The Manifold Beauty of Genesis One: A Multi-Layered Approach

The Manifold Beauty of Genesis One: A Multi-Layered Approach

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-01-20 06:51:04
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Gregg Davidson
  • ISBN：0825445442
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Summary

See and celebrate the multilayered grandeur conveyed by the first chapter of Genesis

The first chapter of the Bible's first book lays the foundation for all that follows about who God is and what God is like。 Our technology-age fascination with the science of origins， however， can blind us to issues of great importance that don't address our culturally conditioned questions。 Instead， Genesis One itself suggests the questions and answers that are most significant to human faith and flourishing。 Geologist Gregg Davidson and theologian Ken Turner shine a spotlight on Genesis One as theologically rich literature first and foremost， exploring the layers of meaning that showcase various aspects of God's character:
- Song
- Analogy
- Polemic
- Covenant
- Temple
- Calendar
- Land

Our very knowledge of God suffers when we fail to appreciate the Bible's ability to convey multilayered truth simultaneously。 The Manifold Beauty of Genesis One offers readers the chance to cultivate an openness to Scripture's richness and a deeper faith in the Creator。

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Reviews

Mike Fendrich ，

This is an outstanding and thoughtful book。 The depth and riches of Genesis 1 should delight every Christian。 It is neither a chronological journalistic nor detailed scientific account of the origins of the universe and everything in it but a multifaceted explanation of the Christian metanarrative; creation， fall redemption and glorification。 There are some layers that I didn't appreciate as much as others but the authors anticipate this and acknowledge that the seven layers they present are not This is an outstanding and thoughtful book。 The depth and riches of Genesis 1 should delight every Christian。 It is neither a chronological journalistic nor detailed scientific account of the origins of the universe and everything in it but a multifaceted explanation of the Christian metanarrative; creation， fall redemption and glorification。 There are some layers that I didn't appreciate as much as others but the authors anticipate this and acknowledge that the seven layers they present are not dependent on each other to the degree that it invalidates everything because the reader rejects one。 Objections are helpfully acknowledged and addressed by the authors to clarify the position taken。 I found this book to be very helpful and encouraging in better understanding the "depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God。 How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways！"Highly recommend 。。。more

