Tuesday Tome - The Lost World of Genesis One

For the most part, I find debates about creationism, gradualistic evolution, and intelligent design mired in pointless controversy and, therefore, thoroughly unedifying. Most of the debate champions seem to have a bad case of overconfidence, and in many cases the overconfidence is bolstered by misconceptions and mischaracterizations of the creation accounts in the Bible. As a result, these debates are often adventures in missing the point. Worse yet, the defense or attack of bad exegesis is confused with upholding or debunking the idea of God.

Last Tuesday, I attended a morning of lectures by John Walton, professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and an editor and writer of Old Testament comparative studies and commentaries. The event was sponsored by MacLaurinCSF, a Christian Study Center the University of Minnesota. I was pleased to see the event well-attended. Even more, I was pleased with the content of the lectures.

John Walton's new book, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate,  covers much of the same material he was presenting in his lectures. You'll find the book to be helpful if you are interested in understanding Genesis one and/or wrestle with questions about origins. Dr. Walton puts the biblical creation accounts into the context of its ancient readers and writers. This is a healthy preventive against projecting modern ideas about science or theology into the ancient texts. It also opens up a lot of new perspectives as it reveals many ancient concepts that are largely unknown to 21st-centry readers.

Praise for the book:
"John Walton's expertise in the Ancient Near Eastern sources enables him to shed a flood of new and unexpected light on the deeper meaning of Genesis 1. The Creator, Genesis is saying, designed heaven and earth as a great temple with the intention of coming to live in it himself--and the sabbath isn't just a nice break after the work is done, but the moment when he takes up residence in the world he has just made. The implications of this resonate right through the rest of the Bible. This is not just a book to invite 'creationists' to think differently; it is a book to help all Bible students read the whole of Scripture with fresh eyes." (N. T. Wright, Bishop of Durham)

"This book presents a profoundly important new analysis of the meaning of Genesis. Digging deeply into the original Hebrew language and the culture of the people of Israel in Old Testament times, respected scholar John Walton argues convincingly that Genesis was intended to describe the creation of the functions of the cosmos, not its material nature. In the process, he elevates Scripture to a new level of respectful understanding, and eliminates any conflict between scientific and scriptural descriptions of origins." (Francis S. Collins, head of the Human Genome Project and author of The Language of God)  

"Professor Walton seeks to describe clearly and with ruthless honesty the nature and purpose of the biblical text in Genesis that is juxtaposed to the claims of modern science and scientism in the current debate over origins. His work will be welcomed by all those who seek to render to both the Scriptures and modern science the authority appropriate to each--while at the same time avoiding false or unnecessary stands on either side." (Shirley A. Mullen, president, Houghton College)

"John Walton offers a compelling and persuasive interpretation of Genesis, one that challenges those who take it as an account of material origins. His excellent book is must-reading for all who are interested in the origins debate." (Tremper Longman III, author of How to Read Genesis, and Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College)

"Every theologian, every pastor, every Christian in the natural sciences, indeed, every Christian who loves the Bible must put aside all other reading material this minute and immediately begin to absorb the contents of John Walton's The Lost World of Genesis One. Walton closely examines Genesis 1 in light of ancient Near Eastern literature and offers a compelling case that the creation account is far more concerned with the cosmos being given its functions as God's temple than it is with the manufacture of the material structures of the earth and universe. In the process, he has blown away all the futile attempts to elicit modern science from the first chapter of the Bible." (Davis A. Young, Professor Emeritus of Geology, Calvin College, and coauthor of The Bible, Rocks and Time)

"Walton's cosmic temple inauguration view of Genesis 1 is a landmark study in the interpretation of that controversial chapter. On the basis of ancient Near Eastern literatures, a rigorous study of the Hebrew word bara' ('create'), and a cogent and sustained argument, Walton has gifted the church with a fresh interpretation of Genesis 1. His view that the seven days refers to the inauguration of the cosmos as a functioning temple where God takes up his residence as his headquarters from which he runs the world merits reflection by all who love the God of Abraham." (Bruce Waltke, professor of Old Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary)