Cosmic Compromise
The amazing and beautiful account of creation in Genesis 1 answers the questions of origins. Details written about each of the first six days demonstrate order, design and purpose. There is an ongoing desire by many to not allow the simple reading of the text to trump all other documents on the subject of origins. One such compromise position comes from Wheaton College Old Testament professor, John Walton.
Walton believes our understanding of Genesis 1 should be one of “functional origins”, not material origins. He argues that we must read Genesis in light of other ancient Near East literature and continually reminds readers to reference it for insights to how God’s people would have understood Him. When read in this manner with this comparison, Genesis poetically reveals how God moves into His “cosmic temple,” the universe, emphasizing how God interacts with His creation as opposed to how He actually created it.
To say the least, this interpretation does not answer why the rest of scripture refers to Genesis 1 as a historical record and not a poetic allegory about what might have happened. Or why there is no reference anywhere in God’s Word that we should refer to other outside texts for more insight into what He needs us to know about Him. Walton’s interpretation smacks of Documentary Hypothesis underpinnings that question the very inerrancy of scripture and push its origin off to the influence of other cultures. It places a greater significance on outside sources that supposedly preceded the Scriptural texts for our understanding of God’s Word rather than on the author Himself. These are always compromising positions that we should be extremely cautious entertaining.
Our desire and focus here at CTF will always be to show the trustworthiness of Scripture on its own, breathed out by the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Yes, we use outside resources at times to help us support what the text is teaching us, but those outside sources will never trump the Word of God. That the Bible is the great influencer of all, rather than it being affected by others, is of foundational importance in worldview development. If we cannot trust what the Lord gave to us in His revelation, then how do we know which of His promises are trustworthy? It’s all or nothing to me. We accept the Word of God as it is written, or we don’t. No other literature in the world was written with the same inspiration as the Bible, and much of it has been written in an attempt to explain the origins of the world without our Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ.
