The Theology of Genesis
Notes
Transcript
03- The Theological Explanations of Creation
Saturday, December 31, 2016
9:35 AM
It was Christmas Eve 1968 when many were gathered in their living rooms listening on the radio or watching by television the crew of Apollo 8 as they orbited the moon reading from this passage of scripture. They read, as Dr. John Lennox reminisced about that night, "to celebrate that success the astronauts chose to read a text that needed no added explanation or qualification, even though it was written millennia ago. The biblical announce of the fact of creation was as timelessly clear as it was magnificently appropriate."[1]
Last week we looked at three main interpretations of creation
Gap -theory where there is a gap between verse 1 & 2 of Genesis 1Day-Age theory where each day is not necessarily bound to a 24 hour periodYoung Earth Creationism - Where God created the world in 6 24 hour period days.
While I would claim to be a young earth, I do not discriminate although I may question others who believe otherwise. I do feel that we must be careful in our pushing of our beliefs, if God would have wanted us to know exactly how, he would have put it in the Bible, we are all only going by the data that we have, and our understanding of that data.
What we do know, what is explicitly revealed is that God created everything - there was nothing, and God made everything. a tremendous thing.
Controversies and questions abound concerning the true and full meaning of Genesis, especially chapters 1 and 2 on the origin of life. The questions only multiply when one realizes that chapter 1 and chapter 2 don't seem to agree in their explanation of creation. The supposed discrepancies have been answered in various ways. Some have just called this myth, others allegory, some say that chapter 1 is the structure while chapter 2 is the narrative, some have declared there must be two creation stories, some just leave it and say who knows.
I am not saying that I have the complete answer, but I have found a solution that works for me, I am not going to be dogmatic on these, but I want to share them with you and perhaps they can help someone.
Discrepancies - First I want us to take a look at the discrepancies - These are found between the two version Genesis 1:1-2:3 and Genesis 2:4-25.Genesis 1:1-2:3Perfectly divided into six days or sections by key words which are the actions and thoughts of God. (i & ii[2])SaidSeparatedCalledSawGoodThe structure of creation in Genesis 1:2-2:3 typically follows the pattern of;Announcement - "And God said."Commandment - "Let there be" (or it's equivalent)Separation - Dividing day and night etcReport - "And so God made" (or it's equivalent)Naming - "and he called…"Evaluation - "God saw it was good."A Chronological Framework. "And that was the first day" (or equivalent) "God does not create in time, but with time."Genesis 2:4-25Seems to be a narrative of the creation events.1:24-26 - Seems to say that God created the animals and people at the same time2:18-25 - Seems to say that not only was Adam created, but had already lived sometime before God created the animals (apparently in search of a mate for Adam)(Especially 19)
Descriptions - Second I want to look at some plausible descriptions of explanations. There are not two creation stories. Genesis 2:4 does not begin a new creation account. It does, however, expand on Gen. 1:26-27. Chapter 2 also presupposes the first. It is complementary, not contradictory. [3]To simplify somewhat we will look at these two more in depth by talking about the Cosmological Creation and the Anthropological Creation - Those are big words but simple meaning. Genesis 1:1-2:3 The Cosmological Creation - by that I mean it is…"describing the creation of the entire universe (COSMOS) and everything in it. Particular attention is given to planet earth. The name for God is Elohim and emphasizes His majesty, power, and transcendence."[4]Genesis 2:4-25 is the Anthropological Creation - it "focuses on man (anthropos) and his environment. The compound name of Yahweh Elohim is used for God, suggesting His intimacy and involvement with His creation.The Chronology discrepancy - The differences in when animals, birds, and people were created I think is a simple explanation - While some may say the order doesn't really matter, others say that if the Bible disagrees here, how can the rest of it be believed. Chapter one is so structured that you must realize the author was establishing a timeline of sorts, evening and morning are repeated several times. There is a definite sense of chronological order. Chapter 2 the only time markers are found in 2:5 (before) it just shows that the creation of things before they were in the earth. You will also notice that the word "formed" is used in Chapter 2 I think this word conveys the wrong idea William Tyndale who predates the KJV used the correct tense when he translated it, "The Lord God had made of the earth all manner of beasts of the field and all manner fowls of the air."[5]Dr. Sandra Richter of Asbury University wrote in her book Epic of Eden this chart of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2[6]
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The Two Accounts Through The Ancient Eyes[7]An interesting lecture by Dr. John Walton that Seedbed shared gives us a view of Genesis 1 and 2 through the eyes of the ancient eyes of the Jews. His lecture which I may use in greater detail when we get to the days of creation, I found very fascinating. He claims that ancient Israelites understood the creation or existence in functional instead of material terms. That these passages are more functional focused instead of material. God brought order from non-order and the six days of creation, created;Day one - TimeDay two - weatherDay three - foodDay four- lightsDay five - air/sea creaturesDay six - land creatures
Theological Themes of Genesis (We won't get to these tonight, but I do want to mention them to give a taste of next session.)God - HisWisdomPowerRighteousnessPromisesFaithSeedBlessingManSinRedemptionProvisionAtonement
Amazing truths in the book of Genesis and as we journey through it I hope some of it will be revealed to us in a powerful way. That we serve an Awesome, Amazing, Powerful God.
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[M] Lennox, John. Seven Days that Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science p7[M] Waltke, Bruce K. with Cathi J. Fredricks. Genesis: A Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2001[M] GBS&C FA14 Pentateuch, Dr. Alan Brown Lecture "An Anthropological Account of Creation"[M] ibid[M] https://answersingenesis.org/contradictions-in-the-bible/two-creation-accounts/[M] Richter, Sandra L.. The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition. [M] Origins Today: Genesis through Ancient Eyes with John Walton
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