Psalm 100 5 KI TOV ADONAI Because good

Psalm 100: 5 • • KI TOV ADONAI Because good (is) the LORD LE’OLAM H ASDO (2 X) To eternity (is) His hesed VE’AD DOR VE-DOR (2 X) And unto generation and generation EMUNATO His faithfulness

An Announcement and Introductory Question • Talk on the Big Bang – this evening at 7: 15 in J 237 • What have been for you the most challenging aspects of Genesis 1 -3? • Review: the importance of general and special revelation

Genesis: The Creation Accounts

An Overview of Genesis • Meaning of “genesis” • Universal focus in chs 1 -11: origins of… – – – Universe Humankind Sin Covenant Ethnic distinctions • Chs 12 -50 – Abraham and the covenant with the Chosen People

Potential for Controversy • Authorship and date • Purpose(s) of composition: historically/factually truthful or “myth”? – Myth – narrative that is not factually accurate but conveys universal truths • Creation and evolution • Implications regarding gender relationships • Thoughts regarding the origin of evil

Exploring creation and evolution • Each term has its own multiple interpretations • In this discussion, evolution has particular reference to origin of life and the appearance of humankind • It is important to distinguish between macro-and microas well as evolutionary processes in the solar system that do not have directly to do with the appearance of life • The evolutionary model necessitates reading Genesis 12 as either a myth or as a solely theological statement • In the creation model, God is the Beginner, the Designer, and Source of life. Thus, there is intrinsic value to all of life, especially humankind. • The creation model encompasses both young earth and old earth approaches

The Biblical Data • “In the beginning God…” • The account is poetic, ordered, and brief but encompasses the entire universe. It is structured by the Word. Water is a key element and the Spirit moved on the face of the waters. • Light and goodness are significant; there is a fundamentally moral nature to the universe

Further Biblical Data • Increasing order and complexity with each creative day; parallel developments: – Day 1 light/darkness – Day 2 waters/sky – Day 3 land/vegetation Day 4 specific lights Day 5 creatures of water and sky Day 6 all creatures of land • Day 7 – God rested and the Sabbath is blessed

Two additional biblical matters… • The verbs used in the narrative/poetry suggest God’s intimate involvement with the process (“made”, “set”, “created”, “formed”, “planted”) in conjunction with the land the water “bringing forth”. • Yom (the word translated “day”) even in the immediate context (2: 4) does not exclusively mean 24 hour period

Data from general revelation (example: the “Owl Nebula”) • 2600 light years away (light travels 5. 8 trillion miles in one year) • Very close – part of the Milky Way

Surveying General Revelation • All aspects of nature - geological and astronomical evidence - indicate a 4. 5 billion year old earth (geological evidence and fossil materials) and a 13. 7 billion year old universe (light travel time; distance of galaxies; expanding universe)

Important Distinctions • Data are the facts as discovered in both the biblical text and the created world • Theories are what theologians, on the one hand, and scientists, on the other, have proposed to explain the data. • In regard to the data from nature, it is important to distinguish between the geological record (continuous) and the fossil record (intermittent).

Several interpretive options • Theistic evolution – God’s chosen mechanism • Progressive creationism: “Day-age” or “pronouncement days” – an old earth but a creationist perspective • Framework hypothesis - avoids the “age” questions and is instead a theological approach • Young earth creationism - “days” are 24 hour periods; earth is approximately 10, 000 years old • Revelatory days – has nothing to do with creative days but refers to the days Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving revelation about creation (cf. Exodus 24: 16)

Brief observations • It is necessary to treat all the data, both biblical and scientific, with integrity • Creation is a testimony to God, not a veil (Psalm 19 and Romans 1) – the “apparent age” option is questionable • In creation, God used both miracle and natural processes

“and He created adam (humankind “male and female”) in His own image…” (1: 27) • Ancient Near Eastern thinking about image focused on function rather than physical representation • “composition” – God’s breath and dust of the earth • Ezer kenegdo – “a help opposite him” • Purposes – Be fruitful and multiply – Work with and tend creation – “vehicle” for the incarnation • Significance of the names of God: Both Elohim and Yahweh in chapter 2 – Note that the serpent and Eve will only use Elohim (ch 3)

“When on high…” (the Enuma Elish) • The parallels – creation from nothing – water and darkness prominent • The contrasts – dualism (Apsu divine patron of fresh water and Tiamat of salt water) – mindless frenzy of gods – deities are “created after the image of humans” – squabbling and assassinations