Cheryl Schatz

Don,

I want to make sure that you understand that my comments are not meant to be critical of you as a person. We have had many good discussions on this blog and there are times when you actually agree with me even though there are other times that we are on opposite sides of a particular theological fence. What I am trying to do is to encourage us all to stay in the text first and foremost before accepting any outside explanation that adds to or takes away from what is already written. Atheists already are calling Genesis a Christian myth. If we say that God wrote a mythical story to counteract pagan myth, how would that be anything other than a sanctified “Christian” myth? One myth cannot refute another myth. Also an account of creation that has no defined meaning but one which is veiled in a billowy, smoky undefined account that has no biblical interpretation set forth for us to understand what God meant by what He wrote, this “Christian” myth would have absolutely no weight at all to refute a “pagan” myth.

I for one have been given no reason to put my faith in this kind of a Genesis account that doesn’t mean what God wrote. I choose to accept that the sequential grammar that God inspired in the creation account is exactly what He said – it is sequential. If my belief in a literal Genesis is to be refuted it will not be primarily with outside sources. It will be from within the text itself. Then when that has been done, then you may show me a cultural context from outside the text that adds a second witness to what the text says. So first things first. If we are to continue a talk about a non-literal “picture” or non-literal “poetry”, I am going to continue to ask for the proof from the text. Without a textual proof, we will have to move on. I think this is fair and if not, I am sure someone will pipe up and tell me why I am not being fair.

Shortly we will be moving onto the next issue of Genesis and that is the issue of why Adam was alone credited with bringing sin into the world. It is a key issue that has brought universal male headship into the church. I hope to get my next post up within a couple of days, God willing.