Re: [asa] Genesis - literal or not

The first english version (I have a copy) was published by IVP in 1984. I
dont know if it is still in print or not, but I just got my copy within the
last 5 years.

----- Original Message -----
From: "IW" <iaincw@hushmail.com>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 2:56 AM
Subject: [asa] Genesis - literal or not

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> Years ago I read a book on Genesis which I have wanted to quote
> here as I felt it highly relevant - but I could not find the book.
> I since found some key quotes I typed years ago but I still do not
> have a copy of the book. It is a book called _In the beginning,
> the opening chapters of Genesis_ (Translated from the original
> German) and is by Henri Blocher.
>
> The quotes below are from Pgs 51-59. I did not not at the time
> record the specific pages per each quote so forgive me for that.
>
> He writes:
>
> "The authors' (of Genesis) intention is not to supply us with a
> chronology of origins. It is possible that the logical order he has
> chosen coincides broadly with the actual sequence of the facts of
> the cosmogony; But that does not interest him. He wishes to bring
> out certain themes and provide a theology for the sabbath. ...We
> discerned a composite literary genre, skilfully composed. We
> admired its author as a wise man...fond of manipulating numbers
> [such as] the number seven. "
>
> (Here he quotes another author, Paul Beauchamp) "EJ Young...points
> out the frequency in ancient Near East texts of the pattern 6 +1
> (...often six days plus one) The more it appears that the biblical
> writer used a stereotype from his cultural milieu in presenting
> creation in the from of a week, the less likely that he limited
> himself to transcribing a chronological sequence. ...Kline draws
> attention to the preamble of the second tablet, in Genesis 2:5.
> which explains the absence of grass or shrubs (whether locally or
> universally is irrelevant) by the absence or rain and of human
> irrigation. :"There was no...for (kî ) the Lord God had not caused
> it to rain , and there was no man to till the ground". That
> explanation predisposes the normal activity of the laws of nature
> for the growth of plants (an operation of [the] divine), and a
> sufficient length of time for the absence of rain to be able to
> constitute the cause of the absence of plants.
> This does not fit the the hypothesis of a literal week for the
> creation of the whole cosmos.
>
> If the dry land did not emerge until Tuesday and if vegetation
> has only existed from that day, an explanation is not going to be
> given the following Friday that there is no vegetation because
> there is no rain! ...Moses would not have preserved a contradiction
> in 2:5. If he repeated the explanation given, it is because he did
> not understand the days of the first chapter literally. "
>
> (Henri again)
> "...[The other clue] is the omission of the formula for the evening
> and morning of the seventh day. It is deliberate. ...the day is
> never finished! Gods rest signifies the completion of creation and
> the conditions for history to proceed, since mankind may act on the
> basis of laws...permanently established."
>
> (Henri quoting again)
> "EJ young questions the view that Hebrews 4:3-5, which is sometimes
> referred to in this debate, upholds the idea of an eternal 7th day.
> This...difficult passage in any case gives no support to the
> literal reading o Genesis one. ...Accused of breaking the sabbath
> law..., Jesus pleads that he is working as his Father is still
> working (Jn. 5:17) following the principle "whatever the father
> does, that the son does likewise."
>
> "Jesus' reasoning is sound only if the father acts during his
> sabbath; only on that condition has the son the right to act...on
> the sabbath. Jesus stresses, "My father worketh even until now
> (RV)"; Gods sabbath, which marks the end of creation but does not
> tie God's hands, is therefore co-extensive with history.
> Our Lord himself did not see the seventh day... as...literal..."
>
> (Henri again)
> "The narrative has two peaks, mankind and the sabbath....the
> creation of mankind crowns the work...the sabbath is its supreme
> goal. ....The sabbath sums up the difference between the biblical
> and the Marxist visions. The essence of mankind is NOT work!....The
> form of the days, employed with consummate skill, tells mankind
> that he will imitate God on earth, which...forbids him to identify
> with his earthly work. It refers him back to his most essential
> relationship, that with God. That is the message of the sabbath. "
>
> Pgs 51-59
>
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Received on Tue Dec 11 05:58:34 2007