Fred finally comments on the toledoth (the 11 quotes of “these are the generations”): Seeing that Genesis 1 provides the major overview of God’s divine work of creation from start to finish, I wouldn’t expect there to be a toledoth heading; it’s unnecessary. However, chapter 2:4 goes back and fills in detail about day 6 [...]

As many of you have read, Fred Butler and I have been discussing Genesis 1 and theistic evolution (see “Apologetics and the Age of the Earth“). It’s been a very enjoyable and helpful dialog for myself and (so I hear) for others. Fred believes it is essentially impossible to hold to old-earth creationism and the [...]

I can’t help but recall the words of Morpheus in the second Matrix film: “Coincidence, or providence?” The same set of facts and circumstances can sit in front of two human beings and two very different conclusions will emerge: “Fluke of nature” and “Oh, that’s easy – God did it!” I was writing a seminary [...]

A straw-man argument takes place when someone sets up a false or non-existent argument to knock-down, creating the allusion of victory, when in reality the person didn’t  knock down the real thing, but only a straw-man. In the end, all straw men arguments are failed arguments. They prove nothing. Straw-men arguments are the bread and [...]

In Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15, Paul draws a parallel between Jesus and Adam: Adam disobeyed (eating of the fruit) and brought death to “all”; Jesus obeyed (in his crucifixion) and (in rising) brought life to “all.” Jesus came to undo what Adam did. He came to reverse the curse of Adam. There is [...]

Herman Bavinck is one of the most thoroughly abused figures in Christian scholarship. Why? Because his work is so incredibly balanced. This makes it easy to quote him out of context. He is often mistaken for making assertions when he is simply playing the devil’s advocate for several pages. And, like the early church fathers, [...]

We continue our series on Pete Enns’ blog article “Adam is Israel” and ultimately, “Paul’s Adam”: If we see Adam as a story of Israelite origins, it will help us make sense of at least one nagging question that begins in Genesis 4:13—one that readers of Genesis, past and present, have picked up on. After [...]