Author Digs Deep Into Genesis 1-11

After reviewing Darrell W. Johnson’s book The Beatitudes in August, Regent College Publishing was gracious enough to send me another, The Story of All Stories: Genesis 1-11 by the same author, and once again I was not disappointed.

Johnson is among scholars who argue that these eleven chapters constitute “the first half of the Bible” and that everything remaining is the second half. At first I was rather dismissive of this approach, but after re-reading a few chapters for the second time, he won me over.

I would also put it this way, that in terms of both the literary forms and the themes of grace of redemption, Genesis 1-11 is a microcosm of the Bible as a whole. Just as the Bible is one unified story consisting of many smaller parts, each with its own genre requiring its own approach; so also are these early chapters — stories concerning Adam, Cain, Noah, Babel — significant dramas each requiring their own unique type of study.

I know that some might be intimidated by a book sold under the imprint of an academic institution, but proficiency in Hebrew or Greek is not required, and just as I did with Johnson’s book on the parables, I found this material remarkably accessible. There are insights here that I’ve missed previously or hadn’t heard mentioned in preaching, even though the texts are familiar. (Tangentially, I was always soft on the idea of the Genesis flood being a global event; convicted that was manifested mostly in the known world; but the author provided a convincing reason I had not considered.)

The highest praise I can give a print resource is to say that upon completion, my first act was to turn back to chapter one and begin anew. That was definitely the case here. The learn more, click this link.

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Thanks to Josh at Regent College Publishing for an opportunity to discover this book.

174 pages paperback | $19.99 US | 9781573835695

 

Book Review: Oriented by Gordon C. Harris

I was tempted to review the book in the same style in which it is written… I pick up the book expecting not to finish. “Just read a chapter or two;” I have been told, and the publisher places no onus or expectation on me to write a review. But I keep turning the page wondering where the author will head next. I’m looking for a good hook for an article. Wondering, given the Genesis theme, where he lands on the creation/evolution spectrum. There is too much to think about here for binge reading. The book becomes a take-to-work companion and earns a coveted spot on my bedside table; the books I read last at night and first at dawn. The author has claimed a captive…

 

I’m always a little skeptical when a publisher suggests that, “If you enjoyed ___________ …” then I will enjoy the book being sent to me for review. In this case the book was being compared to Donald Miller, who brought a unique outlook to the world of Christian writing, and Ann Voskamp, whose blog I am quite familiar with but whose books I have never read.

But the comparison to Miller holds, and holds well; and I would toss in a Zondervan author, Tyler Blanski while we’re at it. That present-tense voicing that sweeps you into the action and an almost stream-of-consciousness style that isn’t bound by tight chronologies or fear of tangential digression. The type of title that takes you on a journey with the author to an undetermined destination.

In this case, the book is Oriented: Making Sense of the World and Your Place Within It; the author, Gordon C. Harris, is self-described as “a modern contemplative teacher and theologian” who coordinates curriculum development for Catch The Fire, a large church in west Toronto formerly known as the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship. Catch The Fire is also the publisher and distributor of the book.*

The overarching focus is the first eleven chapters of Genesis. The various themes it suggests. The many ways in which the author interacts with those concepts. Harris has 15 years pastoral experience and has a Masters in Theology and is working on a PhD in theological studies. So this is an informed look at the earliest accounts of scripture, but not a commentary. It’s more subjective — almost autobiographical — dealing with the author’s responses to the narrative. Somewhat poetic, it belongs in a literary section of Christian bookstores that does not yet exist.

Below is a short excerpt reading by the author. You’ll also find eight more video clips and more about the book at this link.

* If your favorite bookseller needs to know, give them this information for ordering:

ISBN 9781894310765 | $14.99 US | paperback | Canadian orders: Atwell Books | Author’s blog

Questioning Scripture: NT Writers Affirmed OT Stories

Posted jointly with Christianity 201

If you spend any amount of time on what I would term “The Christian Internet,” you see much being written about how we should read the book of Genesis. As we have become more enamored with science, it has become fashionable, even among Evangelicals, to second-guess the Bible’s creation account, or at least what we were taught the Genesis account was saying.

