Creation Through the Eyes of Christ: A Philosopher's Look at Genesis 1

By Kevin Goodner

For those tired and unsatisfied with the current theories of Genesis 1, Creation Through the Eyes of Christ: A Philosopher's Look at Genesis 1 offers a new and unique interpretation of the Bible's first chapter. The book's views are conservative and Reformed. Since the Enlightenment, theologians have wrongly presumed Genesis 1 to be a statement of "cosmology," explaining a scientific order of things. However, the primary purpose of creation is to reveal God's invisible and eternal attributes (Ro 1:20). Genesis Chapter 1 is thus the first "systematics" of God's attributes- a sermon by Christ of His Father's glory (Jn 1:14, 17-18). Creation was Christ's doing (Jn 1:2-3). 300 pages.

 

The book rejects all the prominent Genesis 1 theories, such as Creation Science, Gap Theory, Day-Age, and Framework Hypothesis. The book interprets Genesis 1 from the Scriptures and by the Scriptures.

 

"Now we should be able to see one glaring error among almost all previous theories of Genesis 1. These theories wrongly viewed the creation narrative as an account of cosmology and phenomenology, explaining the order and motion of things. Quite the opposite, Moses was writing a statement of cosmogony and ontology, explaining the existence of things. Nowhere in Chapter 1 did Moses imply that time, space, chance, natural laws, energy, force, or matter did anything. Rather, God's spoken word alone did everything."

 

"Genesis 1 is essentially a sermon by Jesus Christ revealing His Father. The narrative is the first systematic theological statement of God's attributes."

 

"The stark reality is that Moses was a theological and philosophical genius compared to the writer of Enuma Elish and all other ancient cosmological authors. As a result of his unique theological formulation, we can no longer write off our Hebrew author as merely a primitive, uneducated bedouin who lacked a modern scientific understanding of the universe. This man broke free from the ancient world's pantheism, a feat modern science has yet to achieve."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin Goodner
• Release date: Oct 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223682165

Kevin Goodner

Kevin Goodner (Ph.D. Philosophy and  Apologetics, Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary) - Kevin enjoys the liberty of conscience and rest found in Jesus Christ alone. When his heart is not so stubborn, he finds life is much easier when the Holy Spirit is leading. He lives with his wife in Daphne, AL, with nearby children, grandchildren, and church family.

Book preview

Copyright

CREATION THROUGH THE Eyes of Christ: A Philosopher’s Look at Genesis 1

First edition. October 1, 2023.

Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Goodner

Second release. January 1, 2024.

All rights reserved. No paper copying, digital copying, or storing and transmitting in any digital format is allowed, except what is permissible under U.S. copyright law, without prior written permission from the author.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Illustrations and cover design by Out of the Blue creative services LLC, www.outofthebluecs.com.

The cover photo is courtesy of NASA, a public domain image.

Dedication

In memory of my father, William F. Goodner

a silent war hero,

the true scholar with a Stanford degree,

whose life is a book I still read daily,

whose loving patience showed Christ’s love better than

a thousand books of theology

Acknowledgments

GRATITUDE AND THANKS are due to many for their patience and help. I owe much to knowledgeable professors (some over forty years ago) who returned paper after paper full of red ink. Thanks to Dr. John M. Young at Covenant College for teaching that God is not merely an abstract concept but a personal being beyond our comprehension yet who deeply loves and cares for us. Also, at Covenant, thanks go to Dr. Gordon H. Clark for demonstrating that the Bible and Christian theology are rational, objectively true, and academically defensible. Other thanks go to Dr. Ronald Veenker at Western Kentucky University for introducing me to ancient languages, including ancient Hebrew and Akkadian classes, and explaining how an ancient man thought about the world. I must have been his worst language student ever. Much gratitude is due to Dr. Ronald Nash at Western Kentucky University for teaching me that what we believe about history is shaped by the tools we bring to the study. Reading the Bible while wearing the wrong glasses always ends with blurred vision or blindness.

Special thanks go to one of my godly church elders, John Baxley. Around 1990, John tasked me to teach a class on Genesis 1. God forgive me for whatever I said that semester. But John and his wife Susan challenged me to grow in the Lord and always excel in teaching the Word. As Spirit-filled people, their hearts were always all in with whomever God put in their path—many thanks to two loving and devout friends.

I owe much more than I can conceive to my older sister Gretchen for forcing me to think about the profound truths of the faith. Though I probably desired to go to Auburn University right out of high school, Gretchen offered no option but to first attend Covenant College. She, apparently, foolishly believed there was more to life than a good football team. After she underwent a spiritual reformation a few years earlier, Gretchen knew I desperately needed the same. My first year at Covenant forever changed how I look at God, life, and the life to come. Thank you.

An infinite amount of love and thanks go to my loving wife and children, who put up with my vain, fatherly talks and lectures about things for which they cared little. They endured me interrupting movies to explain the philosophy, long philosophical talks while trapped in the car, and walking us out of a college graduation during the opening prayer when the female chaplain started praying, Our Father and Mother who art in heaven. I also attended night school forever, often leaving my wife and kids to fend for themselves. They also often endured my failure to look at life with true spirituality that only comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. During this past year, my wife patiently supported my vain, long hours into the night, trying to put these thoughts on paper. Thank you to my wife, kids, and grandchildren for putting up with me. I love you.

Introduction

I FELL HEAD OVER HEELS in love while in college. But like so many romances, the love affair quickly became a love-hate relationship. We spent many hours together, often long into the night. I was eager to see her and would concentrate on her every word. But unfortunately, like all complicated relationships, I understood little of what she was saying. And, even after several years together, I had to admit, I knew nothing about her. She remained a mystery to me. Her confounding statements would run over and over in my head. She was full of contradictions, even making me question my Christian faith. No, the relationship was not with a girl- that would come later. It was with a chapter of the Bible, the first chapter.

I owe much of this love-hate relationship with Genesis Chapter 1 to two college professors named Ronald. The first is Dr. Ronald Veenker of Western Kentucky University, to whom I am indebted. He was one of the first professors to introduce me to ancient Biblical languages and cultures (of which, admittedly, I still know little). He taught that these ancient people, the Hebrews, wrote and thought much differently about the world than people today realize. That was interesting enough. But, challenging in his classes were books by Pritchard, Unger, and others, suggesting that some of the ancient Hebrew writings, particularly the first eleven chapters of the Bible, were not true history but stories derived from earlier Babylonian myths.

In a different class down the same hall, the other Ronald, Dr. Ronald Nash, introduced me to the Philosophy of history. Dr. Nash, the Dean of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, talked much about the 19th-century German Higher Critical schools and how these views have obscured Biblical interpretation, not to mention ruined many pulpits and churches. I understood even less in this class. But, coming through was the realization that a person’s philosophy shapes the history they believe occurred.

The conflicting views of the Bible, especially Genesis Chapter 1, from these two college classes waged spiritual warfare within my head. This mental battle has been going on now for over forty years. Is the first chapter of the Bible the Holy Spirit’s factual record of the beginning of the world? Or is the creation narrative nothing more than the fanciful imagination of an unscientific and primitive ancient writer? How can Genesis 1 ever be reconciled with modern scientific explanations for the universe? Is the universe young or old? And, if the first chapter of the Bible is not historically or scientifically accurate, how can we trust any other chapter in the Scriptures?

This book is my humble answer to some of these questions.

Who Is This Book For?

This book is for anyone unsatisfied with the current theories explaining Genesis Chapter 1. After years of discussions with many people, I do not recall anyone completely confident with their view of Genesis 1. On the contrary, everyone, when honest, admitted there is much we do not understand. It seems that all the differing views (and there are many) have at least one glaring contradiction or a nagging flaw we cannot put our finger on.

