I think one of the biggest problems we face in biblical scholarship today is the pressure to conform to the consensus opinion of the mainstream scientific community. Many biblical scholars interpret Genesis 6-9 as teaching a local or regional flood because the scientific establishment has “proven” that the global flood did not take place and that the fossil record demonstrates millions of years of evolution instead of evidence of a worldwide flood. Many of these same scholars impose a theory of long ages on the days of Genesis 1 because the scientific establishment has convinced them that the earth is billions of years old. Some, like Peter Enns, say that the Apostle Paul erroneously believed that Adam was an historical person. Enns thinks Paul was wrong because the scientific establishment persuaded him that man is the product of a long process of evolution. The mistake Enns makes is putting his faith in the majority of the scientific community rather than interpreting the Old Testament as Jesus and the Apostles interpreted it.
Jesus never challenged the history of the Bible. Jesus accepted all the people and events of the OT as actually historical. He mentions them in his teaching and sometimes the point of his reference to them depended on the historical validity of the accounts. For example: Matthew 12:41 -- “Ninevah repented at Jonah’s preaching, but one greater than Jonah is here.” or Matthew 24:37 – “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the time of the second coming.” or Matthew 11:23-24 – “If the miracles done here had been done in Sodom, it would have repented. It will be more bearable for Sodom in the judgment.”
It is obvious from Romans 5 that Paul understood Adam as an historical person. Peter took the flood as literal, and global (II Peter 3). We are not permitted by Jesus and the apostles to understand the first few chapters of Genesis as non-literal literature.
If we resist the pressure from the scientific establishment (the new “ultimate authority” in our society) and interpret science in light of Scripture rather than the other way around, we will see less conflict between the Bible and science, and have fewer alleged discrepancies to try to explain.
Jesus never challenged the history of the Bible. Jesus accepted all the people and events of the OT as actually historical. He mentions them in his teaching and sometimes the point of his reference to them depended on the historical validity of the accounts. For example: Matthew 12:41 -- “Ninevah repented at Jonah’s preaching, but one greater than Jonah is here.” or Matthew 24:37 – “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the time of the second coming.” or Matthew 11:23-24 – “If the miracles done here had been done in Sodom, it would have repented. It will be more bearable for Sodom in the judgment.”
It is obvious from Romans 5 that Paul understood Adam as an historical person. Peter took the flood as literal, and global (II Peter 3). We are not permitted by Jesus and the apostles to understand the first few chapters of Genesis as non-literal literature.
If we resist the pressure from the scientific establishment (the new “ultimate authority” in our society) and interpret science in light of Scripture rather than the other way around, we will see less conflict between the Bible and science, and have fewer alleged discrepancies to try to explain.
RSS Feed