Daniel9v9, do you care to contribute to this conversation?
Hey, thanks for the invite.
I think it's great that people want to study Genesis, and I recognise that it's a book that is challenging for all of us to fully comprehend, in the sense that it deals with things no one have ever seen or experienced. Everything in Genesis is foreign to us, and because of this, it can easily be a source of confusion. But that's not its intention. The purpose of Genesis as recorded for us is to lay the foundation for Exodus, then all of Scripture, culminating in Christ. (You can think of it like just as how the OT is the foundation to the NT, and the NT must be understood in light of the OT, in a similar way Genesis is to Exodus) So, very simply, Genesis must primarily be understood as a book of WHY not HOW. This is very important to bear in mind when studying it.
Genesis records for us epic and highly complex events, both with respect to creation (how) and theology (why). It contains many things that are tremendously significant and carries a lot of meaning, which, regrettably, are often misunderstood, overlooked, or ignored in our day.
Perhaps the language of "literal vs figurative" isn't always that helpful, as these terms often come with presuppositions. To many, "literal" is synonymous with unscientific, which is not true. To take literal to mean unscientific betrays a lack of understanding about theology and the relationship between science and philosophy. To others, "figurative" is synonymous with a complete disregard for God's Word. While that's true of some scholars, I don't think that's an accurate understanding either. If by figurative, we mean that Scriptures often use imagery to explain certain ideas, then that's true. My point is this: Take the expression "Our Father in heaven." This is both literal and symbolical at the same time. God is not our earthly father, but He is our creator and true father. We can apply this principle to Genesis.
I think the best way to consider Genesis is understanding that it deals with something very complex, but in few and poetic words. And so, we should understand the text on its own terms in its own language. We should not disregard it as myth, nor attempt to force a modern philosophical-theoretical framework on it. It is the true Word of God and it stands on its own.
This is a long introductory speech, but I feel like it's an important foundation to build before discussing the text proper.
Here's an example (which I've used before) to encapsulate some of these ideas - mainly, the important truth of God creating the world ex nihilo, out of nothing.
What is created cannot be measured. Suppose there was a man who could create anything out of nothing. In one instance, his hand is empty. In the next, there is a rock. Now, if a modern scientist were to observe and test the rock to try and define its origin, he would almost by the necessity of the framework he's working in conclude that the rock must have been developed over a period of time and in a particular way, failing to grasp that it came out of nothing - he came to this false conclusion because he left the creator out of the equation.
So this is to say, it's not a good starting point to study Genesis through the lens of theoretical science and contemporary philosophy. Hard science does not disprove Genesis, so there's no reason to doubt or to question the text. Furthermore, it speaks of supernatural intervention, which is the same as a miracle. And with all miracles in the Bible, we cannot understand how they occur. We cannot understand, scientifically speaking, how Jesus was raised from the dead, but we certainly believe it, because that is the historical truth and revealed to us by God. It's the same with Genesis.
Hope this helps. Blessings +
