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University, Chicago. With Christ at the center,

1:00

we stand tall for the church. The

1:12

Genesis account, the first two chapters

1:14

of the Bible, recounting God's acts

1:16

of creation, reveal a lot. They

1:19

reveal the facts of what happened

1:21

during those six days. Are they

1:23

bare bones facts? Yes. Are the

1:26

details sometimes lacking to our satisfaction?

1:28

Yes, but it tells us

1:31

what God did from, well,

1:33

in the beginning, all the way through the

1:35

seventh day. But do those acts

1:37

of creation recounted there in

1:39

Genesis? Do they reveal something about

1:42

the God who is the creator of the

1:44

universe? Welcome back

1:46

to Issues, et cetera. I'm Todd Wilkin,

1:48

joining for part one of a series

1:50

on God's revelation in the Genesis creation

1:52

account pastor Joel Basley. He's assistant

1:54

pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in

1:56

Dearborn, Michigan He's taught in grade

1:58

school through college and has served Lutheran

2:01

parishes for more than 35 years. He's

2:03

author of several books including his latest

2:05

Nature's God and the nature of man

2:07

Joel welcome back. Thank you very much.

2:10

Good to hear your voice. You have

2:12

a master's degree in chemistry In that

2:14

light, would you describe what you call

2:16

sciences? Overreach when it

2:18

comes to the origins of the

2:21

world in a of man in

2:23

particular well certainly and and again

2:25

it's uh... there's a certain humility

2:28

in science that obtained when science

2:30

was developing in the early enlightenment

2:32

and that humility was that uh...

2:35

nature was god's creation and what

2:37

we were looking for was god's

2:39

laws in nature so that we

2:42

could understand the order and power

2:44

and majesty and beauty of god

2:46

in nature but over time science

2:48

divorced itself from the need of

2:51

God in that study, and in

2:53

our day has excised God almost

2:55

completely from a scientific view of

2:58

the world. And so as

3:00

far as overreach is concerned, I

3:02

would say that there's a certain

3:04

arrogance in science that assumes by

3:06

what the little things that we

3:08

know, and I think any

3:11

good scientist would even say, we've only

3:13

scratched the surface in knowing a lot

3:15

of things. And so in

3:17

the paucity of knowledge, that science

3:19

would, number one, define God out

3:22

of existence or out of interaction

3:24

with the world. And

3:26

then based on what we know

3:28

about science, try to extrapolate back

3:30

to the very beginning of the

3:32

world. And in doing so,

3:34

sort of come up with theories

3:37

that are really just other names

3:39

for God. Like in

3:41

the Big Bang, they have a

3:43

singularity, which is a time when

3:45

matter was so dense and compressed

3:47

that we can't imagine and the

3:49

laws of sciences we know it

3:51

weren't in existence, and

3:53

so in that singularity that no one

3:55

can know, anything about is the origin

3:57

of all the universe. Well,

4:00

that's just a way of getting

4:02

rid of God and saying a

4:04

lot of words instead of God,

4:07

because God is the greatest singularity

4:09

that our universe knows, and His

4:11

properties are beyond knowing, beyond what

4:13

He has revealed to us of

4:15

Himself in nature, and in his

4:17

son Jesus Christ. So

4:19

there's a certain arrogance that people have,

4:22

and we all have to confess that,

4:24

that when we think that we're experts

4:26

in things, we sort of look down

4:28

our nose and start talking like we

4:30

know everything, when we really know very

4:32

little. If you would,

4:35

the status of the first

4:37

three chapters of Genesis, since

4:39

the Enlightenment has been seriously

4:41

called into question, not only

4:43

by scientists, but even within

4:45

the pale of visible

4:47

Christianity, why has

4:50

this happened? If you

4:52

would make the case that this is

4:54

not some sort of a fairy tale,

4:56

analogy, poetic myth,

4:59

that it is in fact a blow

5:01

-by -blow account of what God did

5:04

in six days creating the world. Yes,

5:07

so the reason that science and

5:10

the modern world view looks upon

5:12

the first three chapters of Genesis

5:14

as a fairy tale is that

5:17

it is beyond reason what God

5:19

did there. Reason looks at things

5:21

and sort of measures things and

5:24

tries to explain it, and what

5:26

he did in the first three

5:29

chapters and what happened between God

5:31

and the evil of the devil

5:33

and man is inexplicable. It happened,

5:37

and so if we have an

5:39

account of it and we believe

5:41

it, we benefit by knowing what

5:43

our past is, but reason looks

5:46

at it as foolishness and then

5:48

comes up with its own foolishness

5:50

in the middle ages they used

5:53

to believe in spontaneous generation of

5:55

life which means that life like

5:57

bugs and slugs and things like

5:59

that could come from under a

6:02

rock just out of its own

6:04

and the enlightenment says no if

6:06

something is living it must come

6:09

from something that's living and now

6:11

modern science has gone back to

6:13

its old medieval stance that uh...

