# Creation and the work given to human beings
How do readers explain creation, order, and the human calling in Genesis 1?

Group/date: __________________
Name and assignment: __________________

Common reading: Genesis 1 (whole chapter). Choose your Bible translation.

## Before we meet
- Exact passage, verse numbers and translation:
- Source, author or speaker, URL, page or timestamp:
- What I actually read or listened to (full, excerpt, or notes only):
- The claim in my own words:
- Wording and context that support it:
- An assumption or another possible reading:
- What could change my mind?
- A question I want the group to consider:

## When we meet
Read together (10 minutes); hear each assignment (20); compare findings (20); check a disputed point in context (15); choose the next question (10).

## Our shared record
- Where we agree, with passages and sources:
- Where we still differ, and why:
- What remains untested:
- One practical response to consider:
- Next question, who will follow it, and when we will meet:

## Assignments

### Follow the chapter
Read Genesis 1 in full, then Genesis 2:1–3. Note repeated phrases, divisions, blessings and responsibilities. Bring the verses behind your observations. What would you ask a teacher to explain?

### Explore the human calling
Begin with the official episode notes and Genesis 1:26–28. The episode page lists sections and a transcript. If you listen or read further, record exactly how much and a timestamp or page for the claim you bring. Ask how the interpretation connects with the responsibilities named in the passage.
Tim Mackie: Humans as Middle Management
https://bibleproject.com/podcasts/image-god-part-1/
Library reading boundary: Official episode notes and reference list checked; full recording not reviewed.

### Examine function and order
Read Walton’s available article, beginning with its opening and discussion of function and order. Explain what he means by “function” in ordinary words. Which details in Genesis 1 does his argument depend on? Separate the article’s argument from anything you have heard about his books.
John H. Walton: Material or Function in Genesis 1? John Walton Responds
https://biologos.org/series/reflections-on-the-lost-world-of-genesis-1-by-john-walton/articles/material-or-function-in-genesis-1-john-walton-responds
Library reading boundary: Author’s article opening and discussion of function and order checked; this is a chapter-level connection.

### Consider the plants-and-sun question
Read Ross’s question-and-answer article. Identify his proposed viewpoint for describing the sequence. List the passage details he uses and the assumptions his explanation adds. What might a reader with another interpretation ask him?
Hugh Ross: Did God Make the Sun after He Made Plants?
https://reasons.org/christianity/bible/did-god-make-the-sun-after-he-made-plants
Library reading boundary: Complete public question-and-answer article read; linked explanatory article and Navigating Genesis book not reviewed.

This is a blank worksheet. Completed writing is not shared automatically or saved in the app. Keep your own copy and choose how your group exchanges it.