We’re on a boxset binge through the Bible, and in this episode, Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the very beginning, Genesis chapters 1 to 24.

What is described at the start of the Bible has been the subject of much discussion over centuries. People take different views on interpreting it, but most agree that it is an awesome statement of the wonder of life and the way order can emerge from raw materials. 

Bern and Owen look at the view of Bible scholar John H. Walton, author of The Lost World of Genesis One, that ancient people would have likened the Bible’s first story to the construction of a temple, a place where heaven meets earth. Remarkably, the image of God that is central to a temple is described as being in each of us.

What does this mean for our view of human potential? How does it lay the foundation for the rest of the Bible’s story about people’s instincts and actions which conflict with our God-given value and purpose? And does the Bible describe the ultimate remedy for this as religious order for a few people, or is religion only pointing the way towards something better for everyone?

The next part of our boxset will be Genesis chapters 25 to 44. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.