6:15

life could have evolved, which if

6:18

you look at the complexity of

6:20

the simplest cell, which is more

6:22

complicated than any city or mechanism

6:25

or any system man has ever

6:27

made, for that to have come

6:29

about all by itself out of

6:31

non -living sources instead of the

6:34

living God, is going back to

6:36

foolishness. So in the

6:38

name of wisdom, you come full

6:40

swing around to foolish assertions. like

6:42

the DNA and the things that

6:44

are needed to read DNA and

6:46

reproduce it and to have a

6:48

cell to contain it could have

6:50

all come about by chance. It's

6:52

just foolishness. Let's

6:54

deal with the creation account in

6:57

a kind of step -by -step

6:59

way. The first thing you want

7:01

to point out is that God

7:03

creates in darkness. He brings forth

7:05

the heavens and the earth and

7:08

only then does He call forth

7:10

light. What insight is

7:12

there into how God begins His

7:14

creation? Well,

7:16

again, when creation is

7:19

the beginning of time, and

7:21

so before the beginning there

7:23

was no time, no sequence,

7:26

there was just God. And

7:28

God is not a material creature

7:31

that we can see. He's a

7:33

spirit akin to the spirit that's

7:36

within us as human beings, but

7:38

certainly much greater as He is

7:40

God. and we are not. And

7:43

so, Him emerging in the darkness

7:45

to create the heavens and the

7:48

earth is Him telling us that

7:50

I'm the unseen God who is

7:52

making Himself reveal to us. And

7:56

He's going to do that by

7:58

making earth without form and void

8:00

with the depths of the waters

8:02

and the Spirit moving over the

8:04

darkness. And then, after

8:06

that's created, saying, let there be light

8:08

to say, this is what I did,

8:10

this is what I made, and now

8:13

you can see it. What

8:15

that means is that as much as we

8:17

can see of what God does and creates,

8:20

it's just the tip of the iceberg. It's

8:23

just the least bit of what

8:25

God has revealed of Himself to

8:27

us, which shows the nobility and

8:29

the grandeur and the beauty of

8:31

God, that if this is just

8:33

a little bit of His beauty

8:36

that He's showing us, what a

8:38

grand God we have that made

8:40

these things for us to see

8:42

and observe. And the

8:44

other part of that too is

8:46

that he also interacts with us

8:48

as a spirit, with our spirit

8:50

unseen. Many of

8:52

the prophets in the Bible were

8:54

given inspiration by God in dreams

8:57

and visions and as they slept,

9:00

and that was outside of the light

9:02

of day. God interacting with them in

9:04

their spirit for him to speak through

9:06

their words so that his people could

9:09

know what God wanted to tell them.

9:12

I think that theologians call this

9:14

deus absconditus, the hidden

9:17

God, that reveals himself then

9:19

to man. What

9:21

do we gain by way

9:24

of insight from this primordial

9:26

darkness, this darkness from which

9:28

God creates and becomes the

9:30

source of all things about

9:33

man's nature. Well,

9:35

that he is in darkness, that

9:39

he cannot be enlightened, but

9:41

that God enlightens him. And

9:43

there's even sort of a lesson, if

9:46

we had our Bibles in front of

9:48

us and we're reading these first four

9:50

or five verses of Genesis, that before

9:53

he says, let there be light, it's

9:55

all in darkness. And yet, as we

9:57

hear that being read, or someone reads

9:59

it to or we read it on

10:02

the page, we can sort of close

10:04

our eyes and hear those words, and

10:06

God has equipped us through those words

10:09

to visualize to see what He did.

10:11

And this is part of the image

10:13

of God that we have, that He's

10:15

equipped us to do that. You can't

10:18

do that to an animal. But when

10:20

God's word comes into human ears, it

10:23

enlightens him so that his

10:25

word is also a kind

10:27

of light that reveals Himself

10:29

to us. And so we

10:32

know from these first four verses, before

10:34

He ever says, let there be light,

10:36

that God did this and created it

10:38

by the light of His Word as

10:40

it comes into our ears and into

10:42

our hearts. And He gives us that

10:44

message and reveals to us what He

10:47

did. And so it's not

10:49

just the light that enters our eyes,

10:51

but the light of God's Word that

10:53

comes through our ears to our spirit.

