Comments on: A Brief Survey of Creation in Genesis in 2nd Temple Judaism (2 – Creation)

By: Polycarp

Polycarp — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:49:35 +0000

And that IS BIBLE! Amen and Amen.

By: Polycarp

Polycarp — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:49:00 +0000

And that IS BIBLE! Amen and Amen.

By: Mitchell Powell

Mitchell Powell — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:48:40 +0000

And the earth was formless and void and darkness . . .

And God said, Let there be light

and then he spent time (an all-powerful God took time! that’s a startling thing.) ordering everything. And whether we’re evolutionists, progressive creationists, or yec’s, there’s no denying that we serve a God who took chaos and creatively fashioned it into order. And he does it with us too. And that’s awesome.

By: Mitchell Powell

Mitchell Powell — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:48:00 +0000

And the earth was formless and void and darkness . . .

And God said, Let there be light

By: Polycarp

Polycarp — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:41:36 +0000

Amen, Mitchell. This is, to me, one of the finer theological points. We find the same thing in Psalms, although on a personal level, and with Christ, who brought God’s order into Sin’s Chaos with the New Creation.

By: Polycarp

Polycarp — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:41:00 +0000

By: Mitchell Powell

Mitchell Powell — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:37:20 +0000

I agree about the order-chaos motif, not only because it feeds into our appreciation for Biblical history, but also because the making of order out of chaos is an enduring part of what God’s been up to since the beginning of time (whatever that looked light). Indeed, it’s even an encouragement to us today when we see chaos in the world, because regardless of our eschatological views, all the chaos out here is, in God’s final plan, one way or another turned into a more perfect order, and we all get the pleasure of playing along in that journey. The order-chaos principle is one of the things that makes Christianity great.

By: Mitchell Powell

Mitchell Powell — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:37:00 +0000

By: Polycarp

Polycarp — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:11:16 +0000

I think we have to understand the order/chaos motif in the ANE, Mitchell, which is where the ‘seas’ come in.

I have heard that dinosaur myth myself, but don’t buy it.

By: Polycarp

Polycarp — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:11:00 +0000

I think we have to understand the order/chaos motif in the ANE, Mitchell, which is where the ‘seas’ come in.

I have heard that dinosaur myth myself, but don’t buy it.

By: Mitchell Powell

Mitchell Powell — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:45:03 +0000

The Behemoth/Leviathan issue is fascinating, and I find equally fascinating the blind insistence by some of my creationist brethren that Leviathan must be a dinosaur. They cite the description in Job, and then they refer to Psalm 104:24-26 as proof that the Leviathan dinosaur must have lived in the time of David.

Of course, Psalms 74:14 is ignored: “Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.”

By: Mitchell Powell

Mitchell Powell — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:45:00 +0000

Of course, Psalms 74:14 is ignored: “Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.”