Hi Dick:
Thank you for your response. However, you give no reason why it is
history -- just a statement about why your *assumption* that it is
history ties in with your understanding of other aspects of ANE history.
Don
Dick Fischer wrote:
> Hi Don, you wrote:
>
>>>Why can we be pretty sure that Genesis 1-11 is the *history* of the
>
> Semites and Arabs rather than a foundation story expressing how Israel
>
> sees itself in covenant relationship to God? And in what way does
>
> Christian faith depend on this distinction?<<
>
> Genesis 2-11 is helpful in seeing the first glimpses of Israel’s role
> in God’s grand plan. The curse upon the serpent contains the first
> prophecy of Christ, for example. And Genesis appears to be grounded in
> somewhat verifiable history. The list of patriarchs in Genesis 5 and
> 11 are helpful to see there are no more than 20 generations between
> Abraham and Adam. I don’t see any push to deny Abraham a role in
> history. He’s buried in the tomb of the patriarchs.
>
> Luke 3 also gives us a line of descent for Christ and for itermediate
> generations; Juda, Joseph, David, Shem, all linked to Noah and Adam.
>
> Noah’s grandsons and great grandsons became inextricably interwoven
> into the immediate surroundings of Mesopotamia. Elam goes to Iran,
> Mizraim heads to Egypt, Ashur discovers Ninevah, etc. And their
> descendants, Elamites, Hittites, Amorites, Cannanites develop into
> identifiable cultures associated closely with the affairs of Sumer and
> Accad.
>
> It’s intriquing, fascinating history totally ignored by apologists who
> are locked into methodologies that force them to neglect the very
> history that underscores the credibility of Scripture itself!
>
> I don’t think it requires any particular measure of faith to see the
> historical connections between Genesis and ANE literature. Whereas
> having seen the connections myself, it has only bolstered my faith in
> these much-maligned chapters.
>
> Dick Fischer
>
> Dick Fischer, Genesis Proclaimed Association
>
> Finding Harmony in Bible, Science, and History
>
> www.genesisproclaimed.org <http://www.genesisproclaimed.org/>
>
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Received on Wed Jun 14 18:34:28 2006
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Wed Jun 14 2006 - 18:34:28 EDT