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Overview
The CSB Apologetics Study Bible for Students anchors young Christians in the truths of Scripture by equipping them with thoughtful responses when the core issues of their faith are challenged. Updated with additional content curated by editor Dr. Sean McDowell, the core materials explore over 130 of the top questions students are currently asking along with articles and extensive apologetics study material from today’s most popular youth leaders and apologists. This unique Bible will guide teens and encourage them to ask tough questions, get straight answers, and strengthen their faith.
Features:
- 130 Articles from popular youth leaders and apologists (including editor Sean McDowell)
- 60 “Twisted Scripture” explanations for commonly misunderstood passages
- 50 “Bones & Dirt” entries explaining how archeological findings support Christian apologetics
- 50 “Notable Quotes” from influential people throughout history
- 25 “Tactics” that help students answer frequently heard anti-Christian arguments
- 20 “Personal Stories” of how God has worked in real lives
- 20 “Top Five” bullet-point lists that help readers remember significant apologetics topics
- Book introductions
- Distinctive two-color design that appeals to students
- Two-column format
- Black-letter text
- 9.75-point type size
- Smyth-sewn binding with ribbon marker
- Presentation page
- Full-color maps
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781433651182 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | B&H Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 10/02/2017 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 1644 |
| File size: | 11 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
| Age Range: | 13 - 18 Years |
About the Author
Dr. Sean McDowell leads the Bible department at Capistrano Valley Christian Schools in California. The awarded teacher is also a popular national youth speaker, editor of the HCSB Apologetics Study Bible for Students, and has authored several books including Understanding Intelligent Design (with William Dembski) and ethiX: Being Bold in a Whatever World. Sean and his wife have two children.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Genesis
Introduction to GENESIS
Ever look up at a starlit sky and ask, "How did we get here?" Since the dawn of time, people have been speculating about the origin of the universe. Have we always been here? Are we the result of a cosmic accident? Did God create the world? While there are many theories about the origin of the universe, the Bible has always stood out with its audacious claim that the universe is the purposeful creation of a personal God: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (1:1, italics added). The scientific consensus now supports the biblical view — the universe did indeed have a beginning.
Not only did the universe have a beginning, but so did everything else. In fact the word Genesis actually means "beginning." In Genesis we get a front-row seat to the beginning of the world, animals, humans, language, marriage, the family, the Sabbath, and much more. And of all things God created, humans stand out uniquely as made in the image of God (1:26-27). While all creation has value, it is this fact that makes each human being particularly special.
In the book of Genesis, you will also see the beginning of a nation chosen and shaped by God: the people of Israel. You'll also learn how individual choice brought about the fall of humanity and the need for a Savior (chap. 3). Through the interactions of the Creator God with the people he created, you'll see the rescue plan of God begin to unfold as he works through each generation of the tiny nation of Israel to fulfill a promise made to Adam and Eve (3:15).
The stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph play a huge part in the interwoven stories of beginnings. They are the patriarchs — leaders through whom God made covenants or special agreements on a certain course of action. For example, after bringing about a great flood, God promised Noah that he would never again destroy the earth by a flood (9:12-17). God also promised Abraham that he would build a nation out of Abraham's offspring (15:1-5). The rest of Genesis focuses on the beginnings of that family — their ups and downs — until the sons of Jacob (who eventually became the twelve tribes of Israel) enter Egypt for protection from a famine with the help of a special brother named Joseph. God protected his people, for he had a special plan for them.
As with other books of the Bible, Genesis is meant to help us understand God's work in the world and what it means for how we are to live. It will begin to unfold the story of how we got here, why we need a Savior, and what God would do about that need. Genesis offers some amazing insights about life that profoundly influence those who read it with an open heart and with an open mind. Are you ready?
Author: Moses
Date: Most likely written during Israel's wandering in the wilderness (ca 1445–1406 BC)
What in the world is going on?
Undated Creation
Undated Noah
3300 BC The beginning date of the Mayan calendar
3300–3200 BC Dates on clay tablets from the tomb of an Egyptian king named Scorpion
3200 BC The Sumerians develop pictographic writing about this time
3100 BC The first phase of Stonehenge begins
3000–1100 BC The Minoan civilization flourishes on the island of Crete
2900 BC First Egyptian hieroglyphsca
2575–2465 BC The Great Pyramid in Giza is built during the Fourth Dynasty
ca 2500–1700 BC Two cities in the Indus civilization (what is now Pakistan) — Harappa and Mohenjo-daro — flourished about this time
2166 BC Abram (later Abraham) is born
2156 BC Sarai (later Sarah) is born
ca 2130–1970 BC During the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties of Egypt, some food shortages occur, as well as boundary conflicts
2091 BC Abram moves to Canaan
ca 2085 BC Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
ca 2046 BC Isaac is born
ca 2006 BC Jacob and Esau born
ca 2000 BC Egyptians domesticated the cat in order to catch snakes
ca 1991 BC Abraham dies
ca 1915 BC Joseph is born
1908–1875 BC Sesostris I rules Egypt
1900 BC Bronze Age in Britain
ca 1885 BC Joseph rules Egypt
ca 1805 BC Joseph dies
THE CREATION
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.