10:55

that gives us the enlightenment of what

10:57

God did. And that's not

10:59

created light. Again, that's God revealing

11:01

Himself, and so that's

11:04

eternal light that's given to us

11:06

in His Word. And again, man

11:08

is the only one in creation

11:10

that is uniquely able to do

11:12

that. I mean, creation on earth,

11:14

the angels could do that also,

11:17

but that's how He's made us

11:19

special. His Word is

11:21

not just activity, but revelation to

11:23

us. to lighten our darkness. Why

11:27

is it significant that he creates by

11:29

his word, that those first words he

11:31

speaks, let there be light, and there

11:33

was light, are words that

11:36

do something? Well,

11:39

again, it tells us something

11:41

about God's nature. He

11:44

made us in his image, and so

11:46

we can say that we're sort of

11:49

the same way. That God

11:51

plans to do something in

11:53

eternity, and then he

11:55

has a means to carry it out. He

11:58

says in the beginning, let there be light,

12:01

and it's his plan being

12:04

given into his word, and

12:06

then his word has the power

12:09

to do exactly what he says.

12:11

And so out of nothing, you

12:13

know, if we want light, we gotta

12:15

put in light switches and batteries and

12:18

light bulbs. God merely says, let there

12:20

be light, and the power of God

12:22

and God Himself is in that Word

12:24

in order to make light. And

12:27

so it tells us the power of God

12:29

and how He works. And

12:32

again, it's important to us

12:34

because words are communication to

12:36

us. And God, when He

12:38

speaks His Word that we

12:40

can receive, is communicating to

12:42

us, and not just ideas,

12:44

but He Himself and His

12:46

power is communicated to us

12:48

in His Word. What

12:50

does he communicate through that

12:52

self revelation about how he

12:54

acts? He

12:57

does it according to to

13:00

his wisdom and his beauty

13:02

and so he's the sole

13:04

creator and it's all according

13:06

to his plan It's not

13:08

a group activity But but

13:10

it's it's God carrying it

13:12

out, but he's carrying it

13:14

out not simply and singly

13:16

as one but as

13:18

a father has his son and the

13:21

son does his bidding, John's

13:23

Gospel tells us in the beginning was

13:25

the Word and the Word was with

13:27

God and everything was made through him.

13:31

And so what it's telling us

13:33

is in the nature of God,

13:35

there is the eternal Father and

13:37

his son is the wherewithal in

13:40

creation, his Word by which he

13:42

gets everything done. When

13:44

he was going to save us, when

13:46

we needed salvation, It was His Son,

13:49

which was the Word in the beginning,

13:51

let there be light that comes and

13:53

brings His saving light to us who

13:55

are lost in darkness, sin

13:57

and death. What do you

14:00

mean when you say that

14:02

God is faithful and straightforward

14:04

in darkness and light? Well,

14:07

again, that in a way

14:09

as complicated as creation is,

14:12

God is simple. This

14:15

is really the beauty of these

14:17

first three chapters in Genesis because

14:19

you can teach them to a

14:22

two -year -old and he is

14:24

as well equipped to receive them

14:26

and to believe them and to

14:29

visualize and see what God is

14:31

saying to him as perhaps better

14:33

equipped than a PhD that may

14:36

have all kinds of prejudice against

14:38

the text. And so

14:40

as simple as the creation

14:42

narrative is, It's by God's

14:44

design that it be that

14:46

way because it's familiar. And

14:49

the root word of familiar is family. He's

14:53

doing this for his children in

14:55

a straightforward way so that they

14:57

can know exactly what he did.

15:00

And fathers can then tell us the past

15:02

that he was there for, but

15:04

we were not. And we're dying to know.

15:07

Everyone wants to know what happened in the beginning.

15:10

And that's why science is so famished.

15:12

to try to iron out their theories.

15:15

Everyone has eternity in their hearts, which means

15:17

I want to know what happened before I

15:19

got here. And again,

15:21

that's a remnant of the image of

15:23

God that's left in us. Everyone wants

15:26

to know. And if we don't believe

15:28

what God, our Father, tells us in

15:30

these first three chapters, we're going to

15:32

look forever and never find it, or

15:35

never be satisfied with what we find.

