered. If the objections go unanswered, they must be true, right?
We need to learn the common objections such as: “Science has proven there is no God;” and “a loving God wouldn’t allow so much evil and suffering.” We also need to learn the Biblically sound answers to those objections. Finally, we need to train our kids and grandkids in how to recognize and respond to the objections.
Conclusion
Our marching orders as Apologists come from 1 Peter 3:15-16, where we are instructed always to be ready with an answer for anyone who asks for the hope we have, and to do so with gentleness and respect.
I think Ken gives us a great example to follow.
Thank you!
Michael Oswald
Michael Oswald is a follower of Jesus who lives in Boise, Idaho. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this article are his own.
© 2019 Michael S. Oswald
“Reasons for the Faith, aka Apologetics” 
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