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Customer Reviews for IVP Academic The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
IVP Academic The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Using 18 formal propositions John H. Walton constructs a compelling, provocative and original interpretation of Genesis 1. He argues that Genesis 1 is, as Bruce Waltke states, "a functioning temple where God takes up his residence as his headquarters from which he runs the world" not a description of the material origins of the universe. Additionally, Walton uses his thesis to directly engage the discussion of origins in the public square (schools and public policy) and ongoing academic debates in Science and Theology.
Average Customer Rating:
(19 Reviews) 19
Rating Snapshot (19 reviews)
5 stars
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15 out of 15100%customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Review 1 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
A Valuable Voice in the Discussion of Genesis
Date:February 16, 2013
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
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Meets Expectations:
5
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5
The idea of understanding the Bible literally is often a rallying cry of Evangelicals. However, problems arise when we try to mesh scientific data with Biblical truth – especially when it comes to Genesis 1 and 2. Science says the universe is billions of years old, whereas a “literal” reading of Genesis would say it’s only a few thousand. Numerous answers to this problem abound and Walton adds a fresh perspective to the mix. He points out that when most people say “I read the Bible literally”, what they are actually saying is “this is what the Bible really means”.
Walton believes in the literal truth of Genesis 1 and 2 and his book is a wonderful explanation of what this really means. Rather than impose modern ideas of the cosmos into Genesis, instead we should be asking “How would have the ancient Israelites understood this?” After all, Genesis was written originally for them. His main point is that Genesis isn’t so much concerned about questions of age and how humans came to be, so much as God giving the various aspects to his creation a function. Walton works through the six days, explaining the functional aspect to them, as well as explaining how day seven fits in with the ancient idea of Temple and rest.
The latter half of the book deals with related issues to his proposal – critiquing some of the other main Creation theories, some of his thoughts on Intelligent Design, what science tries to achieve, teaching science in school and how his understanding strengthens our theology of Genesis 1.
Overall, this is a fantastic read. It’s only 170 pages but don’t let the brevity fool you – this is deep and very theological/philosophical stuff here. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in how to understand Genesis 1-2 and I hope that this alleviates many faithful who try to reconcile the Bible with modern science. I’m sure this book will cause controversy with some, but I think Walton presents some fairly solid evidence with his 18 propositions.
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Review 2 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Good for starting the origins discussion
Date:January 7, 2013
Jonathan Becker
Location:Blue Springs, MO
Age:18-24
Gender:male
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
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Meets Expectations:
4
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5
I'm going to attempt to be as balanced as possible with my review. Like any book, this one has both positives and negatives, but in this case the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Positives: Walton is a very respected OT scholar in both evangelical and critical circles, so a book like this one is long overdue. Overall, his discussion of ANE concepts of origins is enlightening and it often challenges long-held assumptions.
Negatives: At times, Walton seems to be very redundant. If one has read his discussion of the issue in "ANE Thought and the OT" the issues will seem rather surface level. At times he doesn't make his functional/material distinction very clear. In fact, I wasn't quite sure what his view was by the end of the book. Nevertheless, this book will really get readers thinking about issues of interpretation.
Overall, Walton has made a much-needed contribution to the ongoing origins dialogue.
Positives: Walton is a very respected OT scholar in both evangelical and critical circles, so a book like this one is long overdue. Overall, his discussion of ANE concepts of origins is enlightening and it often challenges long-held assumptions.
Negatives: At times, Walton seems to be very redundant. If one has read his discussion of the issue in "ANE Thought and the OT" the issues will seem rather surface level. At times he doesn't make his functional/material distinction very clear. In fact, I wasn't quite sure what his view was by the end of the book. Nevertheless, this book will really get readers thinking about issues of interpretation.
Overall, Walton has made a much-needed contribution to the ongoing origins dialogue.
