The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate
John H. Walton
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: IVP Academic
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0830837043
ISBN-13: 978-0830837045
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
Buy Here: Amazon.com

Thanks to Adrianna Wright and IVP Press for sending me a copy to review!

Introduction

It’s funny how polar opposites can be entangled. Both the beginning and end of history are sources of debate and sensationalism. Both have as many theories, and conspiracies, as people who are willing to discuss them. When was the universe and the earth created? How was it created? Is evolution and theism compatible? What role does creationism or Intelligent Design have in teaching science? If you’ve had a pulse in the last century, you’ve certainly heard, or probably even discussed, any number of these questions and more. Just within the Christian camp, there are legions of views, it quickly becomes overwhelming hearing them all. The debate just seems to be the same points rehashed.

Into this haze comes John H. Walton’s new book, The Lost World of Genesis One. Walton presents a theological and contextual reading of Genesis 1 presented through 18 propositions (one per chapter) that explains Walton’s suggested reading of the text, how it effects our theology, and ultimately what it’s implications for modern science and school curriculum. The books is a fairly easy read, especially considering its content which drifts in and out of theology, metaphysics, science, and others. Just hearing that list may scare some readers from picking up this book, but Walton does a fine job of explaining unfamiliar terminology and ideas. Also, though chapters and books on this subject tend to be very convoluted, the chapters in this book are pretty short—long enough to present the proposition in full, but short enough that the reader does not lose focus. The Lost World stands firmly in the tradition that I’ve noticed lately of being both scholarly/academic and accessible at the same time. I hope to see this trend continue.

Book Content

Walton’s basic premise is that the vast majority of discussion on the Biblical creation stories fall flat on their face before they even begin. This seems like a pretty bold assertion at first, but the case that Walton makes is a convincing one. The first two propositions (=chapters) lay this out more fully for us. The first proposition, Genesis 1 Is an Ancient Cosmology gives us the theoretical backbone (evolved vertebrate or not, your choice) that will guide the entire discussion. It sounds obvious, but many of us miss what that actually means—ancient cosmology cannot be translated into modern cosmology well. To do so necessarily makes the text say something that it was never intended by the author to say. Another problem that is usually brought into the discussion is the issue of scientific consensus. Do we use this year’s scientific consensus? Last centuries’? To choose one would mean that it “would neither correspond to last century’s scientific consensus nor to that which may develop in the next century” (pg 17). Basically no one for 2000 years would have been able to understand Genesis 1 if we must rely on our scientific standing. And if it’s different in 100 years, then we must necessarily have been wrong also. Both of these issues (worldviews and scientific consensus) are the results of what is called “concordism,” which is the belief that we should approach the creation narrative in the worldview of modern science (to bend either the text or science to our preconceived notions). Instead, it seems better to recognize, as those committed to innerrancy do in other texts, that God has simply communicated his revelation in culturally condescending ways. In other words, God gave his revelation in a way that would be understood by his audience. To ignore this fact would be “cultural imperialism” (pg 21).

This all sounds good so far, but what does it actually mean? Proposition 2 unpacks the idea even further, explaining Ancient Cosmology is Function Oriented. This is where most of our modern discussions on creation break down. To be “function oriented” is in contrast to “material oriented.” Our worldview is predominantly material oriented, so we read Genesis 1 as an account of the origin of material properties, or what makes up the world. However, In the Ancient Near East (ANE), the worldview of the Israelites and other related cultures, people were focused much more on function—the “why” or purpose—rather than the material. Walton “propose[s] that people in the ancient world believed that something existed not by vertue of its material properties, but by virtue of its having a function in an ordered system…in relation to society and culture” (pg 26, italics his). The rest of chapter 2 gives examples from several ancient near eastern texts that gives evidence to this proposition including the Instruction of Merikare and Seti I, the Hittite Kumarbi, the Enuma Elish, and others. Having surveyed these texts and noted some of the similarities with Genesis 1, Walton then takes propositions 3 through 11 to give the Biblical argument that Genesis 1 is written with this same view in mind.

