Tag: ANE

Noah and the Flood — What’s Going on in Genesis 6-9 Part 2: Living Idols

Posted in ANE, Biblical Theology, Church Fathers, hermeneutics, J.I. Packer, noah's ark, Revelation, Rikk Watts, Scripture, TheologyTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

At the end of this post, some of you may be wondering what all this has do with my promise to explain what I think is going on in the story of Noah and the Flood. Yet, I ask your patience and refer you back to my insistence that context literary, canonical and historical is of utmost importance when it comes to interpreting Genesis 6-9. (Previous Post)

In the Image of God

Recent discoveries (relatively speaking) have shed light on the meaning of many biblical phrases and concepts that share resonances with similar phrases and concepts in the broader Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) context. Continue reading “Noah and the Flood — What’s Going on in Genesis 6-9 Part 2: Living Idols” →

#POPChrist Goes to Ark Encounter Part II: The View From Below

Posted in ANE, Answers in Genesis, Apologetics, Ark Encounter, Bible, Evangelism, Fundamentalism, Genesis, Ken Ham, noah's ark, propagandaTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

In Part I, I paid tribute to Ken Ham’s 4,000 space parking lot which has yet to fill to capacity.

As you can see from the photo below, when Joel and I went to the Ark Encounter, there was no line. In a recent post, Joel Duff addresses the question of the long-term financial viability of the Ark Encounter. Yet, Ham is obviously prepared for Disneyland length lines. For those who must wait or simply choose to stand around, Answers in Genesis has prepared a video presentation that ostensibly portrays the kinds of conversations Noah may have had with the pre-flood anti-Yahwist polytheists who fail to heed his warnings.  Continue reading “#POPChrist Goes to Ark Encounter Part II: The View From Below” →

Dispensationalism, Dividing the Word, Dividing Walls and all on Flat Earth

Posted in ANE, Answers in Genesis, Bible, Biblical Theology, Dispensationalism, Evangelicalism, Fundamentalism, Genesis, Inspiration, Ken Ham, Practice, Revelation, Scripture, Theology, Tradition, WorshipTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

A Mystery:

How does a 21st Century Norwegian become a King James Only, Dispensationalist, Not Merely Young Earth but FLAT-EARTH Creationist?

A Living Riddle:

To @aigkenham @CreationMuseum Outer space does not exist, Ken. We live under the firmament on a flat earth which is still. You should know.

When I first saw this Tweet chastising Answers in Genesis’s Ken Ham, I thought it was a jest. The type of jest I might make to emphasize the limits of literalism and to note that every literalist stops being a literalist somewhere. Or do they?flat-earth

I doubt there are many young earth creationists who adopt a biblical biological perspective when it comes to human conception or medicine. If they did, their doctors would prescribe heart medicine for mental disorders and fertility doctors would treat women only and treat the discovery of ova like AIG treats the discovery of background radiation in space and carbon dating.

Out of curiousity, I replied to this tweet and asked, Do you really believe the earth is flat? The individual responded with “Of course I belive the earth is flat that is what the Bible teaches.” I had found someone who was at once more consistent and more of curiousity than Ken Ham.
Continue reading “Dispensationalism, Dividing the Word, Dividing Walls and all on Flat Earth” →

How Ken Ham & Answers in Genesis Led Me to Accept Evolutionary Theory

Posted in ANE, Answers in Genesis, Apologetics, Bible, Biblical Theology, Bruce Waltke, Christianity and Science, Evangelicalism, Evangelism, Evolution, Fundamentalism, Genesis, hermeneutics, Inspiration, Ken Ham, Revelation, Scripture, Teaching, Theology, TraditionTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Ken Ham and the folks at Answers in Genesis (AIG) often suggest that what leads people, including biblical scholars, to propose interpretations of the early chapters of Genesis that differ from a “literal” interpretation of Genesis akin to AIG‘s own is a desire to conform their understanding of Scripture (and doctrine) to modern scientific theories, i.e. “deep time”, the Big Bang, and, of course, the theory of evolution. In other words, the suggestion is that beliefs about evolution and the age of the universe not only precede but drive Christians to seek alternate interpretations of the early chapters of Genesis that better accommodate modern scientific theories.

The polemical and apologetic narrative usually sounds something like the following from a 2011 post condemning the work of Wheaton College professor John Walton:

Why are we seeing more and more bizarre and elitist ideas (e.g., William Dembski—see previous blog post for details) coming out of Christian academia? I believe it is a form of academic pride, largely from academic peer pressure, because these people ultimately “loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43).

Continue reading “How Ken Ham & Answers in Genesis Led Me to Accept Evolutionary Theory” →

Ham-Handed Hermeneutics VI: More Hippo, Less Ham

Posted in ANE, Answers in Genesis, Augustine, Bible, Biblical Theology, Christianity and Science, Church Fathers, Evolution, Exodus, Genesis, Gospel, hermeneutics, Ken Ham, N.T. Wright, Philosophy, TheologyTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Or the Harmonization Temptation

This post continues and concludes (for now) my engagement with Augustine’s On the Literal Meaning of Genesis.
I simply want to note some of the intriguing and insightful elements in this work. I will give particular attention to Augustine’s suggestion that Genesis 1 presents God’s causal creation of all things, including human beings, while Genesis 2 describes the formal or material creation of human beings which for Augustine is God’s ongoing creative activity. Finally, I suggest that one of the errors that is common to Ham, Augustine and many errors is the desire to harmonize Genesis 1 and Genesis 2.

[For related Ham-Handed posts follow these links: Augustine I, Augustine II, Augustine III)

Continue reading “Ham-Handed Hermeneutics VI: More Hippo, Less Ham” →

Sons of God, Daughters of Adam, and the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-5)

Posted in Aliens, ANE, Bible, Biblical Theology, Commentaries, Genesis, hermeneutics, PoliticsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

In my recycled posts about aliens in the Bible, I poke fun at some popular Christian authors who argue that UFOs are real, aliens are really demons in disguise, and therefore suggest that the Bible tells us we will be deceived by these demon-aliens. Often UFO and alien abduction enthusiasts read alien visitation into ancient texts, ancient artifacts, and structures. Who really built the pyramids? Why are gods from the heavens?

Continue reading “Sons of God, Daughters of Adam, and the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-5)” →

Genesis 3: What is the man doing? or Adam discovers the scientific method.

Posted in Bible, Biblical Theology, Church Fathers, Commentaries, Education, Genesis, Gospel, Jewish/Christian DialogueTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Genesis 3:6)

After a series of close-ups involving the serpent and the woman, the camera pans back and reveals that her husband has been present all along. So, what was he doing? Why did he not intervene? Why did he not answer the serpent or better send it scurrying for speaking inappropriately to his wife, the queen of Eden? Continue reading “Genesis 3: What is the man doing? or Adam discovers the scientific method.” →

Have Sex and Eat: The First Two Commands in Scripture

Posted in ANE, Bible, Biblical Theology, EducationTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

If I were to ask you to tell me the first commandment God gives in the Bible, I suspect many, if not most, of you would think of “Do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” We tend to think of the LORD’s commandments as a list of “Do nots” but the “don’t”s are always given in the context of the “do”s. In a sense, by focusing on the “do not”s, we have already accepted the premise of the Serpent’s question. Implicitly, the Serpent suggests, “Isn’t the LORD rather stingy and withholding?”. Continue reading “Have Sex and Eat: The First Two Commands in Scripture” →

How To Teach Genesis One in 30 Minutes

Posted in ANE, Answers in Genesis, Bible, Biblical Theology, Education, Evolution, hermeneutics, Ken Ham, Sunday School, TeachingTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Having spent many words critiquing Ken Ham and AiG’s approach to this discussion, it is about time that I offered an alternative constructive approach to teaching Genesis 1. Continue reading “How To Teach Genesis One in 30 Minutes” →

Review: Interpreting Biblical Literature by Michael R. Cosby (Stony Run Publishing, 2009)

Posted in ANE, Bible, Commentaries, Education, hermeneutics, TeachingTagged , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Interpreting Biblical Literature: An Introduction to Biblical Studies by Michael R. Cosby (Stony Run Publishing, 2009)

As I prepared to teach a section of Baylor’s Christian Scriptures course, I spent a day or two examining the available introductory textbooks. While it is not a survey course, Baylor’s Christian Scriptures course does cover both Testaments in a single semester. In a survey course, I would feel more compelled to say something about every book of the Bible. Such courses often leave little room for actually modeling and teaching exegetical (or interpretive) practices. Continue reading “Review: Interpreting Biblical Literature by Michael R. Cosby (Stony Run Publishing, 2009)” →