From: Glenn Morton (glennmorton@entouch.net)
Date: Sun Oct 05 2003 - 18:53:56 EDT
Hi Wayne, You ask some very excellent questions below. Answers below
-----Original Message-----
From: Darryl Maddox [mailto:dpmaddox@arn.net]
Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2003 3:55 PM
To: Glenn Morton; Dawsonzhu@aol.com; asa@calvin.edu
Subject: Re: RATE
Glenn you know I agree with you most of the time and I don't disagree with
you here, but I do have a question and an opinion.
Q: If we through out a 6 day creation and a universal flood, by what
criteria do we stop throwing out stuff?
GRM: Since I don't think the Bible actually teachs a 6 day creation but
believe that the days in Genesis 1 are days of proclamation which are
basically the proclamations about what the universe would be like when it
was created, I don't have to 'throw' anything out. This interpretation
maintains Genesis 1 as actually referring to history (see
http://home.entouch.net/dmd/synop.htm for more on this view.
GRM: As to the flood, it is anthropologically universal, not necessarily
global. The Hebrew word for what was flooded by Noah's flood is eretz'.
That word is used throughout the Bible for limited regions. Indeed Abraham
was told by God to leave his 'eretz'. If eretz means planet earth as the
YEC/global flood people assert, then Abraham disobeyed God by not traveling
to Mars. The flood becomes local under this interpretation and I don't have
to 'throw' anything out.
GRM: Your question is a bit like asking 'When did you stop beating your
wife' It presupposes that there are only two options--throw things out, or
accept 6 days/global flood. There are other options. The one I take is
GRM: 1. Geneis 1 is real history of the pre-tempporal, precreation period.
2. Genesis 2 happened billions of years after Genesis 1.
3. Genesis 1:11, 21 and 24 God ordered the LAND (eretz) and water
to create life. That is what evolution says.
4. Nowhere in scripture is the word 'animal' both subject and
object in a sentence which says, 'Animals reproduce animals after their
kind. Thus the Bible does not preclude morphological change in spite of what
the YECs and Phillip Johnsons of the world claim. The LAND created animals
of VARIOUS kinds. That is what the phrase mistranslated 'after their kind'
means.
GRM: 'Course, no one likes my views.
I've been trying to answer this one objectively for most of my life and
have yet to even get close to an answer but that doesn't mean it hasn't been
done or won't be done. But if it has I am not aware of it and that leads to
my opinion -
Opinion: My opinion is that it is the fear that the lack of such a
hard-and-fast, publishable, debated and agreed upon by all, criteria for
separating analogy from fact that causes most YECs to stay that way inspite
of everything. Once they start throwing out stuff they are afraid they
won't know how or where to stop and that could leave them with consequences
they would rather not face. The fact that they compromise, select for
acceptance, and ignore as irrelevant passages on other issues is a small and
seldom thought of contradiction to their stance on the age of the earth and
the nature of the flood so they try to stand pat on the big ones and hope
the small ones will take care of themselves eventually.
GRM: I don't beleive Genesis is allegory of analogy. I believe it is
history. That was the whole issue George M. and I used to beat each other
over the head about. While both of us still believe our opinions, I think
we have both decided that while it is fun to beat the other guy, it is less
fun to be beaten. Thus we have over the last few years agreed to disagree
and left it at that. :-)
GRM: I basically agree with you and the YEC position that we simply can't
take an allegorical approach to creation or even events like the flood. If
they left no evidence, then the best and most logical thing to do is to say
" it didn't happen and the account is false", not to conclude that "it
didn't happen therefore the account is true."
I won't respond George, my head is still sore from our last battle. It
needs to heal. :-)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sun Oct 05 2003 - 18:54:02 EDT