Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
GSEM 539-999 ISSUES IN ORIGINS
Distance Education- Semester
(2 semester credits)
COURSE SYLLABUS
Presentation of the Course
Instructor: John T. Baldwin, Ph.D.
E-mail: baldwin@andrews.edu
Phone: Office: (269) 471-3196
Course Dates: The semester for which the student has registered.
Place: The student=s home is the course site
Course Description and Objectives
The seminary course entitled Issues in Origins is a study of current creation and evolutionary models regarding the origin, age, and change of the earth and its life. Specific topics include the historical development of these models, their biblical, philosophical, and scientific foundations, and theological implications.
From a professional skills point of view, the goal of this course is to provide the student with resources and methods enabling him or her to lecture, preach, and write responsibly and humbly regarding the relationship between science and religion. Furthermore, it will enable the student to dialogue with people in the same fashion, particularly with those individuals who may hold alternate points of view.
Course Materials
Course materials consist of: Audio CDs, textbooks, and the course website.
Evaluation of Student Learning
Student learning is evaluated in two ways: (1) Written assignments, which will consist of a few questions over the key concepts covered in each lesson, (2) mid-term and final exams. At the end of each Unit, you will be expected to e-mail your answers to the questions in the chapters for that Unit as a Word or Word Perfect attachment to Dr. John T. Baldwin.
Your Exams and Proctor
Very Important: Your Mid-term exam should be taken after Unit III. Please prepare for this ahead by asking a pastor, teacher, or other administrator if they would be willing to proctor (administer and return) the mid-term exam. You may then notify Dr. Baldwin’s secretary of your proctor’s name, title, phone and fax numbers. Please give her the date of your exam and she will fax the proper exam along with instructions to your proctor. You may call the secretary about a week after your exam to receive your exam grade. The same procedure needs to be followed for your final exam—which is taken only from material covered beyond Unit III.
Communication, feedback, and interaction are important components of this course. You are encouraged to set a time at least once every two weeks to communicate with your professor(s) by phone or e-mail.
Course Requirements
A. Four Required Textbooks:
John T. Baldwin, ed., Creation, Catastrophe, and Calvary: Why a Global Flood Is Vital to the Doctrine of Atonement (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2000). Check with Adventist Book Center (877) 227-4800-free call or (269) 471-7331.
Michael Behe, Darwin=s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution (New York: Free Press, 1996).
Ariel A. Roth, Origins: Linking Science and Scripture (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1998).
Randall Younker, God’s Creation: Exploring the Genesis Story (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 1999). (This book is available on the course website.)
B. Written Evaluations of the Four Required Textbooks:
Spend about 8 hours reading in each of the textbooks (32 hours total). Then write a two-page evaluation for each of them (4 hours total) identifying the most important discoveries which you made in each book and assessing the value of each book.
C. Suggested Minimum Study Hours for All Assignments for the Course:
Because you are taking this course from home and not in a classroom setting, it is suggested that you devote the following minimum total number of study hours for this course (2 semester credits).
M.Div. students:
85 hours total including time spent
listening to lectures on CD, reading
textbooks, preparing book reports and lesson answers, and preparing for and taking exams.
M.A., M.Th., D.Min. students:
110 hours total (follow as described above, then
contact the professor re the extra 25 hours of work
needed )
D. Testing:
1. Mid-term exam: Covers units I-III (Arrange to take exam after Unit III)
2. Final exam: Covers units IV-VI (Arrange exam for last week of Course)
These exams will be given by your proctor (arrange ahead as noted below) who will monitor the 2-hour exams and return them by fax to the professor.
E. Grading Policy and Examinations:
1. Point Distribution
Mid-term exam 60 points (approx.)
Final exam 55 points (approx.)
Review Questions 40 points (exact.)
Book Reports 40 points (exact.)
Total 195 points (approx.)
2. Letter Grade Percentages Table:
95%=lowest A 70%=lowest C+
91%=lowest A- 65%=lowest C
85%=lowest B+ 60%=lowest C-
80%=lowest B 55%=lowest D+
75%=lowest B- 50%=lowest D
F. Deadlines for Course Completion
The completion time for the course is the length of the semester you register for. Please contact the Distance Education Center or your professor if you have questions. Material turned in after the end of the semester will be docked 20%.