The book’s target level is seminary, college, or advanced high school students. This work could be particularly significant to seminary students since the book spends much time explaining past hermeneutical errors. We will also explain one significant error in almost all past theories of Genesis 1. The chapters are somewhat textbookish in style. Each chapter intentionally uses various big words by design, forcing readers to learn these words and define their terms more precisely. For example, many issues surrounding the creation debate are because scholars and laymen confuse the two sister sciences of cosmology and cosmogony. These words are undoubtedly similar but represent the two polemic explanations for the origin of all things. Genesis Chapter 1 describes one or the other, but not both. So, the chapters force readers to learn and grasp such words and concepts at an introductory level. This book is a Layman to Laymen study. Thus, we address these topics at a college 101 level rather than one of those painful 825 graduate-level courses where you cannot stay awake, and nothing makes sense. But, there is no shortage of challenging content for either laymen or seminary students. The book does provide both a Glossary of Terms and a Glossary of People in the back to help.

This book is also suitable for a brave adult Sunday school class if they want to address the problems surrounding the interpretation of Genesis 1. I promise- each chapter will generate a great deal of class discussion. But please note the study does not provide a verse-by-verse exegesis of Genesis 1. Instead, we approach Genesis 1 from systematic theology and philosophical perspectives.

Assumptions and What to Expect

Our study will argue for and defend a literal six-day creation, albeit with a rather significant twist. The twist is a more honest assessment and interpretation of what Moses meant by the days. And this twist means we will not align ourselves with the young-earth, old-earth, short-day, or long-day views. Moses revealed something significantly more profound in his creation narrative than merely the universe’s age.

All interpreters of Genesis 1 today are seemingly caught in a catch-22 situation. Those defending a young universe (short-day) appear true to the Genesis 1 face value narrative but contradictory to modern science’s views. On the other hand, those defending an old universe (long-day) are true to modern science’s views but contradictory to the Biblical text and Moses’ intent. Both opposing views are caught in a catch-22 situation- either way, each side loses. And though there have been many valiant attempts to resolve this problem, these solutions often appear as complicated word salads. We will humbly attempt to resolve this dilemma once and for all.

Our theological perspective is Evangelical and Reformed. One early conclusion came from Dr. John M. L. Young’s Systematics class at Covenant College- the Scriptures are God’s mind in published form. Dr. Young argued that we only have two options: either God revealed Himself in the Scriptures, or human knowledge was hopelessly doomed to nihilism. His teaching hit home, solidifying the Scriptures as necessary for knowledge. The Bible, the entire Bible, must be a trustworthy self-revelation of God.

Thus, this book assumes the Scriptures to be the very words of God. All the Scriptures from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 come to us through the verbal plenary inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures require no external authentication or verification to make them authoritative. The Holy Spirit speaking through the Scriptures is its authentication. The Scriptures are inerrant in their original language and authorship.

We adopt the Westminster Confession Chapter IV, On Creation, as our standard for Creation.

Exclusions

We will not suggest or support the view that Genesis 1 is a later derivative of Babylonian mythology or any other ancient mythology. As the coming chapters explain, we assume the Scriptures to be true. Thus, we approach each passage of Scripture with the assertion, This is true, rather than today’s skeptical question, Is this true? But this assumption does not mean we accept contradictory or objectively unplausible interpretations of the passage. Nor does this hermeneutical starting point imply that each passage of Scripture is self-evident or easy to understand. On the contrary, we acknowledge that the first chapter of Genesis is a complex narrative, challenging to understand. Thus, we should approach the narrative with utmost humility and correct hermeneutical methods.

Our study looks at Genesis 1 from a systematic theology perspective. You will have to go elsewhere for a detailed verse-by-verse exegesis of the chapter. I did not study hard enough in Dr. Veenker’s or my later Hebrew classes to accomplish an in-depth exegetical study. But, from time to time, we will examine a few particular Hebrew words in more detail. We will approach the topic of creation from more systematic and philosophical perspectives.

This book avoids the Creation Science movement other than a few comments here and there and some material from Morris. Creationism comprises various schools of contemporary science and hermeneutics, which would only confound the current study. I have only read a few books from the Creation Science and Creationism movement, but not enough to know what is happening. But, on the surface, some of these views appear suspect, particularly in how they attempt to synthesize the Genesis creation account with modern science and theoretical physics. As will be explained, Genesis 1 is scientifically accurate. Our study provides a general philosophical analysis of the scientific method and what science can tell us about creation. But any particular scientific views are beyond the purview of this work.