15:38

And so he's straightforward. he tells

15:40

us exactly what we need to

15:42

know and if we would trust

15:44

him as our father and as

15:47

good and as telling us what

15:49

we need and learn it and

15:51

learn it well from him then

15:53

we not only know but but

15:56

the basis for everything that we

15:58

experience in the universe is there

16:00

in that first two chapters of

16:02

Genesis and so it's not a

16:04

fairy tale it's a beginning it's

16:07

a foundation it's ground floor And

16:09

then you can build all the

16:11

sciences you want off of it

16:13

and it will all be consistent

16:15

with what he said. Living things,

16:18

reproducing according to their kind. And

16:21

in the order that God made them,

16:23

under man, who is to have dominion

16:25

and rule over all the earth. Pastor

16:28

Joel Beasley is our guest. It's part

16:30

one of a series on the revelation

16:33

of God in the Genesis creation account

16:35

on the other side, the darkness of

16:37

our sin. In

16:49

our day, many voices are questioning

16:52

whether we can take seriously the

16:54

opening chapters of the book of

16:56

Genesis in what they relate about

16:58

God's creation of the world. And

17:06

what difference does it

17:08

make whether we regard

17:10

the opening chapters of

17:12

Genesis as a true

17:14

record of what God

17:17

did and how He

17:19

did it. And

17:21

there are a number of implications

17:23

for our Christian life and faith

17:25

and for our proclamation of the

17:27

saving work of Christ involved in

17:29

how we read the opening chapters

17:31

of Genesis. You can

17:34

meet and hear Dr. Tom Egger making

17:36

the case for the biblical account

17:38

of creation at the 2025 Making the

17:40

Case Conference Friday, July 18th and Saturday,

17:43

July 19th at Concordia University, Chicago. For

17:46

more information, visit issuesetc

17:48

.org. LutheranPublicRadio

18:17

.org This

18:20

fallen creation

18:23

is bested

18:26

by tornado,

18:27

This fall in creation is

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bested by tornado, hurricane, flood,

18:32

pandemic, and more. LCMS Disaster

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18:39

to reach out to their

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members and neighbors with mercy

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which flows from Christ to

18:46

altar. We offer quality volunteer

18:48

training, help for congregational readiness

18:51

and response, and disaster

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grant funding. To learn

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more, visit lcms.org/ disaster.

19:07

Welcome back to Issues, etc. It's

19:09

part one of our series on

19:11

God's revelation and the Genesis creation

19:13

account. Pastor Joel Basley is our

19:15

guest assistant pastor of Immanuel Lutheran

19:18

Church in Dearborn, Michigan. Dearborn, Michigan

19:20

is home of St. Martin Lutheran

19:22

School for the Deaf, the only

19:24

school for the Deaf in the

19:27

Lutheran Church of Missouri Synod. For

19:29

more information, visit smlid .org. St.

19:31

Martin Lutheran School for the Deaf,

19:33

smlid .org. Pastor Basley,

19:36

this idea that this darkness can

19:38

also symbolize the darkness of our

19:40

sin. What does it say about

19:42

the darkness of our sin that

19:44

we can look at, as you

19:47

said just a moment ago, this

19:49

very plain and simple, straightforward, day

19:51

-by -day account of the creation

19:53

and reject it, even some Christians

19:55

reject it? Well,

19:58

again, the answer to that,

20:01

it's not so much answered

20:03

in these first three. chapters

20:05

because the only darkness that

20:08

he's talking about in day

20:10

one through seven of creation

20:12

is created darkness in which

20:14

the good God is acting.

20:17

But scripture also tells us that

20:19

there was a falling away from

20:22

God first with the devil and

20:24

then with man. And that the

20:26

nature of that was not good

20:28

from God but evil and from

20:30

the devil. And what that

20:32

evil was is an excluding of

20:34

God from one's heart.

20:37

And so when a sinner

20:39

hears the words of God,

20:42

there is a built -in resentment

20:44

which is a curse of sin

20:46

from our first parents that they

20:48

don't want to hear God's word,

20:50

even if they sense that it

20:52

might be true. And the

20:54

reason is that we're sinful and we

20:57

fear God's wrath because we know what

20:59

we deserve. And so

21:01

sinful, fallen man is not in

21:03

so much created darkness which is

21:05

good but in the devil's uncreated

21:07

darkness which would try to exclude

21:09

God from our life because we

21:11

fear having him because we see

21:14

him as a judge or an

21:16

executioner or someone who wants to

21:18

harm us because of our sin

21:20

and that's why we need to

21:22

learn about God through the Savior

21:24

Jesus that we would know that

21:26

God loves sinners and he loves

21:28

him so much that he would

21:30

give his son to save us.