6 Then God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." Evening came and then morning: the second day.
9 Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry land "earth," and the gathering of the water he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds." And it was so. 12 The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 Evening came and then morning: the third day.
14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for seasons and for days and years. 15 They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights — the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night — as well as the stars. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, 18 to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.
20 Then God said, "Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them: "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth." 23 Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.
24 Then God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. 25 So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth."
27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth." 29 God also said, "Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you, 30 for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it — I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.
1:1 The Hebrew word for "God," Elohim, is grammatically plural but does not indicate a numerical plural (i.e., "gods"). Hebrew uses the plural form to indicate honor or intensity, sometimes called the "plural of majesty." The pairing of a singular adjective (Ps 7:9) or verb (Gn 20:6) with Elohim shows that the one God is intended. From the Israelite standpoint the oneness of the true Deity is never in question. In Dt 6:4 "The LORD," that is, Yahweh the God of Israel, is called "our Elohim," and declared to be "one."
1:14-18 The lights were "signs" that mark off time periods. They were not to be heeded as astrological signs, correlating heavenly movements with events on earth. The worship of heavenly bodies is condemned (Dt 4:19).
1:26-27 "Let us make ..." (3:22; 11:7; Is 6:8) does not indicate multiple gods. Such a view would be inconsistent with the singular "his own image" (Gn 1:27; see 5:1-2). Ancient theories of the universe's origin typically explained creation as the outcome of sexual cohabitation between male and female deities or of a battle between a deity and a hostile entity. The Bible uniformly affirms that God is asexual with no corresponding female consort. God made the universe by his authoritative speech, not by battling deities. Gn 1 was written in part to show that the view of the physical world current at that time (i.e., that physical objects represented the work of various deities) was wrong. The cosmos is inanimate and entirely under the control of the one God. Plural and singular forms are combined in 1:26-27 (see "the Spirit of God," v. 2), reflecting God's unity and yet his fullness. Subsequent scriptural revelation develops this further.
Although humans are created in the "image" and "likeness" of God (the terms are essentially synonyms; see 5:3), it does not follow that God has a body. "Image" or "likeness" often refers to a physical representation of something that may be non-material. Humans were created to serve as God's representative to govern the earth.
2 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. 2 On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.
MAN AND WOMAN IN THE GARDEN
4 These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation. At the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. 6 But mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground. 7 Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
8 The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river went out from Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became the source of four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon, which flows through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 Gold from that land is pure; bdellium and onyx are also there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon, which flows through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris, which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die." 18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him." 19 The LORD God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found corresponding to him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 And the man said:
This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called "woman," for she was taken from man.
24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.
2:2-3 "Rested" (Hb shabat) does not imply fatigue but means only "ceased." God stopped because his work of creation was complete.
2:4-26 Chapter 2 is a second creation account only in the sense that it gives a more detailed accounting than chap. 1, not a contradictory one. While chap. 1 provides a general description, chap. 2 is specific. Twofold accounts were common in ancient theories of creation (e.g., the Babylonian story of Atrahasis). The differences in the order of creation events are due to each narrative's distinct purposes. The first gives a loosely chronological account, gathering creation events into a discernible pattern to show the symmetry of creation's purpose. The second is topical, focusing on the sixth day by expanding on the creation of man and woman. Gn 2 presupposes chap. 1 and does not duplicate all the creation events.
2:7,21-22 The creation of the first man and woman is not myth. The author of the account intends to portray a historical event. The first man (Hb adam) is treated in genealogies as a historical individual named "Adam" (5:1; Lk 3:38). Since the name Adam means "man(kind)," the author also intends him to represent humanity in general (Gn 3:17-18; see Rm 5:12-21). The account of the man and woman's creation views them as special creations, not merely types of humans. The concept of evolution of humans from lower forms is inconsistent with the author's purpose in this narrative.
2:10-14 The lack of archaeological evidence for the garden of Eden does not mean that it existed only in myth. Despite advances in archaeology, what has been discovered of the ancient Near East is only a small percentage of what might one day be found. The rivers Tigris and Euphrates exist today in modern Iraq. The identities of the Gihon and Pishon are uncertain but may have been local streams or canals. Floods, climatic changes, and land shifts since ancient times may well have brought about significant changes in topography.
THE TEMPTATION AND THE FALL
3 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You can't eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.'"
4 "No! You will not die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Apologetics Study Bible for Students"
by .
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