Nor does this study cover the ever-popular Creation versus Evolution debate. This pop-culture debate confuses creation ex nihilo with Scientific Pantheism. The former is an explanation of origin (cosmogony), whereas the latter is an explanation for order (cosmology). It is unfair to classify the debate as merely pop culture. The debate addresses serious issues. Nonetheless, the debate is an apples-and-oranges one. We will discuss the problems of philosophical pantheism and Scientific Pantheism generally.

Nor will we cover Intelligent Design. Historically, design has been an argument for God’s existence. The contemporary view argues that design has scientifically observable traits. This idea is fascinating and holds much merit. But, since Intelligent Design is a method of observational science, it is beyond the scope of this study. We aim to determine what God says in Genesis Chapter 1, not whether God exists.

And finally, seemingly all books on Genesis 1 address the textual differences between Genesis chapters 1 and 2. The differences between the two chapters were a central focus of German Higher Critical theology. However, since our study is not specifically exegetical, we will not address those textual differences. Numerous books already cover E, J, P, & D source theories.

Authorship

We will assume the writer of Genesis 1 to be Moses simply to avoid the issue of authorship. However, a few thoughts in later chapters strongly suggest that Moses is the writer. I can think of no other man in the ancient world who could even come close to writing the Genesis creation narrative. Even the greatest minds in the ancient world, like Plato and Aristotle, could develop nothing more than strange pantheistic cosmologies. The Lord spoke to Abraham, demonstrating His faithfulness through words and great deeds. But God still never performed the mindboggling acts of providence to Abraham that he did before Moses. Moses (and Joshua, to a somewhat lesser degree) witnessed God’s power and sovereignty unlike any other. Moses repeatedly saw God do whatever He wanted, defying the laws of nature and causing incredible events by mere verbal commands. Moses thus knew the polytheism and pantheism of his time were nonsense. For Moses, God spoke, and incredible things happened. 

Terms, Definitions, and People

This book is a study of systematics and philosophy. You will often see long words like hermeneutics, epistemology, ontology, cosmology, cosmogony, pantheism, aseity, etc. These words are used intentionally and are crucial to understanding our topic. So, you need to get familiar with them. When necessary, some sentences give brief definitions for these terms. But a helpful glossary containing commonsense definitions is also available at the back of the book. Like me, keep your right-hand thumb on this glossary page if these terms are new to you.

We also will refer to obscure theologians, philosophers, and scientists. For example, the ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides plays a vital role in the book. Thankfully, your faith in Jesus Christ does not hinge on your knowledge of Parmenides. But, if you are unfamiliar with these past thinkers, there is also a glossary of people at the back of the book. As I do, keep your other thumb there.

Biblical Heresy?

I know some will quickly conclude this work is nothing other than unorthodox heresy. I have witnessed in Presbytery meetings how many people are rather protective and possessive of their views on the Bible’s creation account, despite the contradictions their view may also have. The short-day theorists claim the long-day theorists are heretics, while the long-day theorists claim the short-day theorists are heretics. Even though this feud sounds reminiscent of the Big-Enders and Little-Enders of Gulliver’s Travels, these are serious issues. To comfort the short-day theorists, we will argue that Genesis 1's days are 24-hour, but with a significant twist. Most creation theories have had a glaring hermeneutical error over the past two hundred years. We will correct this error. But I certainly do not have all the answers regarding creation- many, many, many questions remain. And, as I study in the future, I will gladly change, refine, or throw out whatever material is necessary to conform to the Word of God. But hopefully, this present work introduces a new perspective, a new approach, and some new ideas to interpreting Genesis 1. And Lord willing, some truly learned scholars can build upon these first feeble ideas, so we all can better understand the first chapter of the Bible.

