Re: [asa] Carol Hill's Worldview Approach

>  For example, Hill's interpretation of Genesis 1 seems identical to Seely's, Hyers', and many others.  She calls it the >  "literary" approach.  I think some call it the "framework" approach.  Regardless, I think it is quite sound. 

I had lunch recently with one of the Hebrew scholars who has been influential in developing the "framework" approach, and based on what he told me I don't think he would agree with Seely's type of accomodation.  He would probably agree with Hill's type of accomodation.  This scholar told me that, although Gen.1 uses terminology and concepts from Canaanite mythology, it does not reflect the idea that the biblical author actually believed in those elements of Canaanite mythology.  For example, the Bible clearly says that rain comes from windows that are opened in the dome to let the upper waters pour through onto the Earth.  This is not language that supports the scientific concept of rain.  It is clearly an un-scientific description of rain identical to what we find in ANE mythology.  However, sitting right next to this in Genesis 3 is an accurate description of rain, where it says that God provided for wild plants by causing a mist to rise from the surface of the earth to water the whole surface of the ground.  (The YEC's wrongly say that this was different than ordinary rain, but the original Hebrew is actually saying that God **initiated** ordinary rain in this way in order to solve the problem described in the prior verse:  that plants could not exist without rain.)  And it is not reasonable to believe that the agrarian Hebrew culture as late as the Exodus failed to understand that rain comes from clouds that move around in the sky, unlike a fixed window that can be opened in the solid dome.  So according to this Hebrew scholar, although the Bible is clearly using mythological language and concepts as a means to accomodationally communicate, that does not mean the Bible itself is actually imbibing in those myths.

Phil

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Received on Sat Jun 2 01:44:07 2007