21:33

How would you tie that let

21:36

there be light to Christ in

21:38

the Gospels declaring himself the light

21:40

of the world? Yes,

21:43

well, he has the right to

21:45

say it in both senses and

21:48

we haven't really talked about what

21:50

light is scripturally. That's sort of

21:53

the next part of day

21:55

one. But again, light reveals God

21:57

and so in as much as

21:59

creation reveals God, it reveals Jesus

22:02

when he is born. And

22:05

so, created light reveals God

22:07

to us when Jesus is

22:09

born there in Bethlehem under

22:11

the light of the sun

22:13

and the moon and the

22:15

stars. But he's also the

22:17

one that comes into the

22:19

evil darkness that we've inherited

22:21

because of our sin. And

22:23

in that evil, which justice

22:25

would demand our eternal exclusion

22:27

from God, this

22:29

good and perfect man, Jesus,

22:31

who is also God, comes

22:33

into that darkness to offer

22:35

his life, to suffer

22:38

his father, to abandon him

22:40

on the cross, thus

22:43

fulfilling God's justice. And

22:45

when we know that justice

22:48

is fulfilled for our sins,

22:50

we no longer have to

22:52

feel guilt, because guilt is

22:54

the anticipation of judgment. When

22:57

the judgment has been rendered by Jesus,

23:00

our guilt flies away and we

23:02

rejoice that God has loved us

23:04

and Jesus has paid the price

23:07

for our sin and God will

23:09

not demand it of us but

23:11

welcome us back into fellowship with

23:13

him that our spirits would once

23:15

again commune with his spirit and

23:18

we would be one in spirit

23:20

with God once again. That's

23:22

the benefit of Jesus who came to

23:24

be the Savior of sinners. How

23:28

would you describe the significance of

23:30

God then dividing the firmament of

23:32

heaven in Genesis 1, those three

23:34

verses between 6 and 8? Well,

23:38

He's dividing waters above from

23:41

the waters below in the

23:43

firmament. God is there

23:46

giving form to His creation.

23:48

Remember, in the beginning it

23:50

was formless, void, and empty,

23:53

and He is here putting

23:55

an expanse upon the earth

23:57

which are also called the

23:59

heavens. And

24:01

so it is showing man that

24:03

his home is below where there

24:05

are rivers and streams and continents

24:08

and plants and all the things

24:10

that he needs for his temporary

24:13

life, but above is

24:15

the firmament of the heavens

24:17

where God dwells. So

24:19

man is created both from

24:21

below and above, and so

24:23

he is in fellowship with

24:25

the created things of earth,

24:27

and that's where he lives,

24:29

and his feet are grounded.

24:32

But man is unique among all

24:34

creatures because all of God's creatures

24:36

are made to be stooped over

24:38

and look at the earth. Only

24:41

man is made to walk upright

24:43

with his face in the heavens,

24:45

which means that he was going

24:47

to desire someday to live in

24:49

the heavens in the firmament with

24:51

his heavenly Father. So

24:54

again, as man was created, It's

24:56

from below and above understanding that

24:58

we want to be with our

25:01

Father who is in heaven. Why

25:04

is it so important here that

25:07

he is bringing out of this

25:09

formlessness and void order? This is

25:11

kind of the order of the

25:13

day, so to speak, for the

25:15

rest of the creation account. He's

25:18

ordering things. He is dividing things.

25:20

He is placing the living things

25:22

in their proper places. That's

25:25

a great question. And

25:27

again, part of the genesis of

25:29

this book is I've been translating

25:32

Johann Ahn's Two Christianity. And

25:34

this is a diversion for me

25:37

because when I got to his

25:39

book four, I got really frustrated

25:41

because he was talking about scientific

25:43

things in non -scientific terminology, talking

25:46

about the tides, even though gravity

25:48

would not be invented or discovered

25:50

for 50 years. So I really

25:52

got frustrated. But what

25:55

he did a good job on

25:57

was to talk about the order

25:59

of creation. And that's what you're

26:01

talking about. That everything

26:03

that God created is in

26:05

relation to everything else. They

26:08

all have a relationship to the other

26:10

parts. And we talk

26:13

in evolution wrongly about survival

26:15

of the fittest, that the

26:17

fittest animal gets to consume,

26:19

the thorns that are below

26:21

it, and conquer it, and

26:23

destroy it, live at their

26:26

death. But the

26:28

order of creation is just

26:30

the opposite of that. It's

26:32

the lowlier things giving of

26:34

themselves and expending of themselves

26:36

for the greater things. And

26:39

so the soil gives itself

26:41

into the plant and sacrifices

26:43

itself and the plant over

26:45

the earth gives the earth

26:47

its purpose to become a

26:49

part of the plant. And

26:51

then the plant gives itself

26:53

to the animals and to

26:55

man to sustain his life.

