A Year in Biblical Anthropology!

All right, not quite a year. But it was in 2019 that Rod and I began planning a new study for Sunday School called “Biblical Anthropology”.

It was put on hold in 2020, and then revived in 2021, but Rod wasn’t in Mexico for the majority of the year, so I ended up teaching it – one lesson per month, starting in February. And ending – this Sunday!

It has been a fascinating opportunity at a fascinating time in history to look at some of the things that are going on in our world, and to see what the Bible has to say about them. I read lots of books I otherwise would not have read, studied history I would not have studied, listened to other people’s sermons I would not otherwise have listened to, and read articles I would not have otherwise read. And all that in two languages from multiple countries!

This Sunday will actually be a review/overview/opportunity for discussion, questions and comments from all of the topics we covered this year. Here’s a brief look at what we studied, while I have it all fresh in my mind:

1. “The Beginning” – why the first few words and phrases of Genesis are completely revolutionary, and how the Bible explains humanity, and in fact reality itself.
2. “Christ or Chaos” – The horror of sin, the “Great Universal Project of Humanity”, and what happens when God’s truth is rejected.
3. “The Image” – What does it mean to be created in the image of God? How have we tried to destroy the image, and how did “Christmas” restore it?
4. “The Family” – What does the Bible say about family, gender, and sexuality?
5. “The Borders of Life” – What the Bible says about euthanasia, suicide, abortion, and various types of murder and homicide. Suffering and death from a biblical perspective.
6. “The Authorities” – This wasn’t originally meant to be a part of the series, but it was part of our study through Romans. But it’s such an important part of being human, in the future I would definitely include it. It will be in the review on Sunday.
7. “Technology” – Science and technology, evaluating technology in our lives, transhumanism, posthumanism, antihumanism, etc.
8. “Justice” – Biblical teaching on truth and justice, and justice as seen by many in the world today.
9. “Partiality” – Race and racism from a biblical standpoint, more on justice and the rule of law in the Bible. How Christians should promote justice.
10. “Creativity and Communication” – A focus on art, and touching on communication, social media, etc. Can it be evaluated? How can it be used? How does the world twist even this good gift of God?
11. “The Environment” – Principles of caring for creation from the Bible, and the clash of the Christian worldview and the worldview of secular humanism in this area.
12. “Everything Together” – a review of it all!

I’m considering posting some of this study here at Finding direction, because it would be a good review for me and maybe be helpful for some of you as well. But in the meantime, I’ve started posting it in Spanish at En la Biblia (lessons 1, 2, and 6 (in two parts) can be found there, and in fact, I did post the study “The Authorities” here as “The Christian and the Government” in English.

If you would like to pray for our review on Sunday, that would be great. This series has certainly gotten to some of the most important things in life, and some of the biggest issues in our world today, though of course in a very brief introductory format. But I look forward to hearing more from our congregation about what they’ve learned – or what they’re completely confused about! 🙂