God's Work of Creation: One Truth Viewed from Three Perspectives

By Ryan C. MacPherson, Ph.D.

A Pastors' Workshop for the Manitowoc and Fox River Valley Conferences of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Sturgeon Bay, WI, 25-26 Jan. 2010.

“Going into the presentations knowing only your name and credentials, we all expected you to be thoroughly knowledgeable about the science you would present. What was a pleasant surprise to us was your thorough knowledge of Scripture and the [Lutheran] Confessions and your ability to communicate it so clearly. … My read of the consensus after the conference was that all were quite impressed with your confident grasp of Scripture and the Confessions. No one could find fault with any of your statements (try as they might!), even the ones that were on-the-spot answers to questions from the floor. You spoke confidently and clearly, saying everything you could but not going further than Scripture allows, in a way that many of us struggle to do on that subject matter. In other words, it was a thoroughly Lutheran presentation—and very beneficial to me and the others present. I thank God for the gifts he has given you and am glad to see you using them so well to his glory and in the work of his kingdom. God bless your work.”
— Pastor Samuel Degner, Bethel Lutheran Church, Menasha, WI

Click here for a free PDF download of the workshop handouts.

Contents:

• About the Presenter
• Perspective I: Creation as Taught Clearly in the Schoolhouse of the Holy Spirit
  • Outline
  • A One-Sentence Summary of Human Origins, #1
  • Where Does Creation Fit in Lutheran Theology?
  • Genesis 1:1–2:25
  • Job 38:1–41
  • All Praise to God for This New Day
  • Where Does Science Fit in Luther’s Small Catechism?
  • A Lutheran View of Science
• Perspective II: Creation as Revealed Dimly by the Natural Sciences
  • Outline
  • A One-Sentence Summary of Human Origins, #2
  • How Science Normally Works
  • Epistemic Virtues of Science
  • Outline of the Galileo Controversy
  • Three Interpretations of Genesis 1
  • Historical Overview of the Intelligent Design Movement
• Perspective III: Creation as Obscured Thickly by Scientific Naturalism
  • Outline
  • A One-Sentence Summary of Human Origins, #3
  • Modern Ideas concerning Organic Evolution
  • Stock Arguments against Darwinian Evolution
  • Creation-Evolution: Synthesis or Antithesis?
  • Conclusion
• Appendix
  • Using Science When Teaching about God’s Wonderful Creation
  • Apologetics in One Sentence
  • Recommended Resources