On 02 Dec 95 14:47:38 EST you wrote:
[...]
JB>So...what would the Hebrews have thought about the original
>creative acts of God? As creation ex nihilo? Or as using some
>"pre-existing" material?
>The answer is unequivocally the former. We must place the creation
>of Adam in context. What is that context? Creation ex nihilo.
Sorry Jim but I must disagree. The creatio ex nihilo applies to the
creation of the *universe*, not to man. Gn 2:7 actually states that
*man* was formed (not "created") out of pre-existing material:
"the LORD God formed the man FROM THE DUST OF THE GROUND and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living
being." (Gn 2:7).
JB>Since Scripture interprets Scripture, we see from Hebrews 11:3:
>"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's
>command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible."
Agreeed "the universe".
JB>The universe (for the Hebrews, everything that has material
>existence) was formed out of nothing, coming from the WORD of God.
>"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by
>the breath of his mouth." (Ps. 33:6).
Agreed, "the heavens".
JB>This is orthodox theology, both Catholic and Protestant. The First
>Vatican Council states that God created everything, including life,
>"by entirely free design *formed out of nothing* from the beginning
>of time at once both the spiritual creature and the corporeal, that
>is to say, the angelic and the worldly, and thereafter the human, as
>if jointly constituted of spirit and body."
JB>Louis Berkhof, one of the 20th Century's foremost Protestant
>theologians, wrote: "Creation in the strict sence of the word may be
>defined as that free act of God whereby He, according to His
>sovereign will and for His own glory, in the beginning brought forth
>the whole visible and invisible universe, *without the use of
>preexistent material* and thus gave it an existence, distinct from
>His own and yet always dependent on Him." (Systematic Theology,
>1939, p. 129).
Interestingly the word in Gn 2:7 rendered "formed" is Heb. yatsar of
which Berkoff himself says:
"Scriptural terms for "to create." In the narrative of creation, as was
pointed out in the preceding, three verbs are used, namely, bara',
'asah, and yatsar, and they are used interchangeably in Scripture,
Gen. 1:26,27; 2:7. The first word is the most important. Its original
meaning is to split, to cut, to divide; but in addition to this it also
means to fashion, to create, and in a more derivative sense, to
produce, to generate, and to regenerate. The word itself does not
convey the idea of bringing forth something out of nothing, for it is
even used of works of providence, Isa. 45:7; Jer. 31:22; Amos
4:13. Yet it has a distinctive character: it is always used of divine
and never of man production; and it never has an accusative of
material, and for that very reason serves to stress the greatness of
the work of God. The word 'asah is more general, meaning to do or
to make, and is therefore used in the general sense of doing,
making, manufacturing, or fashioning. The word yatsar has, more
distinctively, the meaning of fashioning out of pre-existent
materials, and is therefore used of the potter's fashioning vessels
out of clay." (Berkhof L., "Systematic Theology", Banner of Truth:
London, 1958, p132)
JB>Donald Bloesch states: "On the basis of the scriptural testimony
>the church through the ages has affirmed the doctrine of creation ex
>nihilo (out of nothing). This means that the world was created by
>divine fiat; God did not have to mold the world out of a material
>that was preexistent or coeternal." (Essentials of Evangelical
>Theology, Vol. 1, p. 25).
JB>Thus, the context of creation ex nihilo ruled for the ancient
>Hebrews. The use of "preexisting materials" for the creative acts of
>God in early Genesis were not entertained.
Agree for Gn 1:1. Disagree for rest of "early Genesis". Berkhof notes:
"Gen. 1:1 records the beginning of the work of creation, and it
certainly does not represent God as bringing the world forth out of
pre-existent material. It was creation out of nothing, creation in the
strict sense of the word, and therefore the only part of the work
recorded in Gen. 1 to which Calvin would apply the term."
(Berkhof, p133)
The use of "preexisting materials" or processes is clearly indicated by
the commands to "Let the earth bring..." (Gn 1:11,24).
JB>This interpretation is even stronger given the literary style of
>Genesis 1. The majesty of God (Elohim) cannot be captured in mere
>prose. We are lifted out of corporeal paradigms by this chapter.
>That is exactly what it intends!
Granted the "literary style" of Gn 1 is majestic and God-exalting.
But it would be wrong IMHO to derive from literary style, statements
about reality. The words of Gn 1 clearly indicate different layers of
creative activity indicated in the text itself.
JB>So, yes, the Bible in context affirms the de novo creation of man.
>Praise the Lord for his creative power!
Unfortunately, "the Bible in context" affirms no such thing! :-) The
Bible in context affirms that man was made from "dust" (Gn 2:7; 3:19;
Job 34:15 Ps 103:14, etc).
God bless.
Stephen