The Programme

What are the oldest and most reliable interpretations of Genesis 1–11, and what can we learn from them? I believe that narratival logic and the testimony of more than 1,500 biblical citations, spanning at least 1,500 years of revelation, establish a robust conclusion: from the days of Moses to Jesus Christ, the account in Genesis 1–11 was accepted as factual history.

In this talk, I will argue that the Christian doctrine of creation is best understood from the perspective of a recent creation. While this claim is controversial in academia today, it should not be. Given how God has revealed himself in Scripture, we should not separate the fact of creation from the mechanism of creation; in short, the doctrine of creation is inseparable from young-earth creationism. I will make that case in light of creation from nothing (creatio ex nihilo), the six days of creation (Genesis 1), and God’s self-revelation in his Son Jesus Christ.

The covenant of works, established by God with Adam in Eden, set the condition of eternal life upon perfect obedience, and the penalty of death upon disobedience. Adam, as the federal head of mankind, broke this covenant, bringing sin, curse, and death upon him and all his descendants. While some argue it was a gracious covenant, classic Reformed theology distinguishes it from the covenant of grace, which offers salvation through Christ. Jesus, the “last Adam,” fulfilled the covenant of works by his perfect obedience and sacrificial death, securing eternal life as a gift of grace for all who believe in him. Thus Christ’s fulfilment of the covenant of works forms the very foundation of the gospel. This paper makes use of Reformed writers like Olevianus, Ursinus, Rollock, Turretin, Brakel, and Witsius against modern reinterpretations, as in John Murray and Karl Barth.

This talk recounts my gradual evolution into creationism, a shift in my thinking about Christian dogmatics that was unexpected and unplanned. Ever since medical school, I’ve been haunted by the challenge of biblical authority in a scientific age; that question informed my work in hamartiology and forced me to grapple with the theological implications of evolution. I ended up participating in various initiatives, symposia, and research projects convened by groups like Templeton, BioLogos, the Creation Project, and Oxford University. In the process, surprisingly, I became a creationist. In this talk, I will share that story and the lessons learned.

This paper examines the image of God in Genesis 1:26–27 within the literary context of Genesis 1–11. It asks whether Genesis 1–11 explicitly or implicitly defines what it means for humanity to bear God’s image and likeness. The paper argues that the imago Dei is both moral and relational, involving likeness to God’s character and a relationship between God and humanity analogous to that of parent and child. Using a biblical-theological approach, the study traces this concept through the Mosaic Law and the New Testament within the broader canonical witness of Scripture.

This paper examines the theological relationship between nature and grace, arguing that grace must be understood in light of God’s essential goodness and graciousness. God’s grace is not merely an attribute applied to salvation but reflects his very nature and governs his relationship with creation. The paper distinguishes grace from nature while emphasizing that grace does not oppose nature but elevates, restores, and perfects it. Through consideration of Adam’s original righteousness, the image of God, human depravity, and sin as both privation and positive inclination, the paper demonstrates humanity’s need for supernatural grace. Ultimately, grace restores fallen nature and brings humanity toward its supernatural end.

This paper examines the idea of the presence of the Temple (or Tabernacle) theology in the Garden and its implications for biblical interpretation. Using the literary and ANE contextual analysis, the study argues that the description of the Garden of Eden and the functions assigned to the first humans suggests a temple theology. This paper further argues that the legitimization of the tabernacle construction is drawn from the creation narrative. This contributes to an understanding of God’s relationship His people throughout the Bible.

Properly understood, creation is not merely a reference point on the chronological timeline but is the ontological ground for all theological reflection. The following paper explores the significance of creation theology by drawing on selected texts from the Wisdom Literature and the Psalms, engaging with these texts through the lens of the Reformed tradition. While the opening chapters of the Bible present a God who is eternal, omnipotent, and sovereign, Wisdom Literature renders the majesty of God in vivid and experiential terms. These concepts emerge with particular force in the Wisdom Literature, where creation functions as the theatre within which God’s glory, providence, wisdom, delight, and redemptive purposes are displayed. Creation theology within the Wisdom Literature also carries significant implications for the Christian life. The created order summons humanity to worship, cultivates confidence in God’s providential rule, and establishes the basis for responsible stewardship.

