Lesson 15/16: Concordism vs. Accommodation

Most Christians assume that the Bible speaks authoritatively on scientific matters. However, careful examination of the biblical text reveals that the human authors were operating from within the conceptual framework of Ancient Near-Eastern science. How does understing this affect our interpretations of Scripture today?

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[GPLeague]

How does the principle of accommodation relate to the framework hypothesis of interpreting Genesis? I think I need to look into that.

[glovergj]

Dr. John Walton, professor of OT studies as Wheaton, is coming out with a book called: "The Lost World of Genesis One" that I think will contain what you are looking for.

[glovergj]

Thanks. You probably noticed that the formatting and design of this lesson was different than the others. That's because I've tweaked all the lessons and YouTube now allows for High Quality uploads. Because of this, I'll be removing Lessons 1-14 and reposting the final HQ versions. Stay tuned for that.

[updownleftrightinout]

So God wrote the bible for Jesus' time - not ours? That is what you are saying?

I wonder when we will get our own version. The updated 2010 bible version - and not the hokey poor translations we see today but a real humdinger that can give us a Theory of Everything and a way to manage a world full of diverse people. Hopefully that one will mesh with scientific principles. But for some reason I can't see that happening.

I can't see a god knocking on the door offering such insight.

[RuinSonic]

@glovergj So basically he denies inspiration or the bible merely contains the word of God? Because clearly he's admitting understandings in the bible to be wrong.

[Omnitrix12]

It seems rather flimsy on a reasoning level to suppose that God brought us into existence, along with all other life on earth, via processes which He then declared sinfu. Especially when He said of these processes and their fruits afterwards, "It is good."

[Omnitrix12]

Ah, but evolution is not really documented; only the evidence used to support it is. Allow me to illustrate the difference: A house is broken into, and a glass is found there to bear the fingerprints of a particular man (specifically, a glass that wasn't there before). Evidence, yes, and documentable. But unless there was, say, a security camera, you cannot document that the suspect himself was there. Evolution, being an interpretation, is in your own words "fallible."

[glovergj]

And some mothers intentionally kill the weakest of their litters so that the strongest will survive. This is a fact of nature, just like evolution is a fact of naturel. But in neither case does it mean that we should pattern our behavior from the facts of nature. Nature is what it is. We follow Christ.

[Omnitrix12]

The fundamental notion of evolution lies in the constant upgrading of the gene pool; i.e. the strong progress, the weak are left behind to fend for themselves. This is contrary in every way to the mandate to "love your neighbor as yourself."

[arnizach]

The commands of the Creator don't run contrary to evolution. It runs contrary to some of the excessive behaviours and tendencies that the evolutionary drive produces. Survival is good, of course. But subduing perceived enemies by slaughtering them is not. It's part of the same continuum, yet one is good and one is bad. As you say, "too much" is sinful. In principle we agree here, I think.

[Omnitrix12]

Let's put aside whales for a moment and look at aliens. There is a range of accounts of reported alien behavior even within particular "species" such as the well-known greys. Aliens have been reported to do things to people far beyond the usual needles and probing. Things like, to put it bluntly, intercourse (whether the abductees liked it or not). And some people who were abducted have even reported the aliens verbally abusing their (the abductees') faith in God. Is that not sin?

[arnizach]

Must there be sin in order for there to be religion? Don't see why.

Re: masters of the earth. Stewardship (the real meaning of Genesis "dominion") means taking care of the earth. We are sufficiently well evolved to handle that responsibility. That's why God calls us to it.

We're going beyond the Bible (firmament? :) ) here, that's obvious. The Bible knows nothing of other worlds, so obviously doesn't address them or their possibility. I don't think that's a problem.

[Omnitrix12]

Ah, but there's the tricky part. Sin, at its most basic form, is the corruption of that which is good. For example, it is good to enjoy our food; God gave it to us. But to enjoy it too much is gluttony. It is good to love beautiful things, or else Heaven would be a mud wallow. Yet the Bible repeatedly speaks out against "the lust of the eyes." And so on. If evolution is indeed how we came about, why do the commands of its creator run contrary to it?