Frankly, I am not interested in what's his name. Post it to the group, if you like -- but don't do it on my account. I know what I believe on the matter.
Secondly, one's motivation for taking a particular position is quite unimportant. If you need an answer on that, hear me say "intellectual honesty."
And virtually all of my argumentation was of a contextual in nature. There was no appeal to cultural or outside sources. How is it that you missed this?
jd
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "David Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> John wrote:
> > To your first question , "no."
>
> If I get time, I will try and present some of it for you.
>
> John wrote:
> > To your second question, either you
> > did not read my post or you have
> > decided to insult my presentation?
>
> I read your post very carefully. I am not trying to insult you at all.
> Most of your argument revolves around why we should consider using a
> figurative meaning. This is the approach I hear from most Bible scholars,
> but the pressure for doing this seems to come from science not good
> theology, in my opinion.
>
> The strongest statement you make is where you point out that Gen. 2:4 uses
> the word day figuratively. This is easily understood to be figurative, but
> the uses of the word day prior to this are numbered. The text says, First
> Day, Second Day, Third Day, etc. It is hard to insist that numbered days
> are figurative. It is the numbering of the day as well as its coupling with
> the evening and morning statements that makes it difficult to perceive it as
> being anything other than a specific time period measured by evening and
> morning. You would have to argue that evening and morning were greatly
> extended, or that they too are figurative, to maintain the figurative
> chronology that you hold onto. There is the added problem of having plants
> created long before the sun, moon, and stars? Not likely from a biologist's
> perspective. So, in all, your perspective is not the most parsimonious
> explanation. I remain skeptical of the figurative interpretation.
>
> What bothers me about the approach many theologians take to Genesis 1 is
> that rather than trying to show from the text itself why the meaning must be
> figurative, they just find ways to try and show why it could be read this
> way. I have no trouble understanding that it might be read this way. I
> have trouble with the idea that it should be read this way.
>
> What is the motivation for making it figurative? I believe the motivation
> is cultural. It seems to me that if it were not for science and the claims
> of science, theologians would not be taking a figurative approach to Genesis
> 1. Do you see it different? Is there any way to argue directly from the
> text (any thing in the Bible anywhere) for a very long process of creation?
>
> David Miller
>
> ====================
> John, I have a couple questions for you.
>
> 1. Have you ever read John Whitcomb's theological treatment concerning the
> length of the day in Genesis 1? I have read his perspective and even
> discussed this personally with him before, but he comes from a theology
> background and I come from a science background, so I don't know how well he
> is accepted as a "theologian." His arguments for why the day is not
> figurative made a lot of sense to me.
>
> 2. Is there any THEOLOGICAL or TEXTUAL reason for you treating the day
> figuratively? In other words, I don't have a problem with someone saying
> that perhaps we should take the meaning figuratively, but I wonder if there
> is any reason other than reconciliing with the assertions of science that a
> theologian or Bible scholar would interpret the word day in Genesis 1 as
> figurative. If we only had the Bible and the Holy Spirit guiding us, what
> would be the reasons to view the day figuratively in Genesis 1?
>
> David Miller
>
> ----------
> "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how
> you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
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