Lesson 4 Flashcards
What types of issues are raised in a discussion of the days in Genesis 1?
A. How do we read the Bible?
B. How do we read creation?
1. How do we understand general revelation vs. special revelation and which gets priority
C. How old is the earth?
1. Billions or thousands of years.
2. Could the earth be created with age
Know the major views under the big picture
A. Evolution: the theory of natural selection
1. Movement from simpler to complex forms through random mutations
2. There is nothing guiding the process (chance)
B. Theistic evolutionists see God’s work accomplished through the process of evolution and take yom as long periods of time (Henry Van Till)
1. This view denies miracles in the creative process but allows miracles in other places
2. This view suffers from the weaknesses of the evolutionary theory
3. See Harbin (1997, 639-51)
C. Intelligent Design (Philip Johnson, Michael Behe, Stuart Burgess)
1. On the basis of scientific method, evidence for design in the universe can be detected empirically
a. The complexity of DNA
b. The simplicity of a mousetrap
2. An umbrella that has united the various Christian views that have tended to splinter in small, often antagonistic, groups
Be able to summarize each of the views concerning the days presented in class, including problems
related to those views.
A. The Day-Age view: the days represent long periods of time
2. The creation days are six sequential, long periods of time that appear in correct sequence and in scientifically definable terms
a. The age of the universe is old (uniformitarianism)
b. Things have always worked the way they do now and the clock started at zero, geology and dating methods show that the earth is billions of years old, the travel time of light, etc. To say that the earth was created with an appearance of age is deceptive
c. Genesis 1 is dealing with real history that can be verified by science
3. Different varieties of the Day-Age view
a. Progressive creationists
i. God works through a combination of miracles plus process
b. The Ross / Archer view
i. Millions of generations of life predate human life. Because the physical realm changes with time, God created different species at different times to suit the changing environment. God had to repeatedly replace extinct species with new ones. Thus, God repeatedly intervenes supernaturally. After the sixth day, God no longer creates new species
4. The evidence that yom refers to periods of indefinite length
a. It is used that way in other Scripture (Isa 11:10-11 "in that day")
b. It is used that way in Gen 2:4, "in the day that the Lord made the heavens and the earth."
c. The seventh day does not have the standard morning and evening ending, showing that it was considered longer than 24 hours
d. God's days are not necessarily our days, but can be long periods of time (Ps 90:4)
5. God's special revelation and his general revelation are equally valid and essentially complementary
6. Death occurred before sin
a. Plant life included death
b. Carnivorous activity is not necessarily bad
c. Natural death versus death as a result of sin
. 7. Problems with the Day-Age view
a. The meaning of yōm (יוֹם)
i. Beth + yom + inf = when (Gen 2:4)
ii. Yom refers to God’s days not our days, yet Genesis is written from a perspective of an earthly observer
b. The distinction between bārā (בָּרָא) and ‘āsāh (עָשָׂה) is questionable (Isa 45:18)
c. The problem of death before the fall
d. A science driven approach?
i. The impact of sin on creation
ii. Is Gen 1 like a predictive prophecy confirmed by science?
e. How much does their view match up with science?
i. Sequential days that do not overlap are a problem in that you need overlap between the days, otherwise, you would have vegetation for long periods of time without insects to pollinate the plants
ii. Science proposes that reptiles (Day 6) came into existence before the earliest birds (Day 5), and fish (Day 5) before seed-bearing plants (Day 3) [Irons 2001, 186]
B. The framework theory or literary interpretation
1. Defended in some form by Kline (1958), Waltke (1991), Futato (1998), M. Ross (1999), and Irons (2001)
2. Genesis 1 is an artistic arrangement not to be taken literally or chronologically
a. Genesis 1 is non-literal
i. Kline: a poetic figure or semi-poetic
ii. Waltke: the six days are metaphorical representations; the language is anthropomorphic and figurative (not plain)
b. Contradictions between Gen 1 and Gen 2 arise if Gen 1 is understood in a chronological fashion
i. Ordinary preservation operated during the creation week (Gen 2:5)
ii. Light created before the sun cannot work if Gen 1 is working through ordinary means
3. The genre of Gen 1
a. If Gen 1 is a straightforward historical account, then it may be placed in hard science, which is concerned about how it happened
b. If Gen 1 is not a straightforward historical account, then it may be placed in social science, which is concerned with who did it
c. Is it a hymn, a myth, a history?
