Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Coming Soon from IVP Academic: The Lost World of Genesis One

John Walton was, by far, one of my favorite professors. His expertise in Ancient Near Eastern literature is enviable. So when I saw this new book, The Lost World of Genesis One, from IVP Academic I got very excited. Pardon my enthusiasm. In this work Walton "presents and defends eighteen propositions supporting a literary and theological understanding of Genesis 1 within the context of the ancient Near Eastern world, and unpacks its implications for our modern scientific understanding of origins." (from the catalog) Bruce Waltke says "Walton's cosmic temple inauguration view of Genesis 1 is a landmark study in the interpretation of that controversial chapter. On the basis of ancient Near Eastern literatures, a rigorous study of the Hebrew word bara' ('create'), and a cogent and sustained argument, Walton has gifted the church with a fresh interpretation of Genesis 1." Davis A. Young, Professor Emeritus of Geology, Calvin College, and coauthor of The Bible, Rocks and Time, says "Every theologian, every pastor, every Christian in the natural sciences, indeed, every Christian who loves the Bible must put aside all other reading material this minute and immediately begin to absorb the contents of John Walton's The Lost World of Genesis One. Walton closely examines Genesis 1 in light of ancient Near Eastern literature and offers a compelling case that the creation account is far more concerned with the cosmos being given its functions as God's temple than it is with the manufacture of the material structures of the earth and universe. In the process, he has blown away all the futile attempts to elicit modern science from the first chapter of the Bible." The book is paperback, 176 pages and sells for $16.00.

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