26:58

And so it is a

27:00

life of service to man,

27:02

expending the life unto man,

27:04

being consumed by man and

27:06

serving him. And

27:08

the last order then is

27:11

man and God. Man is

27:13

meant to have all those

27:15

things serve him and then

27:18

he completes the loop and

27:20

serves God. In

27:22

German, that's Gottesdienst, the service

27:24

of God. As

27:27

all creation serves man, man

27:29

is to close the loop and

27:31

serve God. We can translate that,

27:34

Gottesdienst, as worship. And

27:36

that's what Adam's life was to

27:38

be in worship of God. As

27:40

all creation served him, he

27:43

would then serve and honor God.

27:45

And so it's the idea

27:47

of love, not of consuming

27:50

and conquering things, but a

27:52

chain of love from bottom to

27:54

top to bottom, or

27:57

top to bottom to top. All

27:59

things are from Him and through

28:01

Him and to Him. Before

28:04

God places any of the creatures,

28:07

including man, into creation, He first

28:09

provides for them. I think it's

28:11

a great insight you have there

28:13

that He is basically stocking the

28:16

pantry for all living creatures before

28:18

he puts them on the earth

28:20

beginning in verse 9. Talk about

28:22

that. Well,

28:25

again, God is the God of order.

28:27

And again, if human beings

28:30

retain any of that image of

28:32

God, that's exactly how we would

28:34

carry out a project. We would

28:36

have in our mind from beginning

28:38

to end how it should work,

28:41

and there would be a priority

28:43

of what we need at the

28:45

basis level, at the most basic

28:47

level to support everything else, and

28:49

then build onto it from that.

28:52

And so God is artistic

28:55

and beautiful and wise in

28:57

the way that He creates

29:00

things. And again, if

29:02

we see well -run human projects, we

29:04

say, well, that's exactly what man does

29:06

when it succeeds. It may

29:08

be sinful when man does it, because he

29:10

doesn't do it to the glory of God.

29:13

but God does this in service to his

29:15

beloved man. It's all done

29:17

for man. He's going to love

29:19

and cherish the most because man

29:21

is going to be in his

29:24

image. Man is therefore the pinnacle

29:26

of creation and all things were

29:28

made for him and to serve

29:30

him and to show God's love

29:32

for him. Pastor Joel

29:35

Basely is assistant pastor of Immanuel Lutheran

29:37

Church in Dearborn, Michigan. He's taught in

29:39

grade school through college and served Lutheran

29:41

parishes for more than 35 years. He's

29:44

author of several books, including his latest,

29:46

Nature's God and the Nature of Man.

29:48

Next time, we'll take up our conversation

29:50

with him talking about the creation of

29:53

the animal world and of man. Pastor

29:56

Basely, thank you. Thank you so

29:58

much, Todd. Good to talk with you. Today

30:00

is Call Day at Concordia Theological

30:02

Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, where they

30:04

form servants in Jesus Christ to

30:07

teach the faithful, reach the lost,

30:09

and care for all, learn about

30:11

strengths for the vocations of pastor

30:13

or deaconess at ctsfw .edu, or

30:16

by calling 1 -800 -481

30:18

-2155, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort

30:20

Wayne, Indiana. Wednesday on issues etc.

30:22

We'll talk with Michael O 'Brien

30:24

of the Beckett Fund for Religious

30:26

Liberty about a Supreme Court case

30:28

involving elementary school students forced to

30:30

read books promoting transgender ideology and

30:33

its media coverage of religion with

30:35

journalist Terry Mattingly. That account of

30:37

Genesis is not just there to

30:39

deliver us the day -by -day

30:41

account of how God went about

30:43

creating the world. It also delivers

30:45

to us the why he created

30:47

out of love out of mercy

30:49

out of compassion, and it shows

30:51

us not only the true God,

30:53

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who

30:55

is our Creator, but his plan

30:57

to save us through that same

30:59

love and mercy in Jesus Christ.

31:02

I'm Todd Wilkin. I'll talk with you tomorrow. Thanks

31:05

for listening to Issues, et cetera. Listen

31:17

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31:19

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31:22

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