Saturday, March 05, 2005

In the Twilight of Western Thought, p.149ff Gen 1

In the Twilight of Western Thought
Craig Press edn p. 149-51
Mellen Press edn p. 103-04

I refer, for example, to the question concerning the sense of the six days of creation. By disregarding the faith-aspect of the temporal order and by utilizing astronomical and geological concepts of time, theology was entangled in the following [pseudo-theological - editorial insertion in the Mellen edn] dilemma: if these days are not to be understood in the sense of astronomical days of twenty-four hours, they are [then they ought - Mellen version] to be interpreted as geological periods. A curious dilemma indeed [1]. For it has not occurred to any theologian to apply this alternative to the seventh day, the day on which God rests from all his work which he had made [wrought - Mellen version]. This [Such an interpretation - Mellen version] would be rightly considered blasphemous. But why was it overlookd that the same blasphemy presents itself if God's creative deeds are conceived of in natural scientific time-concepts? The reason is that the theologians who posed the [aforementioned - Mellen version] dilemma mentioned did not realize the fundamental difference between the divine creative deeds and the [genetic - Mellen version] genetical process occurring within the created temporal order as a result of God's work of creation. Here the influence of Greek philosophy clearly manifested itself. For because of its pagan religious basic motive, this philosophy excluded any idea of creation. It merely accepted a temporal genesis, at the utmost [at most - Mellen version] conceived as the result of a formative activity of a divine mind which presuppoes a given material. The scholastic accommodation of the biblical revelation of creation to this Greek idea of becoming gave rise to the false view that creation itself was a temporal process.
God's creative deeds surpass the temporal order because they are not subjected to it. But as a truth of faith of God has revealed these creative deeds in the faith-aspect of this temporal order which points beyond itself to what is supra-temporal. It was God's will that the believing Jew should refer his six work days to the six divine creative works and the sabbath day to the eternal sabbathic rest of God, the Creator. This is the biblical exegesis given by the Decalogue. And it eliminates the scholastic dilemma concerning the exegesis of the six days of creation, which originated from a fundamental disregard of the faith-aspect of the temporal order. This disregard is also to be observed in the Augustinian interpretation of the six days as a literary form or framework of representation which lacks any temporal sense, through this conception is, no doubt, preferable by far to the astronomical or geological interpretation.

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[1] Footnote in Mellen edn
Dooyeweerd would view any form of scientific creationism as an interpretation of Geneis 1-2 which fails to understand the meaning 'day' within the faith-aspect, thereby reducing it to the physical aspect .

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