Schedule for Completing Course Requirements
Please complete two lessons per week on the average and begin your textbook reading as soon as possible. Including your lectures on CD, reading, book reports, answers to questions, and exams, if you follow this plan, the course will be completed in about fifteen weeks. The following is a plan that may work for you:
Week 1 Lessons 1 & 2
Week 2 Lessons 3 & 4
Week 3 Lessons 5 & 6
Week 4 Lessons 7 & 8
Week 5 Lessons 9 & 10
Take Mid Term Exam
Week 6 Lessons 11 & 12
Week 7 Lessons 13 & 14
Week 8 Lessons 15
Week 10 Lesson 17
Week 11 Lesson 18
Week 12 Lesson 19
Week 13 Lesson 20
Weeks 14-15 Exam Prep & Take Final Exam
Lesson |
Title |
Requirements |
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Unit One: Introduction |
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Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 |
Course Introduction Worldview in Rev 14:7 History of Evolutionary Theory |
Please e-mail your responses to all review questions upon completing this unit. |
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Unit Two: Biblical Foundations for Creation |
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Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Lesson 6 Lesson 7 |
Interpretive Approaches to Gen 1-11 Genesis 1 and 2 Creation Week Biblical Chronology and Age of Earth |
Please e-mail your responses to all review questions after completing this unit. |
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Unit Three: Theological and Philosophical Issues |
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Lesson 8 Lesson 9 Lesson 10 |
Death Before Sin Rainbow Connection Design Arguments |
Please e-mail your responses to all review questions after completing this unit. |
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MID-TERM EXAMINATION (Covers Units One through Three) |
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Unit Four: Biological Issues |
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Lesson 11 Lesson 12 Lesson 13 |
Biochemical Evolution Vertebrate Evolution Ecological Issues |
Please e-mail your responses to all review questions after completing this unit. |
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Unit Five: Geological Issues |
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Lesson 14 Lesson 15 Lesson 16 Lesson 17 Lesson 18 Lesson 19 Lesson 20 |
Biblical Catastrophism God and the New Physics Radiometric Dating GapsBParaconformities Coral Reefs and Time Yellowstone Fossil Forests Green River Formation |
Please e-mail your responses to all review questions after completing this unit. |
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Unit Six: Summaries |
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Lesson 21 |
Review Setting Up Creation Seminars |
Please e-mail all four book reviews. |
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FINAL EXAMINATION (Covers Units Four through Six) |
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Recommended Supplemental books
Ian G. Barbour, Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues (San Francisco: Harper, 1997).
William A. Dembski, Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science & Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999).
Phillip E. Johnson, The Wedge of Truth: Splitting the Foundations of Naturalism (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000).
Alister E. McGrath, Science & Religion, An Introduction (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1999).
W. Mark Richardson and Wesley J. Wildman, eds., Religion & Science: History, Method, Dialogue (New York: Routledge, 1996).
Christopher Southgate, ed., God, Humanity and the Cosmos: A Textbook in Science and Religion (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1999).
Wentzel Van Huyssteen, The Shaping of Rationality: Toward Interdisciplinarity in Theology and Science (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999).
H. Suggested Supplemental Reading (Not Required)
The following eight articles are listed as helpful supplemental material in the area of science and religion. Key perspectives are presented in each article.
John T. Baldwin, “God and the World: William Paley's Argument from Perfection TraditionBA Continuing Influence,” Harvard Theological Review 85:1 (1992): 109-120.
Argues for the continuing significance of an aspect of the design argument, viz., the argument from perfection, in showing the utter biological inadequacy of Darwin's materialistic developmental method of natural selection and random change to account for realities such as the origin of life, human consciousness, love and worship of God.
Ibid., “Progressive Creation and Biblical Revelation: Some Theological Implications,” Origins 12:2 (1991): 53-65.
Discusses and evaluates some fatal theological implications of affirming death before the appearance of human beings in the geologic column as required by either progressive creation or theistic evolution.
David Berlinski, “The Deniable Darwin,” Commentary 101:6 (June 1996): 19-29.
Perhaps the finest recent journal article in print outlining the scientific inadequacy of Darwinian gradualism. The piece is written by a Jewish mathematician and philosopher.
Gerhard F. Hasel, “The Polemic Nature of the Genesis Cosmology,” Evangelical Quarterly 46 (1974): 81-102.
A classic piece showing the independence of the creation texts of the Old Testament from surrounding mythological elements of its time.
Clark H. Pinnock, “Climbing Out of a Swamp: The Evangelical Struggle to Understand the Creation Texts,” Interpretation 43:2 (April 1989): 143-155.
Shows the dilemma in which evangelicals find themselves because they do not accept the literal interpretation of the creation texts.
Davis Young, “Scripture in the Hands of Geologists,” Part I: Westminster Theological Journal, 49:1 (Spring 1987): 1-34; Part II: Westminster Theological Journal, 49:2 (Fall 1987): 257-304.
This two-part sequence shows how so-called “conservative” evangelicals go so far as to accept theistic evolution due, unfortunately, to a lack of confidence in the historical accuracy of the early chapters in Genesis.
Alvin C. Plantinga, “When Faith and Reason Clash,” Christian Scholar's Review 21: 1 (1991): 8-32.
A vigorous and persuasive defense of special creation by a world-class philosopher of religion.