Walton and the Age of the Earth
Posted by BryanJul 24
Whenever anyone asks me how old I think the earth is, I usually go through a huge spiel on believing the earth is younger than most Old Earthers think, and older than most Young Earthers think. I then go into something about the literary features of Genesis 1, the beauty of the frame-work view, followed by why that doesn’t necessitate that God couldn’t create the universe just like it’s written even though it’s literary. Then I go into how it’s weird that the options are either thousands of years or 7 days, and how I think Augustine might have been on to something with an instantaneous creation. Then I usually just shrug my shoulders and say “I don’t know.”
You would think that eventually I’d just skip to the last part.
In his book, “The Lost World of Genesis One,” scholar John Walton keys in on the age of the earth debate:
“If the seven days refer to the seven days of cosmic temple inauguration, days that concern origins of functions not material, then the seven days of Genesis 1 as a whole have nothing to contribute to the discussion of the age of the earth… The point is not that the biblical text therefore supports an old earth, but simply that there is no biblical position on the age of the earth. If it were to turn out that the earth is young, so be it.”
6 comments
Comment by Jason on July 24, 2009 at 11:44 pm
This is one of the issues that tired me so in the Genesis-as-science issue I mentioned before. When I was a new believer, I believed in the young-earth view and a literal 7-day creation. I have more recently entertained the idea of the creation possibly occurring long ago (per the old-earth theory). I find that now I am in somewhat of a wilderness on the issue. Frankly, I don’t think it matters how old the earth is.
BTW–I see you have Stevens’ Greek grammar in your library. How do you like it? He was my intro Greek prof in New Orleans.
Comment by Mike Aubrey on July 25, 2009 at 12:01 am
I always start with “I don’t know.”
Comment by Bryan on July 25, 2009 at 8:24 am
Jason
Steven’s grammar was the one I used in my own intro class, taught by Rick Mansfield here at SBTS. I love it, it’s explanatory without being convoluted. Why take 1,000 pages to say what you can in 200? The only problem I have with it is that it’s a bit older, and the aspect discussion is just now getting to a more popular level, so it’s a bit outdated there.
Comment by Bryan on July 25, 2009 at 8:49 am
Mike Aubrey
Yeah, I think it’s a sin issue for me. I just can’t stop talking. I need to repent.
Comment by brian on July 27, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I would proably give the same responses you do. That Walton quote is awesome – the Bible says “no comment” as to the age of the earth – we moderns really do ask the wrong questions don’t we?
Comment by Bryan on July 27, 2009 at 5:24 pm
brian
We definitely do. We’ve talked about that somewhat in the Bible study on Mark that I’m leading. And those of us in the West ask the wrong questions x2 — Modernist questions and Western questions.