Questions
Copy these questions into an email, provide brief answers, and send to Fr Charles who will comment on them. After you have received you comments, then you can go onto the next lesson.
PDF of Slides
Understanding Creation
1, What does the Orthodox Church teach about the purpose of the Creation story in Genesis?
2. How should we interpret Genesis according to the Church Fathers? What role does humility play in this interpretation?
Doctrines on Creation
3. What is the significance of the doctrine that God created everything?
4. Why does the Church emphasize that creation is out of nothing? What does this reveal about God’s nature?
5. What is meant by saying that creation was sequential? How do the Church Fathers explain this process?
The Nature of Time and Creation
6. How does the concept of the six days of creation differ from modern scientific timeframes? How do Church Fathers address the relationship between time and God’s actions?
7. What does Saint Basil the Great say about the purpose of creation? How can this help us understand the world we live in?
Humanity: Crown of Creation
8. Why is humanity referred to as the “crown” of creation? How do the Church Fathers describe the special care God took in creating man?
9. What is the meaning of the creation of woman from Adam’s rib? How does this shape the understanding of the relationship between men and women?
Image and Likeness of God
10. What does it mean to be created in the image and likeness of God? How does this concept relate to the Orthodox goal of theosis?
11. How does free will reflect God’s image in humanity? What are the implications of having free will?
The Nature of the Soul
12. How do the Church Fathers describe the nature of the soul? How does it differ from the body?
13. What is the Orthodox teaching about the relationship between the soul and body after death?
14. Why must the soul govern the strivings of the body according to the will of God?
Implications for Spiritual Life
15. How can studying creation help deepen our spiritual life and understanding of God?
16, How does the doctrine that “everything God created is very good” impact our view of the world and our lives?
17. What role does science play in Orthodox Christianity’s understanding of creation? Is it seen as being in conflict with the Bible?