Proposition 3 looks at the Hebrew verb baraʾ, the word behind the english “create” in Genesis 1:1, and seeks to show that it has a functional understanding by studying what objects the verb takes. Proposition 4 takes this idea one step further and shows that if creation is essentially functional in bringing existence from nonexistence, we should find evidence of “before” and “after” being a movement from “nonfunctional” to “functional” (a movement which Walton briefly showed was true of other ANE texts). Proposition 5 and 6 give a functional twist to the frame-work view. Prop 5 defends the view that Days One Through Three in Genesis 1 Establish Function, while prop 6 states that Days Four Through Six in Genesis 1 Install Functionaries. Being a proponent of the frame-work view, these chapters didn’t need to offer much to convince me. Propisitions 7, 8, and 9 bring the seventh day and Sabbath into the picture by showing how it ties creation together as cosmic temple, a view shared by many in the ANE. The Cosmic temple is where God “rests” from the creative activity of the first seven days, and is “settled” into ruling the universe he created. The example Walton gives is the President of the United States who “‘takes up his rest’ in the White House” after “the turmoil and uncertainty of the election is over” so he “can settle down to the important business at hand” (pg 75). Propositions 10 and 11 then form the conclusion to the section defending Walton’s view.

Propositions 12 through 18 tie up a few loose strings including chapters that discuss what this view of creation mean for the current debate surrounding the text of Genesis 1. These propositions are found primarily at 15 (Current Debate About Intelligent Design Ultimately Concerns Purpose), 16 (Scientific Explanations of Origins Can Be Viewed in Light of Purpose, and If So, Are Unobjectionable), and 18 (Public Science Education Should Be Neutral Regarding Purpose). Those propositions are guaranteed to make someone angry, but if you find yourself disagreeing with them, I would recommend reading the first 11 propositions to understand why Walton suggests these views.

Proposition 12 is an interesting chapter in itself. Titled Other Theories of Genesis Either Go Too Far or Not Far Enough, this chapter outlines the problems and strengths of Young Earth Creationism (YEC), Old Earth Creationism (OEC), and the Frame-Work Hypothesis. It’s odd seeing YEC and OEC on the same side of the fence in a critique, but it is welcomed. The next few paragraphs briefly discuss the Gap Theory, and other such ideas that aren’t very popular anymore. Essentially, the fatal-flaw in most, if not all, of these are that they are concerned primarily with material origins, which require them to ask questions the text itself was never meant to answer.

Thoughts

In terms of readability Genesis One is very accessible. Walton necessarily covers much theoretical ground, including ontology, metaphysics and so forth, that might scare off some readers, but his explanations and illustrations are extremely helpful. The chapters are short, and use the proposition titles as their theses, so it is easy to follow the meaning and argument of each. Of course, the book is not for everyone, but will be just fine for those who want to study the Old Testament and the ANE, Pastors, and those who are just plain interested in the intersection between faith and science.

In terms of exegesis, I found Walton’s “cosmic temple” or “functional oriented” view to be very convincing. I’m particularly fond of how it attempts to get back to what the original author would have wanted to get across in writing the creation account. One of my biggest issues with both YEC and OEC are critiqued here, which is that both are inserting scientific ideas into a pre-scientific text. The text cannot bear the weight of what either of the views expect of it. The shift from material to functional was challenging to grasp at first, but that was due to the fact that when it comes to shifting worldview gears, I’m a bit on the sluggish side. When Walton begins to dig into the meaning of the seventh day, rest, and the cosmic temple, he begins to tie everything together in a nice orderly package that left me with less questions about the text than my previous interpretations. Obviously, in this format, Walton does not answer every question that comes up, but he ably defends his view against most of the ones that do. Thankfully, he will be coming out with a fuller treatment later on in another book dedicated to the same thesis.

Simply put, if you believe that only a “literal” 7day, 6,000 year, YEC view is allowable while everything else is borderline apostasy—well, you’re not going to like this book. Unfortunately, those are the very people who need to read it (if not simply for the introduction and chapter 1 alone). Others, including YECs, OECs, and every one else in between will be able to take something away from this book. For this reviewer, it was Walton’s interpretation of the text.

You can purchase John H. Walton’s book The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate at Amazon.com