Young on Writing Style of Genesis 1
Brothers who are proponents of non-literal views of Genesis 1 set forth that the grammar and syntax call for a non-literal interpretation of the text. At Westminster Seminary we read Henri Blocher’s IVP 1984 publication, In the Beginning—The Opening Chapters of Genesis. He elaborates on the style in Genesis and offers a proposal saying it is “…like the utterances of a Wisdom writer…” (p. 34). Usually we think of wisdom literature as poetic. E. J. Young writes, “Genesis one is written in exalted, semi-poetical language; nevertheless, it is not poetry. For one thing the characteristics of Hebrew poetry are lacking, and in particular there is an absence of parallelism. It is true that there is a division into paragraphs, but to label these strophes does not render the account poetic.” See WTJ Vol. 25 (1963), “The Days of Genesis Second Article” (pp.148-149).
G. Mark Sumpter
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I am not a Pope, preacher, elder nor statesman. I have not ministerial authority nor any other ecclesiastical office. There is no professional theologian nor scholar that knows my name. What does that all mean? It means I can speak my opinions and beliefs more readily and casually and not worry about the fall-out too much (love the freedom, really).
With that said, I believe more and more that God spoke and the world was created, even in 24 hours, over 6 days of a cycle. It is not that I have drowned myself in scientific books nor have I been brain-washed by angry fundamentalists. It is simply because the Scripture opens up with something majestic and powerful that only God could do. It is because I sometimes think that God likes doing things that only a child could really believe. It is because God said He did it, and communicated the measurement. I see God creating the world in 6 days, and winking at His people saying, "You know I can do it. Why do you doubt? Haven't I done other amazing things that only faith can access?"
God knows His secrets, but He does tell us things in the Bible that...must be met in our hearts, beleiving...in faith...in Him.
Matt
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