Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Rawbone, and I'm going to be your RE teacher today.

I'd like to welcome you to this lesson on religious teachings about the origins of life, which is part of the unit on Religion and Life.

In today's lesson, you will be able to explain Christian teachings about the origin of human life and the concept of human beings being created in the image of God.

Some key words that we'll be using today are creation, Genesis, image of God, and soul.

Creation means the act of bringing everything in the world into existence.

Genesis is the first book of the Bible, which includes the creation story describing how God made the world and human life.

Image of God is a phrase that means the belief that humans reflect God's nature.

And soul is the spiritual aspect of a being, that which connects someone to God.

Today's lesson will have two parts.

We'll be looking at the Genesis creation story and then we'll be looking at interpreting the creation story.

So let's begin with the Genesis creation story.

Andeep and Laura are asking some philosophical questions about the origins of life.

Andeep says, "Was life created or designed?" Laura asks, "Is life's value dependent on its origins?" What might help us to answer these questions? Take a moment to think.

If you can, turn and talk to someone nearby, or you can pause and talk to me.

Come back when you're ready to move on.

We can see here a picture of the Bible.

The Bible is an important source of authority for Christians, and it can help them answer questions such as, was life created or designed, and is life's value dependent on its origins? Genesis is the first book of the Bible, and it contains two accounts of the creation of life.

Many theologians think Genesis, the first book of the Bible, contains two accounts of creation, which were written by different people.

The accounts have different styles, and they focus on different details.

These differences suggest they might have come from different traditions and were later combined into one text.

The first account of creation can be found in Genesis 1:1-2:3.

It is illustrated in this woodcut carving.

The account reads as follows.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was formless and empty with darkness covering the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

God then said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.

He saw that the light was good, and He separated it from the darkness, calling the light day and the darkness night.

And there was evening and there was morning the first day.

God then said, 'Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.

' And so He made the vault, separating the waters above from the waters below, and called the vault sky.

There was evening and there was morning the second day.

'Next,' God said, let the water under the sky be gathered into one place and let dry ground appear.

' This He did, calling the dry ground land and the gathered waters seas.

God saw that it was good.

Then He said, 'Let the land produce vegetation, seed-bearing plants and trees that bear fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.

' And it was so.

The land produced vegetation, plants bearing seed according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds.

God saw that it was good.

There was evening, and there was morning the third day.

God then said, 'Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times and days and years, and let them give light on the earth.

' And it was so.

God made two great lights, the greater light, to govern the day, and the lesser light, to govern the night.

He also made the stars and set them in the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night and to separate light from the darkness.

God saw that it was good.

There was evening and there was morning the fourth day.

God then said, 'Let the water team with living creatures and let birds fly across the sky.

' So He created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teams according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.

God saw that it was good and bless them, saying, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas and let the birds increase on the earth.

' There was evening and there was mourning the fifth day.

Then God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds, livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.

' And it was so.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock, according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground, according to their kinds.

God saw that it was good.

Finally, God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.

' So God created mankind in His own image.

In the image of God, He created them.

Male and female, He created them.

God bless them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number.

Fill the earth and subdue it.

Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over every living creature that moves on the ground.

' Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth, and every tree that has fruit with seed in it, they will be yours for food.

And to all the beasts of the earth, all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground, everything that has the breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food.

' And it was so.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.

There was evening and there was morning the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing.

So on the seventh day, He rested from all his work.

Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it, He rested from all the work of creating that He had done." What do you notice about the order of creation? What do you notice about how human life was created? Take some time to think back over that creation account.

Pause the video, talk to someone nearby if you can, or you can talk to me.

And then come back when you're ready to move on.

Genesis 1:1-2:3 is a structured account of the creation of the universe and life in six days.

It was believed to have been written by priests as it uses the more formal word, Elohim, for God.

Birds and sea creatures were created on day 5, and land animals and human, male and female, on day 6.

God is a powerful, transcendent Creator, who speaks creation into existence in this account.

And the focus of it is on His power and the goodness of the creation that He has made.

Genesis 2:4-25 contains the second creation account.

And it's illustrated here in the 16th-century tapestry.

The account reads as follows.

"This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth, and no plant had sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth, and there was no one to work the ground.

But streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there He put the man He had formed.

The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground, trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.

In the middle of the garden where the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden.

From there, it was separated into four headwaters.

The name of the first is Pishon.

It winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

The gold of the land is good.

Aromatic resin and onyx are also there.

The name of the second river is the Gihon.

It winds through the entire land of Cush.

The name of the third river is the Tigress.

It runs along the east side of Ashur.

And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die.

' The Lord God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone.

I will make a helper suitable for him.

' Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky.

He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam, no suitable helper was found.

So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep.

And while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh.

Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man.

The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.

She shall be called woman for she was taken out of man.

