Re: Days of Proclamation

Glenn,

This "Days of Proclamation" scenario would be so much more cogent without the "Days." Why would God announce his plans in increments of a day?

Whenever the ingenuous reader comes across "...the evening and the morning were the [nth] day," he's going to interpret this as a clear demarcation. The stuff that happens on one day is clearly separated by such comment from the stuff that happens on the next day. It's an effective literary device, and the author absolutely had to have intended it as a sharp demarcation.

Why he incorporated such demarcation I don't know; but because I've regarded Genesis 1 more or less as Abraham's myth--and hence not history--for some time now, it's not an issue for me. (Myth roots are unplumbable.) Abraham had to have a myth (so I assume), and he had to have one that contrasted with his neighbors', because theirs were polytheistic. The myth of Genesis 1 nicely puts the creaturely gods (e.g., heavenly bodies, trees, animals) in their place.

OK, so maybe the myth wasn't just Abraham's. The patriarchs, Moses, etc., probably added to and refined it.

Don

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Glenn Morton<mailto:glennmorton@entouch.net>
  To: jack syme<mailto:drsyme@cablespeed.com> ; Asa<mailto:asa@calvin.edu>
  Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2004 10:32 AM
  Subject: Days of Proclamation

  Jack Syme wrote:

>From: jack syme [mailto:drsyme@cablespeed.com<mailto:drsyme@cablespeed.com>]
>Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2004 6:04 AM
>To: Glenn Morton; Asa
>Subject: Re: Kerkut
>
>
>No I am not saying that I wont consider anything new. Have you convinced me that Genesis 1 is before time?
>
>Things happen in Genesis 1. Matter and energy are present. God commands (says) and things become. I think this clearly
>indicates time. How do you not think that time is not present here?

  It is not my responsibility to convince you. I have no control over that. It is my responsibilty to present evidence.

  I believe that Genesis 1 is the pre-planning of the universe. This view is called the Days of Proclamation view. God proclaimed things in Genesis 1, nothing was yet created. It is the human narrator, who lived many billions of years after the origin of the universe who then gives a statement affirming that the proclamation was accomplished. He says to the effect that 'it was so.' but it doesn't say, 'and it was so INSTANTLY!'. The view that God created instantly comes from our long cultural view that God works like a magician rather than a careful planner. It is more fun to see God do tricks than to carefully work out his solution over time.

  Note that God's proclamations start most often with 'Let there be.". This is a possible indication of a planning activity. If I were to plan a luxury airliner, I might say something similar: let there be a bedroom, let there be sofas instead of airplane seats. Let there be good food. etc. But I didn't actually accomplish anything when I outlined my desires for the luxury airliner. THat would come later when it was actually built.

  This approach leads to the reading of Genesis 1 like this:

  God said: "Let there be light":

  Narrator said: " and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."

  God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

  Narrator said: "And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

  God said, "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear:"

  Narrator said, "and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

  God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth:"
  Narrator said, "and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day."

  God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth:"

  Narrator said "and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."

  God said, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven."

  Narrator said, "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day."
  [Note that the narrator talks of God in the 3rd person ]

  God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind:"

  Narrator said, "and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

  God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

  Narrator said, So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

  God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat:"

  Narrator said, "and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

  By viewing Genesis 1 in this fashion, it is totally consistent with the ancient age of the earth and the scientific data.

  1.There is no indication of WHEN the creation actually happened. The narrator merely indicates that from his perspective (long after Adam and Eve) it was an fait accompli.

  2. It also makes sense of the plan that God had to allow the land and the water to bring forth life, which is exactly what evolution says. If I say, "Let Sam draw a picture," I am not the one drawing the picture but Sam is. Similarly, when God says, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature," it is the land who directly brings for the living creature. God delegated the creation to the land and water.

  Thus, I beleive that Genesis implicitly teaches evolution (George M. has corrected me many times on this claim so here is another chance).

  3. Genesis 2 becomes an account of the creation of man long after Genesis 1.
Received on Wed Feb 11 03:53:12 2004