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Review 3 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Best Interpretation of Genesis I have ever read
Date:August 19, 2012
mark c
Age:45-54
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
As a Christian for almost 40 years, I have long struggled with the Young Earth Creation (YEC) account in Genesis 1. It has been the "trip stone" for me when it comes to believing the inerrancy of the bible. It has never made sense to me that intelligent and educated 21st Century Christians believe that the earth and cosmos is only 6000 years ago (or even 10,000 years old has some YEC's seem to suggest); this despite the mountain of geologic and scientific evidence that supports a finding that the world is at least millions (if not billions) of years old. Why would God create a world with characteristics that look deceptively ancient? I have been reading many books over the past few years to reconcile this without success. Walton's book is the first scholarly analysis of Genesis 1 that makes sense to me.
I don't know why Walton's book has not obtained more publicity in the Christian community. it think it is a must read for all Christians, particularly those who are espousing the YEC view to students or others.
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Review 4 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Date:February 20, 2012
Mary
Quality:
5
out of
5
This book is one of those books that rarely comes along. An exegetical masterpiece in Genesis 1 that places us the reader that much closer to the original understanding.
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-2points
0of 2voted this as helpful.
Review 5 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
God in evolution
Date:January 12, 2012
ginnzi54
Location:Arizona
Age:Over 65
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
An excellent thesis presenting a excellent thought on creation, allowing evolution to be considered as a strong possibility with (of course) God being in control.
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Review 6 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Compelling
Date:October 5, 2011
Mr C
Location:NJ
Age:55-65
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
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Meets Expectations:
5
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We Protestants hold to the historical-grammatical method of interpretation. Walton uses his knowledge of how the ancients looked at the world to uncover the meaning of Genesis 1. Very compelling!
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Review 7 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Date:September 23, 2011
LuLu
Location:Raleigh, NC
Age:55-65
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
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Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I always have had an emotional turmoil because I want to believe. This helped me very much.
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1of 3voted this as helpful.
Review 8 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Ground breaking, paradigm correcting
Date:August 4, 2011
Hebrew Professor
Quality:
5
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5
Value:
5
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Meets Expectations:
5
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5
This book finally provides Christians who take a high view of scripture with a grounded, sensible, respectful way to take Genesis 1 as inspired and truth while also accepting that evolution may be correct.
It is a must read for anyone interested in the creationism-versus-evolution debate, which has stolen entirely too much energy away from the Church's more important tasks.
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+4points
4of 4voted this as helpful.
Review 9 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Really a new way to look at Genesis.
Date:August 26, 2011
Riley
Age:55-65
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Walton uses what seems to me to be very solid analysis to bring out a very different way of looking at the story of Genesis. His point about looking at the text with ANE eyes and not modern 21st century ones is challenging. I very much enjoyed this book and found it extremely readable for a lay person.
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Review 10 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Sheds light on an often darken subject
Date:July 15, 2011
bryant
Location:Virginia
Age:45-54
Gender:male
I cannot say this book has changed my view on the creation debate, since I still hold firm to my understanding. But John Walton’s book is written in a style that is both accessible and thought provoking. Instead of trying to understand Genesis 1 through the lens of modern society and mudding the waters of the ongoing debate of the differing camps of creation; Mr. Walton has provided a breath of fresh air in understanding the scriptures in the context and understanding of the ancient people that originally received the divine word of God. It for me makes practical and to some degree a logical conclusion of Genesis. I recommend all flavors of the creation debate crowd to leave aside their views and enter a realm often left behind by our arguing who is right
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Review 11 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Date:June 14, 2011
Serge Ethier
Location:Cherstey, Quebec, Canada
Age:45-54
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
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Meets Expectations:
5
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5
Very refreshing approach regarding the creation debate. Well articulated and easy to read. This book will re-open discussion on the subjet of creation vs science and Mr Walton proposol will probably be under fire. As for me, the subject is from now on, closed. Thanks to you Dr Walton.
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0of 0voted this as helpful.
Review 12 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Date:January 13, 2011
Mark Edward
Age:18-24
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
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Meets Expectations:
5
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John Walton provides a readily understandable series of propositions. He shows that Genesis 1 should be understand in light of the common prevailing mindset of the ancient world: that the action for "creating" (Hebrew bara) is only ever done by God, that most of the things God "creates" in Genesis 1 are in terms of function and not material, and that the Israelite author was not simply ripping off some contemporary pagan literature (i.e. the Enuma Elish). He demonstrates the flaws in current interpretations of Genesis 1 (Young Earth, Old Earth, Framework Hypothesis, Ruin-Reconstruction, etc.), making the point that the Bible says nothing regarding the age of the earth. The reading can be somewhat dense at times, but the overall purpose of the book kept me going right through it. The ideas presented are convincing, so the book should be taken seriously, even by opponents.
