Re: Genesis 1:1 - a standing miracle

On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 22:22:35 +0100, Vernon Jenkins wrote:

>Gary,
>
>Thanks for writing. But why are people like yourself so anxious to speak
>about correctly _interpreting_ a passage of Scripture? Surely the words of
>the account of the making of Eve (Gen.2:21-24) are clear enough - either to
>be believed or ignored (for what other choice is there?). They could only
>have come from the Lord - for Adam was asleep at the time. Is it your
>contention that He who created all things (including the wonders of Genesis
>1:1) was incapable of correctly informing future generations of what really
>happened way back? What motive could He possibly have had to lie or mislead?
>
>I appreciate your suggestions regarding reading material. However, I believe
>the opinions of Blocher, Fee and Macdonald - whatever they be - have now
>been overtaken by events. He who constructed Genesis 1:1 is clearly a
>Sovereign and Purposeful God - surely, One to be trusted to mean what He
>says.
>
>Regards,
>
>Vernon
>
>www.otherbiblecode.com
>
Vernon,
_EVERYTHING_ we read we must interpret in order to understand it.
In doing this, we bring our past experience of reading, linguistics, as
well as our experience of life in general, in order to ascertain what the
intent of the author is/was, and with our experiences we also bring
our presuppositions and prejudices.
You have presented an oversimplistic dichotomy. You have not
allowed the possibility that the author was using figurative
language to convey spiritual truth. (That is just one possibility.
There are many others, I'm sure).
Interpretation of Scripture is often far from straightforward.
You have only to pick up a good commentary to see the different
possibilities that present themselves. Often, commentators - godly
men who have a desire for the truth - arrive at radically different
conclusions, yet in each case basing their conclusions on what they
claim to be a 'straightforward reading' of the text. If you believe that
literal history (in the modern western sense) is the only possible way to
convey such truth, then you are very much mistaken. There are many
different literary styles used in the Bible, and they may all be used to
convey truth - without necessarily being literal. Do you believe that
'the mountais skipped like rams', to give just one example? Yet the
Psalms convey truth just as much as Genesis does. Or don't you believe
that? If you are so blinkered that you can't see the issue here, then there
is little point continuing any conversation on this subject.

Regards,
/Gary
Received on Fri Jul 2 04:25:44 2004