The problem here is that we might tend to toss everything out all at once. Noah’s ark? To a scientific mind it seems unlikely. Balaam’s donkey? Seems impossible to many. And on and on it goes until there’s nothing left to unravel except for the centerpiece of the Christian Bible, the resurrection of Christ.

That’s why I think it’s so important to remember that Jesus affirmed several Old Testament stories. My favorite is always:

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. – Matthew 12:40

He doesn’t try to argue the merits of what so many today consider an improbable story. He simply takes it as a given. Now I realize you could read this, ‘Just as in the story of Jonah he was three days and nights in the fish, so also will…’ In other words, you could say that Jesus was drawing a parallel between his coming death and resurrection and the tale of Jonah, but the text certainly seems to take Jonah’s fish incarceration is not just a part of their literature, but it’s being cited as a given; something that really happened.

Last week Daily Encouragement ran a 4-part series on the city of Sodom and the last part‘s key verse was:

“Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:32,33)

The story is that Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back. Many find such a story totally fanciful. But here again, the story is taken as a given. Jesus doesn’t say, ‘Remember that crazy story about Lot’s wife? Well we all know the moral of that story, and so I’m telling you now that…’

The New Testament writers also allude to various OT passages. At the website Bible Study Tools:

…The word often used to describe this treatment of the Old Testament is “typology.” This technique may be illustrated by the use made of the Exodus, which receives frequent typological treatment.

• Matthew suggestively applies Hosea 11:1 to Jesus’ return from Egypt ( 2:15 ), highlighting the parallel between Israel, who failed the temptations in the wilderness, and Jesus, who came through them victoriously to form the heart of a renewed people of God.
• John 6 presents the feeding of the five thousand as a glorious repetition of the manna miracle, signaling a greater exodus from sin and death.
• Paul applies the exodus themes of “slavery” and “redemption” spiritually to the work of the cross (e.g., Rom 3:24 ;8:23 ; Ephesians 1:7 Ephesians 1:14 ), and finds in the wilderness wanderings several typological foreshadowings of Christ and the church ( 1 Cor 10:1-13 ).
• Hebrews develops the theme of the political “rest” enjoyed by Israel in the promised land and applies it typologically to that spiritual sharing of the life of God himself, which is the fruit of the work of Christ for all believers (3:1-4:13).
• First Peter 2:9-10 uses Exodus 19:5-6, a central statement of exodus theology, to make Israel a type of the church.
• Revelation uses the Egyptian plagues typologically ( 8:7-12 ), and applies the numbering of the exodus tribes to the church ( 7:4-8 ).

There are also a host of places where the OT is quoted in the NT. You can read a brief overview of this topic at Theopedia or in this various-authors discussion of the topic in the Zondervan Counterpoints Series.

I know that some people are not attracted to a mentality of “The Bible says it, that’s settles it, I believe it.” But I think it’s important to make a distinction concerning the OT stories the NT affirms.

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Often at C201 we have a bonus video clip, and I decided to include the one from yesterday for readers here.

I was thinking of this song while reading the series at Daily Encouragement. We’ve used it here 2 years ago, but some of you may not have seen it. The singer is Marty McCall from the band Fireworks.

 

Faith Movies in Perspective

I’d never heard of the website Grantland until Sarah Pulliam-Bailey mentioned it yesterday, but there’s some great stats on the faith-based films from the past few years. The article is titled, God’s Not Dead (He’s Playing Now in Movie Theaters). There’s a chart showing some of the current movies in perspective alongside their ‘secular’ counterparts, a chart showing how some of the religious reels fared on opening weekend,

and a chart showing the total domestic gross for each of those pictures you’ll have to click through to see.