Humility and Prayer

Genesis Chapter 1 is, first and foremost, God’s first words in print. And, though much of our study looks at the errors and misconceptions of theologians and philosophers of the past, this still is a study of God’s Word. We will learn a little about scientific cosmology and discuss philosophical cosmogony. But our primary goal is understanding what God says in the chapter. I recall many sleepless nights in college where, at sunrise, just before an exam, I would make a quick last-ditch Calvinist Hail Mary prayer for God’s help. Those prayers were usually too little too late. But prayer before reading Genesis 1 is never futile. The Holy Spirit is pleased to reveal His Word to the humble heart.

Let’s see what Genesis 1 has to say.

01– A NEW PERSPECTIVE

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Ro 1:20 ESV)

READING GENESIS CHAPTER 1 straight through, the passage seems pretty straightforward. Unlike the string of questions you would expect in the opening of a philosophy book, the first chapter of the Bible begins with a series of absolute assertions, God created and God said.[1] God created all things in six days and then rested on the seventh. We can characterize this much as simply what God said (Ge 1:3 ESV). But interestingly, we can characterize most of human history and particularly liberal theology by the question in the first verse of Genesis Chapter 3, Did God actually say? (Ge 3:1 ESV). Liberal theologians and all skeptics are too happy to ask Satan’s question regarding the creation narrative and the rest of the Scriptures. But, since the creation account appears so out of step with modern science, even conservative theologians feel compelled to start with this same skeptical question. Thus, many are quick to abandon what God said and appeal to Adam and Eve’s new epistemology, "When the woman saw" (Ge 3:6 ESV). Like Adam, today, many conclude that what we perceive about creation must undoubtedly be better and more scientifically accurate than whatever Moses wrote. Questioning the Scriptures from the outset is why interpreting Genesis 1 has resulted in a neverending process of attempting to fit the passage into one or more scientific views.

Understanding the Bible’s first chapter is now trapped in a veritable quagmire of warring theological, philosophical, and scientific views. The past two hundred years of German Higher Critical theology have only worsened matters. This critical theology effectively splintered the interpretation of Genesis 1 into contradictory and often unplausible camps. Such competing camps include long day, short day, old earth, young earth, figurative days, day-age, gap theory, framework hypothesis, typological days, Babylonian mythology, and Hebrew poetry. In addition, over the past half-century, we have witnessed the Creation Science movement reading post-Enlightenment scientific theories into a 1500 B.C. narrative. True, Genesis 1 should be historically and scientifically accurate regardless of age. But is eisegeting post-Enlightenment science into the passage following sound hermeneutics?

Still, other scientific views try to marry modern-day theoretical cosmology with the Bible’s creation narrative. For example, many contemporary Gap Theorists say the first verse in Genesis describes the Big Bang. But, as we will discuss later, the Big Bang is a view stemming from Scientific Pantheism, a philosophical family no biblical interpreter should adopt. I do not want to attend the wedding of the Bible with contemporary Scientific Pantheism.

Before German Higher Criticism, theologians generally considered the creation days a six-day or 144-hour creation period. However, since the incredible scientific advances of the Enlightenment, theologians seem compelled to include Naturalism in their hermeneutics. Over the past two centuries, almost without exception, scholars have felt compelled to reconcile Genesis 1 with Naturalism’s causal order. They expect Genesis 1 to be a profound statement of natural science explaining the universe’s cosmology and phenomenology. When honest, we all want the passage to affirm our scientific understanding of the universe. I agree. Genesis 1 should be scientifically valid and accurate. And we will defend the passage’s scientific accuracy later. But, synthesizing Naturalism into hermeneutical methods is the primary stumbling block for correctly interpreting Genesis 1. Naturalism is an ancient Greek pantheistic philosophy no Christian worldview should embrace. Today’s Scientific Pantheism is simply a complex variant of its Greek grandfather and will continue to confuse Bible students until removed from our hermeneutics. Removing the erroneous requirement of Naturalism will restore Genesis 1 to its proper place as a profound theological statement.

Through the Eyes of Christ

There are numerous different interpretations of Genesis 1. In recent years, we have seen theologians place Genesis in the context of time and space, making sense of the passage in light of natural science. Others interpret the passage from the view of Ancient Babylonian literature, applying a History of Religions understanding. And still, others interpret the passage as ancient Hebrew poetry.