' And that is why a man leaves his father and mother, and he is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." What do you notice about the order of creation in this account? What do you notice about human life and how it was created? Pause the video, and if you're able to, turn and talk to someone nearby, or you can talk to me.

When you're ready, come back and rejoin the lesson.

Genesis 2:4-25 is a personal and narrative-driven account of creation.

It's described as the Yahwist account because it uses the word Yahweh for God.

It has a more narrative storytelling style.

God forms Adam from dust and breathes life into him.

Then animals and plants were created.

And finally, Eve is formed from Adam's rib.

In this story, God is a hands-on personal deity, and He shapes creation directly.

The focus of the story is on the relationship between God and humans in the Garden of Eden.

Let's check your understanding.

Give one teaching in Genesis about how God created human life.

So think back over those two accounts and try and remember one detail in particular about the creation of human life.

Pause the video and come back when you're ready to check your answer.

You could have said God created humans last on the sixth day, which was in the first account.

God created humans in his image.

Again, in the first account.

God created Adam from the dust.

That was in the second account.

God breathed life into Adam.

Again, in the second account.

You could have said that God created animals and plants after humans.

Also in the second account.

Or, again, from the second account, that God created Eve from Adam's rib.

Well done if you managed to get one of those examples.

Andeep and Sam are discussing the Genesis creation accounts.

Andeep says, "Do Christians see Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 as two different creation stories?" And Sam says, "Some Christians accept they were written by two different authors who had different focuses.

Genesis 1 is more about the big picture, while Genesis 2 focuses in on humanity and relationships." So why might some Christians feel able to accept that the Bible includes two quite different creation accounts? Have a think about what Sam and Andeep have said.

Pause the video, turn and talk to someone nearby if you can, and then come back when you're ready to move on.

Andeep says, "So the creation accounts aren't contradictions, just two perspectives on the same thing?" And Sam says, "Well, exactly.

Whilst some don't believe they were written by different authors, they might at least accept they have different focuses." Andeep responds, "So does it also depend on how literally Christians read the Bible?" Sam replies, "Yes, but most Christians believe both stories are inspired by God and reveal truths about creation." We're gonna check your understanding again.

Is this statement true or false? Most Christians think Genesis 1 and 2 compliment each other.

Which means that they work together.

Take a moment, have a think about what the answer is and also the reason why you've come to that answer.

Pause the video to give yourself time to do that and come back when you're ready to rejoin.

So well done if you put true.

Let's have a think about why this is true.

Well, many Christians would see the differences as complimentary, so they work together, rather than contradictory, going against each other.

And this is because Genesis 1 is describing a very ordered account of creation of the universe, and Genesis 2 is much more focused on humanity and God and their relationship.

For task A, Sam is explaining how the Genesis creation stories present human life as a direct creation by God.

She says, "In Genesis 1, humans are made on the seventh day from dust and are seen as equal to the rest of creation.

Genesis 2 gives less detail, saying Adam is made in God's image, and God created him after all other living things.

These stories suggest that humans were created by accident and have no special role." Sam has made some mistakes.

So for your task, I'd like you to rewrite her answer with the mistakes corrected.

So pause the video, think back through what you've learned about the two accounts.

Look carefully at what Sam's written and rewrite it so that it is accurate.

When you're ready, come back and you can check through your work.

Let's have a look at what you could have said.

In Genesis 1, humans are made on the sixth day in God's image and are seen as the most important part of creation.

Genesis 2 gives more detail, saying Adam is made from dust of the ground, and God breeds life into him.

These stories suggest that humans were created on purpose and that they have a special role.

So well done if you realise that Sam had mixed up some key parts of the two stories and also that she'd missed the point about humans being important, created on purpose and having a special role.

For the second part of our lesson, we're going to be looking at interpreting the creation story.

The Genesis 1 creation story describes how humans were created.

"Then God said, let us make man in our image, tselem, in our likeness, demut, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky, over the livestock, and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So we can see here the Hebrew word for image.

It can also be translated as representation.

It suggests, therefore, that humanity shares certain qualities with God because they represent Him.

And we can see here the word demut, meaning likeness.

It can also be translated as similarity.

So it suggests that humanity is a reflection of God's nature, that humans have similarities with God.

The Genesis 1 description of the creation of humans helps Christians understand the value of human life.

Humans are made in the image and likeness of God.

So they share qualities with God such as the ability to think, reason, and make moral choices.

They have a special connection with God.

They can grow spiritually.

They have intrinsic, which means built-in, value, which means every person should be treated with dignity.

So just from that one phrase, image of God, Christians can understand lots of things about the role of human beings.

So let's check your understanding.

Give one implication of the teaching that humans are made in the image of God.

So this means explain one thing that that means for Christians.

Pause the video.

Give yourself time to write down one thing.

Come back when you're ready to check your work.

You could have said humans have value and should be treated with respect.