The article is long and raises some good questions:

…But that’s not the entire story. Because there’s the less-glamorous, more uncomfortable side of the story. The how and the why. How are these movies doing well? And why now? It’s near impossible to dive into these questions with a number set, a brief synopsis, a cast list, or even a handful of trailers. Beginning to scratch that surface involves actually seeing these films. Seeing all of them. On the same day. You know, on Easter Sunday.

Which is exactly what Grantland writer Rembert Browne did. Reviews of the four films follow, with the subjectivity that can only be achieved by watching them all at once!

And there’s more to come. On May 9th, Mom’s Night Out opens, and on Wednesday night, we got to attend the first preview showing in Canada. I’ll have more to say about that film in a few days.

Why People Love to Argue Noah, Jonah and Adam

Okay, I’ll say it.

While I have no reason to doubt the Biblical accounts I learned as a child, my faith journey is not contingent on whether David killed a giant with a slingshot (I think he did) or Joshua blew a trumpet and and the walls of Jericho fell (I think he did and they did) or whether Jesus put mud in a man’s eyes and then he could see (which I not only think he did, but think that belief on that one becomes a bit more central.)

But there are many people who love to argue these points.   The reason is simple:

• If it should turn out that the Bible narrative is true, then that would make the Bible authoritative in other areas of life.
• If the Bible is authoritative in all that it says, then that would require some kind of response from its hearers/readers.
• That response would require a change in lifestyle; a change in priorities.
• Many people, simply don’t want to make those changes.

So it’s easier for them to look at you and say, “You don’t really believe that Joshua prayed and God halted the earth’s rotation, resulting in more than 36 continuous hours of daylight, do you?”   A discussion that’s motivated more by the love of sin and not having to deal with accountability than it is with science.

And if you’re honest, you’ll probably say that while you do believe that God can (and did) cause the sun to stand still, that’s not what your faith journey, your God’s-love-receiving,  your Christ-following, your Spirit-indwelling, etc., is all about.

Because let’s face it:  While the children’s department of Christian bookstores is packed with stories about Jesus feeding 5,000 men or walking on water, Elijah being fed by ravens, and Daniel’s lack of appetizing characteristics to the large felines; the adult Christian living section of the same bookstore is relatively sparse on those particular narratives.

So what’s the deal?   Maybe, just maybe…

The woman who says, “You don’t really believe that a guy named Jonah lived inside a whale — sorry, ‘large fish’ — for three days do you?” is actually carrying on an illicit affair with a guy in the warehouse.   If the Bible is true in its narratives, it means it is reliable in everything, and that would require a response and a change in lifestyle.

The guy who says, “You don’t really believe that Noah and all those animals lived on board a yacht — sorry, ‘large boat’ — for a full year do you? is actually transferring money from an advertising account to a bogus consulting company which is actually a personal bank account.  If the Bible is true in its narratives, it means it is reliable in everything, and that would require a response and a change in lifestyle.

The woman who says, “You don’t really believe that stuff about God creating Adam and then taking one of his bones — sorry, ‘large rib’ — to create a woman do you? is actually getting her son to purchase ecstasy for her from a dealer in his high school.  If the Bible is true in its narratives, it means it is reliable in everything, and that would require a response and a change in lifestyle.

For some of us, here’s the 411:

• The Bible is authoritative and reliable in what it says; there’s no picking and choosing; you either trust the book or you don’t.
• We have heard and listened and chosen to respond to God’s offer of love and forgiveness, of which whales, arks and Adam’s ribs is but a small part — the realm of the miraculous — in a much, much larger ‘love letter’ to His creation.
• This has changed our perspective, our worldview, our priorities and values; a change that can be seen by people who knew us before vs. after or know how we live in contrast to the larger society around us.
• While we’re far from perfect, we think we’ve got the hottest news on the rack and want you to share in both what we’ve learned and the grace we’ve received.