4. A literary-artistic representation of creation: two triads of days (1-3 match 4-6)
1. Light 4. Luminaries
2. Sky (Water above) 5. Fish and Fowl
3. Dry land, Vegetation 6. Animals, Man
a. Different terminology to refer to the relationship of the parallels
i. Waltke: static spheres and what fills the spheres
ii. Kline: creation kingdoms and creature kings
b. Relationship between the days
i. Days 1-3 deal with the formless and Days 4-6 deal with filling in the void
ii. The inhabitants of the second triad rule over the first triad
iii. Days 1 and 4 are coterminous as both deal with the same topic and the same purpose is accomplished with both days
c. Importance of the framework view: supports Gen 1 as figurative and literary
5. Benefits of the literary framework view
a. Solves problems relating to chronology
b. Avoids the clash between science and the Bible
c. Tries to let God's revelation in Scripture and creation stand as complementary
6. Problems of the literary / framework views
a. Granted that Genesis is not primarily a scientific document, should we pull special revelation out of the scientific discussion?
b. The position hinges on the interpretation of Gen 2:5-6, which denies some miraculous preservation during the creation week
c. Would the original readers have understood such a complex literary arrangement?
d. What evidence is there in the OT that "earth" in Gen 1:1 includes the heavens?
e. Do the parallels stand?
i. Days 1 and 4: light is not a sphere
ii. Days 2 and 5: the habitation of birds is land (Day 3)
iii. The seas were not created until Day 3
f. The genre of Gen 1 is historical narrative
i. The mark of narrative: imperfect waw consecutive in Hebrew narrative
ii. Waltke: Gen 1 is "written in precise prose, whereas other biblical passages bearing on cosmogony are poetic, imaginative, and not didactic."
iii. S. R. Driver: "The most obvious and frequent relation is that of simple chronological succession" (Waltke & O'Conner 1989, 547)
iv. A highly structured arrangement does not mean a text is non-chronological or categorically not straightforward history
C. The days are analogical / anthropomorphic
1. Defended in some form by Collins, Shedd, Delitzsch, and Bavinck
2. The relationship of faith and science: good faith and good science need sound, critical thinking
a. Basic claim: conclusions are good only if they follow sound reasoning
b. Key: faith is good if it obeys the rules of rationality
3. The nature of Gen 1
a. Not myth or poetry
b. Chronological: six separate periods of time that took place one after the other
c. Not written in scientific language (geocentric and phenomenological)
4. The role of Gen 1:1-2
a. Genesis 1:1-2 is not a summary of the account of creation, but the initial creation event out of nothing
b. Genesis 1:1-2 is the background to the account of creation, so the creation week may not be the first week of the universe
5. The days in Gen 1 are not ordinary days, but analogical days
a. No refrain at the end of the seventh day, so it cannot be an ordinary day
b. Our work and rest is like God’s, but is not identical to God’s (Exod 20:8-11)
c. The point of the analogy is that God worked and rested during the creation week, and length of time has no bearing on the analogy
d. God is represented with anthropomorphic language, as a craftsman fashioning things
e. The days in Gen 1 occur in historical sequence, are probably rather long, and overlapping to some extent; they are successive periods of undefined length
f. The language is “high” language, not ordinary language. The author did not expect the passage to be taken as ordinary history
g. Conclusion: the days are God’s work days describing God’s activity
6. A concern for biblical interpretation and the validity of the scientific method: does creation speak truly?
7. If God created the universe with the appearance of age, would that be deceptive?
8. A key question is, How fallen is Nature?
a. The gound is not cursed
b. Eden was unlike the rest of the world
c. Creation groans (Rom 8:18-25) not because it is cursed, but because it is the arena for the curse on man to be played out
9. Problems with the analogical, anthropomorphic view
a. All human language about God is anthropomorphic to some extent. To say Gen 1 is anthropomorphic, therefore not straightforward history, is a non sequitur
b. The days are analogical, but the point of analogy has to do only with work and rest and has nothing to do with length of time or time as we know it
c. Did not God create Adam with age? Why not the same with trees in Gen 1?
d. Even if their points held (that Gen 1:1-2 is undefined in terms of time, that "let there be light" is not the origin of light, and that the sun and moon were not made on Day 4 but were only appointed for their purpose), it makes better sense that the days of Gen 1 are regular days with the sun first breaking through to the earth on Day 1
D. Old universe with a young earth view (The Age of the Universe, by Gorman Gray)
1. The age of the universe is not defined by scripture
a. Gen 1:1 is not a summary statement; it describes the actual creation of the universe; the earth itself is formless and void
b. God takes six literal days to make earth inhabitable
i. Day one: God allows the light of the sun to break through the darkness
ii. Day three: Heavenly bodies appointed (already made) to be for signs and for seasons by becoming visible.
2. Helps solve the problem of time and light
3. Problems and Questions for this view:
a. Do the jussives “let there be light” and “let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens” imply that light and the light-bearers were not in existence at the time of the jussive?
i. Gray understands the jussives as commands to shine through the darkness
ii. “Let there be” would refer to their function and not to their coming into being
b. Can the verb ‘āsāh (עשה) refer to an appointment in Gen 1:14?
E. The Gap Theory
1. Defended by Unger (1958)
2. The days are not days of creation, but of reconstruction or recreation
3. Genesis 1:1 describes God’s creation of an original perfect creation
4. A terrible catastrophe occurred between Gen 1:1 and 1:2 - the revolt of Satan
5. Problems with the Gap Theory
a. “Make” does not mean “remake.”
b. This view allows too prominent a role for the fall of Satan
c. The scriptural account is too brief to read in such a detailed history (compare to the flood narrative)