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+2points
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Review 13 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Outstanding Work
Date:February 5, 2011
M Lewis
Location:Seattle, WA
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Creation remains one of the hottest touchstone issues for Christians. But are we reading Genesis one correctly? Or, as Walton asks in this book: "are we reading Genesis 1 literally enough"? Its an intriguing question which when understood in light of human conceptual apparatus becomes even more interesting. This book is thoughtful, compelling and focused on the text. If you are trying to decide where you stand on this issue, you will not regret giving this book your full attention.
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Review 14 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Date:January 13, 2011
reinhardt
Age:35-44
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Excellent, well articulated, organized, simple, profound. Fantastic little book. Well worth your time no matter what your views.
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Review 15 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Great Book
Date:October 16, 2010
Cheryl Mason
Location:Australia
I just finished reading this book today, and really enjoyed it. As a student of the Hebrew language I fully understood the ancient concept of function. Far too many Chrisitians are scared to explore some of the theories mentioned in this book. I would encourage you to read what Professor Walton has to say, it can only make you a more enlightened person.
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Review 16 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Date:June 14, 2010
Tony M
This was a fantastic book with a very interesting thesis. Once I started reading it, I could hardly put it down. It never occurred to me that the first readers/hearers would have had a functional view of origins versus a material view of origins (like we modern people do). I would highly recommend this book to everyone seeking clarity in the origins/Genesis 1 arena. It is very readable and enlightening.
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Review 17 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Date:March 10, 2010
Chris Longbine
What a fascinating book. It is true that very small deviations lead to great inaccuracy further down the line, and postmodern materialist Western thought has done a very poor job of retaining the ancient Near Eastern viewpoints that were the lenses through which the Bible was originally written and interpreted. This book should be required reading for every Christian, not just those interested in origins, because the book of Genesis is the center-piece to everything else written in scripture. It is ideas such as these that remove the distracting dissensions among Christians and aid us in fixing our gaze once more on our first love, Christ and His vision for what we should be doing here in this earth. I highly recommend this book.
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Review 18 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Date:January 7, 2010
Gerald Pesch
This book changed the way I think about the Bible. It presents a brilliant exegis of Genesis eliminating a lot of the controversy that detracts from the sacred message of the Bible. I recommend this book without reservation to all who seek a better understanding of God's message.
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Review 19 for The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate - eBook
Overall Rating:
Date:November 17, 2009
Tim McNinch
With this concise study, John Walton (professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College) has delivered a significant contribution to the ongoing conversation at the intersection of faith and science. Drawing upon the insights offered by ancient Near Eastern cultural and literary studies, he proposes that the creation account found in Genesis 1 is not a depiction of material origins at all. If his thesis is correct, John Walton has highlighted an important missing link in the often stalemated debate over origins.Walton attempts to demonstrate that the literary and cultural context of Genesis 1 reveals it to be concerned with how the world functions, rather than where and when stuff of the world came to be; that is, Genesis 1 is presents a "functional ontology" over against a "material ontology". Walton attributes the common misreading of Genesis 1 as material ontology to simple anachronism. We in the modern West have difficulty reading it as anything other than an account of material origins because we live in an ontologically materialistic era. So we unintentionally read our own ontology into the text. The author and audience of Genesis 1 had an entirely different view of the world, a world that Walton exposes to the popular reader.The Lost World of Genesis One is published under InterVarsity's Academic imprint, and I am anxious to see how John Waltons propositions are received by the academic community. At the same time, this volume is absolutely accessible to any thoughtful reader. Walton speaks to the popular reader, defining new vocabulary and using helpful analogies to clarify complex points. His introduction alone, explaining the necessity of contextualizing our exegesis of Scripture, is worth the price of the book for the student or teacher of the Bible. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wrestles with the Creation/Evolution controversy, and label it a "must read" for any Christian student of the natural sciences.
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