Topic: Creation - Literal or Figurative?

With spring in the air and the birth of TOT in our little theological incubator, it seems to make some sense to start "in the beginning." The topic of how we came to be is one that could surely fill volumes of TOT's collected anthologies, or at the very least, the first year of taps. Yet, beyond the topic itself, it readily tees up the issue of how we approach, interpret, encounter and consume the Word. We'll try to handle it in a couple hours. Think about this...

Is creation a literal 7 days? If so, is the rest of Genesis also literal with its dates? If yes to both of these, what are responses to the "science" and "anthropology" saying otherwise? Is there any room for evolution in a literal creation? Or, is creation in Genesis figurative? Are days not days as we understand them but expanses of time and the Genesis account provides the highlights? If so, were the gaps of time filled with some sort of evolution guided by God's hand, or was it evolution that God simply set in motion and is there any difference between those? Relatedly, do Genesis 1 and 2 tell the same story or different ones?

Fundamentally, how does your answer to the question -literal or figurative creation--affect Christianity as a whole? Can genuine followers of Christ be found in both camps? Beyond Genesis, does the Word offer any guidance on answering these questions definitively?

As stated in the promo email, there's no required reading, although Genesis 1 and 2 would probably be a good start with this topic. Ben, perhaps you could scrounge up a few articles to send around on this topic if you have the time and inclination, in order to help spur some thoughts before we meet? Or, if anyone happens upon something on point, feel free to send it around. Anything sent is by no means required and is specifically not intended to become the focal point of our discussion.

>>> All right. For those of you who are self-motivated learners, I have gotten some articles that you may want to peruse to stimulate your brains before the 23rd. In favor of a literal creation account, see: More Technical: http://www.dbts.edu/journals/2000/McCabe.pdf Less technical: http://www.willowparkchurch.com/mediafiles/library-days-of-creation.pdf and http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bets/evolution_payne.pdf For a symbolic approach to the Creation account, see: http://www.ugst.org/uploaded/Symposium/2008/Papers/RecoveringACreationMythology_Remington.pdf For an approach that tries to sidestep the issue altogether (an approach I think needs to be considered), see the following: http://www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/faraday/resources/Faraday%20Papers/Faraday%20Paper%2011%20Lucas_EN.pdf I apologize for the meager selection on the figurative account. There are plenty of blogs about the issue, but I wanted something more substantive, and this was all I could find. Have fun and enjoy the light reading. In his grace, Ben

>>> This document is an unfinished (doh!) explanation of a 4th view of the interpretation of Genesis. Hopefully from what is there you can see where the author is going. I'll continue to search for a more complete version.

http://www.rockrat.com/Gravity%20Sucks.pdf

- Andy