Strategies for Interpreting Genesis
13 Pages - 172K

In our last lesson we looked at Enuma elish and compared that ancient unbelieving text with the Bible and what we found was there are only two fundamentally different worldviews. There may be 101 varieties in the details, but when we boil it down in the final analysis there are only two views, the unbelieving worldview (HVP) and the biblical worldview (DVP).

When we looked at these two views side-by-side we emphasized two key differences. First, was the Creator-creature distinction vs the Continuity of Being. The Continuity of Being basically says that god(s), men, angels, rocks only differ in degree, they are all just part of the universe, there is only one level of reality. Everything is on a scale of varying degree. There may be gods and goddesses, there may even be a god, but the idea is that he differs from us only in degree. In other words, think of IQ, he has greater IQ than we do, we have less IQ than he does, but he and we are connected by a scale only differing in degree. Think of strength, he may be bigger, he may be stronger but in the end he too shares the same environment we do.

Over against that idea, the Bible throws that idea out completely, at a very fundamental level. The Bible says that there is a Creator and a creation, and these realities cannot be bridged; there are two levels of reality, and there is no way for the creature to ever become the Creator. So there’s that fundamental distinction. This is going to have tremendous implications when we get into the NT Christology, the hypostatic union, kenosis and other doctrines. We are preparing ourselves early on in the bible to recognize the coherence of Scriptures. It’s wonderful, it’s more than wonderful, it’s the greatest orchestration ever. Nothing compares.

Second, was Personal Sovereignty vs Impersonal Chance. To get a good picture of Chance, think about the gods and goddesses warring with one another in Enuma elish. Each one trying to fight the other one off and this somehow brings into existence the universe. Somehow in unbelief, chaos leads to order. It’s always that way. But the problem with chance and chaos is that you can never forecast what’s going to happen tomorrow. I mean, if weathermen or stock brokers were running the universe we’d be in a lot of trouble because no one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. That has always been the dilemma of the unbelieving system. It never can stabilize. That’s the pagan picture of how the universe is run. Contrast that with Scripture, 1 Kings 22 and Job 1, who’s running the universe? Demons, even Satan himself, comes into His presence, do you see any of them warring with the Lord? There’s no war. They’re not going to take Him on. There’s not a challenge there. A Person who is absolutely sovereign is running the universe and He says what can and cannot happen in His universe. He says you will do this and you will not do that, and Satan has no real say about it. There’s no chance there. This is the opposite of chance. That is a fundamental idea that we go back to again and again in the scripture. If you don’t grasp this difference you cannot really come to know the God of the Bible. It’s that fundamental.

So, all you have to do to discover whether a worldview is biblical or human is ask two questions. One, "How many levels of reality are there?" One or two? Every movie, every book, every religion will give one of those two answers. Second, "Who or what is running the universe?" A sovereign person or impersonal chance? There are no other options. Download the entire lesson