Kristine Johnson ，

It seems like there is a deep divide in Christian circles on how to understand Genesis 1。 I’ve read books from a variety of perspectives and some books that compare and contrast multiple different points of view。 This book is different in that it explores 7 complementary views， each of which can be accepted on its own and each is compatible with the others。 This multi-layered approach explores the beauty of the text without getting bogged down in conflicts around creationism。 The book has an int It seems like there is a deep divide in Christian circles on how to understand Genesis 1。 I’ve read books from a variety of perspectives and some books that compare and contrast multiple different points of view。 This book is different in that it explores 7 complementary views， each of which can be accepted on its own and each is compatible with the others。 This multi-layered approach explores the beauty of the text without getting bogged down in conflicts around creationism。 The book has an introduction section followed by a chapter for each of the 7 layers and a conclusion plus a couple of appendices and indices。 Each chapter explains the layer， addresses some objections， and ends with a few discussion questions which would make this a great book for a book club。 In the first part of the book， the authors describe several passages in the Bible that are understood to have multiple meanings。 They look at cultural context， tackle common concerns， and review what is known and can be learned from biblical genealogies。Layer 1: Song: The first chapter/layer in the book is “Song” which explores the grand beginning of Genesis， the idea of formless and empty （tohu wabohu）， the framework of 3 days forming the formless into realms of light/dark， sea/sky， land & plants followed by 3 days of filling the empty realms with sun/moon & stars， fish/birds， animals & humans。 The song concludes with the completion of heaven and earth with God resting on the 7th day。 Layer 2: Analogy: The second layer looks at a number of analogies in the Bible starting with the parables and teachings of Jesus。 Since God is not human， there was not a need for him to take hours， minutes， days， eons， or any time at all to create。 He chose to create through time in a way analogous to a human workweek。 This week includes work， reflection， and rest， and brings order from disorder。Layer 3: Polemic: The polemic layer looks at Genesis 1 compared and contrasted with the contemporary creation accounts of neighboring near eastern peoples。 The authors show how polemics in the New Testament and Old Testament are similar and yet radically different from nearby cultures。 Layer 4: Covenant: In the Bible， covenants are a big deal。 In fact， the Bible is divided into 2 major sections based on covenants。 This chapter explores various covenants and their importance， particularly creation covenant and royal land grant （including exile） and how that relates to Genesis 1。 Layer 5: Temple: Creation is God’s temple; God rules from his throne in heaven and earth is his footstool。 The ancient near eastern audience would have viewed Genesis 1 as a temple text in which the temple is consecrated in a 7-day ceremony。 Once I started thinking about temple texts in the Bible， I gained a much deeper understanding of a number of biblical passages。 Layer 6: Calendar: The people of Israel held multiple festivals throughout the year which corresponded to their agricultural calendar。 Celebrations both commemorated past events and were opportunities to share news and labor resources。 Similar to Thanksgiving or Easter， the celebrations occurred with the planting seasons rather than the specific anniversary date。 Genesis 1 is a celebration of the agricultural year in a week。 Layer 7: Land: The final layer looks at the importance of land for the Israelites。 Their story started in Eden and ends in the Promised Land with a period of exile for unfaithfulness。 The story of Adam is the story of Israel， unfaithfulness resulted in exile from paradise to captivity with hope for a future restoration。 Conclusion: The conclusion comes full circle showing how the layers compliment each other。 It is not necessary to accept all of the layers to appreciate the book and gain understanding。 The book ends with a hope that redirecting the focus of reading Genesis 1 to understanding these （and perhaps more） layers can bring about a greater appreciation of the splendor of the Genesis 1 text and reduce the hurt many have experienced when Christians argue over the age of the earth and evolution。 This is a lovely and warm book with great insight and encouragement。 It’s refreshing to look at the text itself without trying to squeeze or extract some scientific notions out/in of it。 I too hope this book can have the intended result and be an encouragement to many。 I had the opportunity to interview the authors of the book and was blessed by our conversation。 https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=eSkkz。。。 。。。more

Peter Butler ，

I was cautious and curious when I picked up The Manifold Beauty of Genesis One: A Multi-Layered Approach by Gregg Davidson and Kenneth J。 Turner。 I was encouraged to see that the authors affirmed The Chicago Statement on Inerrancy （10）。 That meant – to me – that wherever the authors were going， they were going to affirm the text as the True Word of God。The authors break down each chapter addressing their points and concerns that readers might have， and each chapter ends with questions for reflec I was cautious and curious when I picked up The Manifold Beauty of Genesis One: A Multi-Layered Approach by Gregg Davidson and Kenneth J。 Turner。 I was encouraged to see that the authors affirmed The Chicago Statement on Inerrancy （10）。 That meant – to me – that wherever the authors were going， they were going to affirm the text as the True Word of God。The authors break down each chapter addressing their points and concerns that readers might have， and each chapter ends with questions for reflection and study。 The reading is not geared for the average layperson， but for the college student， seminarian， and pastor。The authors identify the seven layers as song， analogy， polemic， covenant， temple， calendar， and land。 The authors identify these layers as within the text， but neither opposed to the text or each other。 These are additional facets of the text that one may find and study to flesh out the beauty of the text and the fullness of the meaning already there。In presenting the layers， the authors look at the linguistic uses within the text， other Ancient Near Eastern parallels to the text – not to say that the Bible is a copy of their texts， but to make the point that God has condescended to present His True Word to us in a language and structure that we can understand。This is an example of the parts being greater than the whole。 The book looks small from the outside， but it is filled and becomes fuller as one reads the text and applies it in Genesis one and considers the use of the layers in other texts。 It is an interesting and useful approach to gain more of what is already in the text。Within the text， an assertion is made that floored me: humans bringing of sin into the world did not change the Creation， only our experience of it （90）。 How can this be right？Paul writes， “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God。 For the creation was subjected to futility， not willingly， but because of him who subjected it， in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” （Romans 8:19-21， ESV）。If sin didn’t change the Creation， then what is the “futility” and “bondage” that it longs to be freed from？Other issues such as seeing the days of Creation from the “framework” position and support for the idea of animal death in the Garden just don’t make sense to my reading of the Scripture。So， I would say this book has value in showing how the text can be opened like and onion to bee seen to the further glory of God and our joy in seeing its beauty。 However， I find some of their conclusions/interpretations of the text problematic。 Use this book with care。The book ends with a bibliography， author index， and Scripture index。 （Footnotes appear throughout。）[This review appears on my blog， Amazon。com， Kregel。com， and Goodreads。com]。 。。。more

