RE: James Kennedy and his YEC teachings

Even some of my liberal commentaries point out that hippopotamus is most
likely not an appropriate translation for behemoth, which is described as
having a "tail like a cedar." One commentary suggests an elephant, with the
"tail like a cedar" describing its trunk.

Descriptions in Job of both behemoth and leviathan sound unlike any creature
we can currently identify. Could they be creatures now extinct? I think
that's a possibility. Or perhaps these were descriptions of mythical beasts
that never existed but were merely conjured by man's imagination? I would
say unlikely but, again, a possibility.

-----Original Message-----
From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On
Behalf Of gordon brown
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 12:18 PM
To: John and Carol Burgeson
Cc: asa@calvin.edu
Subject: Re: James Kennedy and his YEC teachings

The most obvious interpretation of behemoth and leviathan is that they are
the hippopotamus and crocodile. I think this is traditional. These are
given in the margin of my NASB as alternative translations. This is
another example of YECs bypassing the obvious meanings of a passage in
order to claim support for their pseudoscience.

Gordon Brown
Department of Mathematics
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0395

On Thu, 3 Mar 2005, John and Carol Burgeson wrote:

> I was challenged to back up my claim that the revered and famous James
> Kennedy might be (gasp) a YEC advocate.
>
> I heard him preach once on the YEC view while driving through Texas; that
> was a few years ago. Eugenie Scott identifies him as such in her latest
> book "Evolution vs Creationism." But I could have been mistaken. So I
> went to his web site for a look.
>
> The obvious link is:
>
> http://www.coralridge.org/imp/impact030511.aspx
>
> Here is part of what Kennedy says:
>
> CSI to Go Digging for Dinosaurs
>
> Dinosaurs are a hit with young and old. At any museum around the world
> you will always find a crowd where the dinosaur bones are exhibited. And
> now those dull bony skeletons are being replaced with new animatronic
> models that roar. The American Museum of Natural History in New York City
> will launch a new exhibit in May that will seek to answer the question:
> "What did dinosaurs look like with skin on?" and "How did they move?"
> ...
>
> Behemoth
> The Bible also speaks of dinosaurs. God paints a great picture of a
> gigantic dinosaur in his conversation with Job in Job 40. He asks Job to
> look at the "behemoth," a word equivalent to what we call "dinosaur," and
> tells Job that the dinosaur was contemporaneous with man, having been
> "made along with you" (Job 40:15). This expression indicates that man and
> dinosaur coexisted together. The universal appeal of dinosaurs is
> recognized in God's description of the dinosaur. He told Job they "rank
> first (chief) among the works of God" (Job 40:19).
> The lessons to be learned from dinosaurs in museums, movie theatres,
> and the news media differs sharply from what the Bible presents. Public
> educators teach children that dinosaurs evolved over millions of years,
> and lived long before man. "It is an absolute tragedy that God made
> dinosaurs to attract us to Him, and now they are used to divert our
> attention away from Him and towards the evolutionary thinking," said Tom
> DeRosa, Executive Director of the Creation Studies Institute. "These
> creatures of magnificent stature and great variety demonstrate excellence
> in all areas, and had one basic purpose, and that was to draw us to our
> loving Creator."
>
> Montana Dig
> CSI will help restore a right appreciation of dinosaurs, July 25-29,
> when it sponsors a Dinosaur Dig in Glendive, Montana. This event, open to
> the public, offers participants the opportunity to join Otis Kline and
> Joe Taylor, expert creation paleontologists, and Tom DeRosa to experience
> the thrill of excavating the Hell Creek Formation in the Badlands of
> Montana. ... Participants will not only be taught paleontology from a
> creationist viewpoint during the day, but will also be taught in the
> evenings how to "Stand Firm on Genesis." CSI's primary goal for this
> Dinosaur Dig is to strengthen and equip Christians with a unique,
> hands-on experience-giving our Creator all the glory.
>
> Burgy
>
Received on Thu Mar 3 13:17:31 2005