Humans can think, choose and reflect God's qualities.

Humans can grow spiritually and connect with God.

Well done if you manage to get one of those points down for your answer.

The Genesis 2 creation story describes how humans were created.

"Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed, naphach, into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being, nephesh." So the Hebrew word for breathed describes God breathing into Adam's nostrils to give him life.

So this really suggests that life comes directly from God, human life in particular.

And humans, therefore, have a very unique relationship with Him.

In this account, Adam was formed from the ground, and so were the animals.

But the difference with Adam is that God breathes the breath of life into him.

The word being, the Hebrew word describes the life essence of a person, and it has a link with the word breathing.

You might be able to tell that the words look quite related.

This is what for many Christians could suggest that humans have a soul, an essence or spirit, something that lives on eternally inside of them, which connects with God.

We're going to check your understanding now.

Which of the following could be implied by Genesis 2:7, where God breathes life into Adam? A, it suggests that humans were created through a random process without God's involvement.

B, it emphasises that God's creation of humans was a distant, impersonal act.

C, it shows that life is a gift from God, and that humans were created with a soul.

Or D, it shows that humans are purely physical beings with no spiritual essence.

So pause the video, come back when you're ready to check your answer.

So well done if you put C.

The implication is that life is a gift from God because God breathes it directly into humans, into Adam, and that humans are created therefore with a soul.

They have this life essence.

Rachel, a Plymouth Brethren Christian, and Fergus, an Anglican Christian, are discussing what Genesis 1 and 2 teach them about human life.

Rachel says, "I believe Genesis 1 and 2 are literally true.

Being made in God's image shows humans have a unique purpose and dignity, unlike anything else in creation." Fergus says, "I don't take the accounts literally, but I agree.

The idea of being made in God's image shows that human life has intrinsic value and that we reflect God's qualities." Rachel continues, "When God breathes life into Adam in Genesis 2, this shows that humans have a soul, which comes from God, and it gives us a special connection with Him." Fergus says, "I agree, the breath of life could symbolise the soul, which represents our spiritual side and our ability to have a relationship with God." If humans are made in God's image, what responsibilities might Christians think this gives them? If the breath of life means humans have a soul, how might this affect Christians' views on when life begins or ends? So take some time to think about how this understanding of human life would affect maybe Christian views on what humans should be doing, their purpose, but also on the value of their life.

If you're able to turn and talk to someone nearby, please do, or you can talk to me.

Pause the video and come back when you're ready.

We're gonna check your understanding now.

Give one thing Genesis 1 and 2 creation accounts might teach Christians about human life, whether they read them literally or metaphorically.

So whether they read them like Rachel as true word for word or like Fergus as a story, that is a metaphor, explaining some deeper meanings.

Pause the video and come back when you're ready to check your work.

You could have said, "Humans have a purpose.

Humans were created in the image of God.

Humans have a special connection with God.

Human life has intrinsic value.

Humans share qualities with God.

And humans were created with a soul." Well done if you've got any of those details.

For task B, here is a full evaluation question.

Human life is valuable because God created it.

In a full question, you are asked to evaluate this statement.

And in your answer, you should give reasoned arguments in support of this statement.

You should give reasoned arguments to support a different point of view.

You should refer to religious arguments.

You may refer to non-religious arguments, and you should reach a justified conclusion.

For your task, I would like you to attempt part of this full question.

So you're going to write a paragraph of reasoned arguments in support of this statement, and you're going to refer to religious arguments.

So you're going to use what you've learned today about the Genesis accounts of the creation of human life, and you are going to use them to support the idea that human life has value.

So take your time, pause the video, give it some really good thought and effort, and then come back when you're ready to check your work.

Let's have a look at what you could have written.

Human life is valuable because God created it with purpose and care.

In Genesis 1, humans are made in the image of God, which suggests they have a special status above the rest of creation.

This means they reflect God's nature and have a unique role in the world.

Genesis 2 adds to this by describing how God personally breathes life into Adam, showing that human life comes directly from God.

This act suggests that humans have a soul, making them different from animals and giving them a spiritual connection to God.

These accounts show that human life was not accidental but deliberately created, giving it great value and purpose.

So well done if you manage to include any of those key elements, the idea of the image of God, which gives people that status and connection with God, they reflect His nature, and the idea of breathing life into people, giving humans even more of a connection with God, and also, essentially, that life essence or soul.

In today's lesson on religious teachings about the origins of life, we have looked at the Genesis creation story, offers two creation accounts, a structured six-day creation of the universe, and a narrative focused on God and humans.

The first account says humans were created on day 6, in God's image.

The second account describes God forming Adam from dust and then creating Eve.

Being made in the image of God means humans have a unique purpose, dignity, share qualities with God, and have a special connection with God.

God breathing life into Adam suggests humans have a soul that connects them to God.

Thank you very much for working with me today on this lesson.