Darwin Versus Christ

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1. Majesty of God

2. Message of the Gospel

3. Meaning of Genesis

Slide 59

Meaning of Genesis

“Unquestionably the language is poetic. . . . the first few chapters of Genesis, the book of Job, the Song of Solomon, and the Psalms, have a

more lyrical and allegorical flavor,

and do not generally seem to carry the marks of pure historical narrative. . . .

the first chapters of Genesis had

much more the feel of a morality play

than an eyewitness report on the

evening news.

Slide 60

“In looking closely at chapters 1 and 2

of the book of Genesis, we [conclude] . . . that this powerful document can best

be understood as poetry and allegory rather than a literal scientific

description of origins.”

Slide 61

Genesis 1 and 2 is not Hebrew poetry!

• Parallelism is not generally found in Genesis 1-2

(b) The direct object marker אֶט (eth), a typical feature of

Hebrew narrative, is found 40 times in Genesis 1-2.

c) The waw consecutive (sometimes translated “and” at the beginning of a verse), a typical feature of

Hebrew narrative, appears 75 times in Genesis 1-2

Slide 62

But why did E. J. Young call

Genesis “semi-poetic”?

“Genesis one is a semi-poetic account of creation, told as straightforward narration.”

Slide 63

“We use the term semi-poetic merely to stress the elevated character of the language. Inasmuch as true parallelism in the verses is lacking Genesis one cannot legitimately be designated poetry in the Hebrew sense.”

Slide 64

“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. . . . The Bible does contain poetic statements of creation, namely, Job 38:8-11

and Psalm 104:5-9. . . . The latter two passages

are poetic for they contain parallelism,

and it is this feature which is lacking

in the first chapter of the Bible.”

Slide 65

“Genesis one is not poetry or saga or myth, but straightforward, trustworthy history, and, inasmuch as it is a divine revelation, accurately records those matters of which it speaks.

That Genesis one is historical may be seen from these considerations. 1) It sustains an intimate relationship with the remainder of the book. . . .