Sheila ，

The American world seems to delight in arguments about Genesis One – is it history？ Is it science？ Is it myth， or symbolism？ And is it even possible to question it， since surely only the church can interpret the Bible？ Of course， that was a really old question， back in the day when they questioned whether plebs like us should be allowed to read the Bible in case we misunderstood， but the world has a way of bringing things full circle。 Davidson and Turner， on the other hand， don’t try to square c The American world seems to delight in arguments about Genesis One – is it history？ Is it science？ Is it myth， or symbolism？ And is it even possible to question it， since surely only the church can interpret the Bible？ Of course， that was a really old question， back in the day when they questioned whether plebs like us should be allowed to read the Bible in case we misunderstood， but the world has a way of bringing things full circle。 Davidson and Turner， on the other hand， don’t try to square circles， but instead take all these questions deeper and show how something as huge as “the word of God” must surely be more than just printed translations on the page and one man’s “interpretation。”History， science， myth， symbol？ Those words are so simple， but these authors take readers deeper into the text， to find song， analogy， polemic， covenant， temple， calendar， and land （the headings of their seven layers）。 In each chapter， they offer a new way （new to many readers， anyway） of reading the text， with Biblical references to other parts of the Bible that show a deeper relevance， all tied to scriptural truth and the history and arguments of our time as well as those of times before。My favorite chapter deals with Genesis as Covenant， and pleasingly satisfies my （personal） sense that God delights in the wildness of lions even more than I do in watching them on TV。Well-planned tables and well-drawn clarify the meaning。 Well-argued examples draw the reader in。 And the “challenges and responses” together with discussion questions at the end of each section invite the reader to make their own minds up and question their preconceptions。 It’s a beautifully presented book， a delight to read， truly thought-provoking， and deeply faithful to the text of the sacred Book。 Yes， we can ask questions。 Thank you Gregg Davidson and Kenneth Turner。Disclosure: I was lucky enough to be given a copy， and I’m recommending it to all my friends。 。。。more

Buddy Spaulding ，

The authors hit a home run here。 The controversies over "which view is correct？" overshadow the rich theological treasure found in the opening chapters of the Bible。 By comparing the "layers" found in Genesis 1 with a fluorite crystal viewed under different conditions， the authors make a persuasive case that just as the fluorite appears differently when viewed differently， Genesis 1 appears differently when seen from different perspectives， yet never ceases to be Genesis 1。 Although Scripture re The authors hit a home run here。 The controversies over "which view is correct？" overshadow the rich theological treasure found in the opening chapters of the Bible。 By comparing the "layers" found in Genesis 1 with a fluorite crystal viewed under different conditions， the authors make a persuasive case that just as the fluorite appears differently when viewed differently， Genesis 1 appears differently when seen from different perspectives， yet never ceases to be Genesis 1。 Although Scripture remains clear in its most essential message， seeing it from different perspectives adds a depth of understanding and a sense of marvel that cannot happen otherwise。The book is not a science-faith book and that is important， as Genesis 1 is not about science。 it can be read by both layman and by trained clergy alike and especially notable is the willingness of the authors to concede that not everyone will agree that every "layer" highlighted in the book is what the author had in mind。 Furthermore， that is OK！ The footnotes are helpful without being a distraction and the authors address potential objections at the end of each chapter。 Discussion questions are included for group study。I found the connection between the early chapters of Genesis and the remainder of the Pentateuch extremly helpful and got an enriched understanding that the five books are more inter-related than I had realized。 I also found Davidson and Turner's work has me thinking more about other interconnected themes throughtout the entirety of Scripture， including the New Testament。 。。。more

Reference

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