“I keep returning to the first eleven chapters of Genesis as an example of this difficulty. Did God intend to give us a science and history opening to His revelation, or is there some other meaning behind these chapters?”
I’m training myself to ask, “What is the lesson being taught?” rather than “How do I make this fit with my presuppositions?”
This is quite a challenge for someone who grew up in a home with “Dispensational Truth” on the family bookshelf, and attended a seminary with a preponderance of INTJ professors.
I have had to come to, and continue to work toward, this same learning. At first, I didn't like it, having learned the "right" way to understand such passages; I was quite uncomfortable at the beginning of this process. I have grown more comfortable with it over time.
I was having a conversation with a friend, one who sees such passages as "history / science." He said, "what? Are you saying that what is written isn't true?"
I replied: The movie "The Matrix." Is it true?
Of course it's true, even if we aren't physically in pods as depicted in the movie. But the symbolism tells an absolute truth.
The essence/energy distinction was not something I always appreciated, but now I find it invaluable. On Genesis 1-11, I have learned much from those readers who emphasize the importance of clarifying the genre of those chapters and understanding Genesis's revision of ancient Middle East creation stories (such as the Flood). The website "Resurrecting Orthodoxy" has for the last few weeks focused upon the importance of literary genre in examining the meaning of Biblical "inerrancy".
“I keep returning to the first eleven chapters of Genesis as an example of this difficulty. Did God intend to give us a science and history opening to His revelation, or is there some other meaning behind these chapters?”
I’m training myself to ask, “What is the lesson being taught?” rather than “How do I make this fit with my presuppositions?”
This is quite a challenge for someone who grew up in a home with “Dispensational Truth” on the family bookshelf, and attended a seminary with a preponderance of INTJ professors.
I have had to come to, and continue to work toward, this same learning. At first, I didn't like it, having learned the "right" way to understand such passages; I was quite uncomfortable at the beginning of this process. I have grown more comfortable with it over time.
I was having a conversation with a friend, one who sees such passages as "history / science." He said, "what? Are you saying that what is written isn't true?"
I replied: The movie "The Matrix." Is it true?
Of course it's true, even if we aren't physically in pods as depicted in the movie. But the symbolism tells an absolute truth.
The essence/energy distinction was not something I always appreciated, but now I find it invaluable. On Genesis 1-11, I have learned much from those readers who emphasize the importance of clarifying the genre of those chapters and understanding Genesis's revision of ancient Middle East creation stories (such as the Flood). The website "Resurrecting Orthodoxy" has for the last few weeks focused upon the importance of literary genre in examining the meaning of Biblical "inerrancy".