One other resource worth mentioning, that I happened to re-read this
evening: John Jefferson Davis' essay, "Genesis, Inerrancy, and the
Antiquity of Man," in the book "Inerrancy and Common Sense." Davis asks,
"why must the history in Genesis be either purely literal or purely
symbolic?" He offers a very interesting approach from a quite conservative,
inerrantist perspective that ties these narratives to real history without
assuming they are "literal" history. The point is that even very
conservative scholars can acknowledge that a commitment concerning the
nature of scripture as totally truthful doesn't entirely predetermine the
hermeneutical approach to any given part of scripture.
Actually, the essay in this volume that resonated most with me was one by J.
Ramsey Michaels, titled "Inerrancy or Verbal Inspiration?" Michaels takes
the approach that "inerrancy" is an assertion of faith that we possess in
scripture precisely the revelation God intended us to possess, without
making other a priori commitments about what *type* of revelation it is,
including a type of revelation that might reflect some of the limitations of
the inspired but human writers. Michaels notes that *"[t]he Christian
apologist who makes inerrancy subject to empirical verification takes upon
himself an intolerable burden. The non-Christian rationalist has only to
demonstrate one 'error' or apparent contradiction, and the whole structure
comes tumbling down, at least in his eyes. The apologist then becomes like
the legendary Dutch boy trying to plug the leak in the dike with his finger
-- but with a less happy conclusion! The task he set for himself is
hopeless, and he can only succeed by shifting ground." * It seems a shame
to me that Michaels' approach didn't seem to gain much traction within
evangelicalism. Or I wonder, does anyone know whether this way of
approaching "inerrancy" is still a stream within evangelicalism?
[BTW, I understand that many here simply reject "inerrancy," but I'm not
intending to assert, deny or debate the concept per se -- just trying to
contextualize the problems Louise mentions, because they are primarily
problems for those of us who have at least some notion of inerrancy as part
of our tradition]
On 1/30/07, Freeman, Louise Margaret <lfreeman@mbc.edu> wrote:
>
> Certainly a great paper, Ted; I see how you like it for student use.
> I'll put it on my list of things to share. It reminds me of the discussion
> of Genesis in Falk's *Coming to Peace with Science* .
>
> But I predict, if I shared it with the largely literalist members of my
> church, I'd get the following questions.
>
> 1) Is a "literal" interpretation of Noah's Flood similarly "inappropriate,
> misleading and unworkable?" What about the Plagues and the Exodus? How do
> you stop yourself from falling into the trap of declaring the entire Bible
> non-literal, including the miracles and resurrection of Jesus?
>
> 2) What about New Testament passages (1 Cor 15:22, I Tim 2:13, Matt 24:37)
> that refer to the stories of Adam and Noah as if they were literal and
> historically true events?
>
>
> __
> Louise M. Freeman, PhD
> Psychology Dept
> Mary Baldwin College
> Staunton, VA 24401
> 540-887-7326
> FAX 540-887-7121
>
> Ted responds:
> I would say that one person who bothered to read Genesis in light of what
> we know about the ancient Near East is Conray Hyers, whose essay "Dinosaur
> Religion" greatly helps my students to understand the importance of
> cultural
> context and literary genre for doing biblical hermeneutics. This is my
> NUMBER ONE recommended article on origins issues, bar none. I put it
> above
> articles by scientists, historians, philosophers, theologians, and other
> biblical scholars.
>
> It's also one of our own--ie, an article from PSCF. It ought to be
> getting
> thousands of annual hits, but sadly it is not very well known.
>
> Here it is:
> http://www.asa3.org/aSA/PSCF/1984/JASA9-84Hyers.html
>
> ted
>
>
>
>
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>
>
-- David W. Opderbeck Web: http://www.davidopderbeck.com Blog: http://www.davidopderbeck.com/throughaglass.html MySpace (Music): http://www.myspace.com/davidbecke To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with "unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.Received on Wed Jan 31 23:37:29 2007
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