The current creation which is the context for all living and astronomical existence will one day by the promise of God make way for a new and greater creation. This promise of God for a new heavens and a new earth is the massive eschatological reality that is his final word for human history and all created existence. This talk will focus on what God has revealed about his new creation and its surprising fulfillment in Jesus Christ, his people and in the final renewal of all created things. The presentation will conclude with a concise description of the trajectory of biblical theology from creation to new creation through covenant.

The debates regarding creation, Jesus and salvation are not unique to the 19th- 21st century. Since the church’s inception, Genesis’ account of creation and how that relates to Jesus and salvation have been challenged. The first challenge came from Gnosticism. What did Gnosticism teach, and how did the church respond to this challenge? What can we learn from this for us today? We will explore the Gnostic teachings of Valentinus and Marcion, but (more importantly) rediscover the teaching of Irenaeus, who wrote against them in the 2nd Century.

From the days of Christ till the turn of the nineteenth century, the first eleven chapters of the Bible were interpreted by most commentators as history. But from 1650 to 1910, there was a hermeneutical revolution in the interpretation of Genesis 1–11. An analysis of 193 commentaries from Philo to Skinner, comprising 177 commentators from 20 centuries, tells the story of how Genesis history became Genesis myth.

This paper approaches the question of design in the living world from the standpoint of a Christian philosopher of science who affirms the two books: Scripture as God’s revealed truth, and Creation as the coherent work of a rational Creator. I argue that contemporary biology, especially in its adaptationist form, already relies upon an engineering heuristic: organisms are analyzed by biologists as integrated systems whose parts are functionally decomposable and understood via reverse engineering. Although evolutionary theory typically frames living systems as the result of a blind process, the methodological indispensability of purposive language reveals a deeper tension within biological explanation. The striking success of biomimetics—where engineers abstract functional principles from living systems and implement them in human technology—demonstrates that nature is not merely complex but intelligibly structured and design-translatable (engineering-recognizable and readable). From a Christian perspective, this congruence between biosphere and technosphere is unsurprising: both arise within a creation ordered by divine wisdom and fully accessible to human reason. Engaging the problem of underdetermination, this paper therefore contends that empirical data alone cannot exclude a design-by-a-designer interpretation. However, instead of looking up to heaven, this paper looks down to earth: rather than invoking a ‘God-of-the-gaps’ approach, what is instead argued for here is a design perspective that underpins a fruitful scientific stance which in turn encourages rigorous analysis of functional organization. Design, properly understood, is not a rival to science but a productive framework for exploring God’s orderly world.

“Why is there something rather than nothing?” and “Why am I here?” are questions that have haunted twentieth-century philosophy. Yet these are questions that have always been asked. Reformed theology provides a concise answer in Question 1 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “It is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” This answer has perhaps never received a better exposition than in Jonathan Edwards’s The End for Which God Created the World, where Edwards shows that these two questions are ultimately one. In doing so, he attempts to dismantle the Enlightenment confidence in reason that sought to undermine the idea that God has purposes in creation and providence.

Views on common grace within the Reformed tradition are wide-ranging, from complete ignorance to measured indifference and even dogged rejection. Yet its pedigree is difficult to deny. This paper will therefore consider the resistance to common grace, particularly among the confessionally Reformed. Following that we’ll examine the case for it, drawing not only on its towering champions such as Calvin and Bavinck but also the exegetical case. In line with the doctrine of common grace itself, I will also attempt to argue for it through conversation with Marilynne Robinson and fiction broadly. Finally, my paper will proceed from its Reformed credentials and evidences to concluding with its invaluable contribution to Christian thought and living.