Garvey: Update on The Generations of Heaven and Earth

#1

For information: I’ve just corrected the proofs of my own follow-up to Josh’s Genealogical Adam and Eve, which Cascade has been timing to follow on the heels of his in the New Year.

I’ve posted a new piece about it on The Hump of the Camel, which doubles up as a plug for GAE’s imminent release.

Needless to say, it would be great if the folks here saved up their pennies for mine as well as Josh’s, as the books are designed to complement each other. There’s still work to do on mine on covers, indexes and so on, so I don’t have details of publication date or price yet, but will keep you informed.

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Free Download: Extended Excerpt of The Genealogical Adam and Eve
#2
#3

Just shared it on the FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/genealogical.adam.eve/permalink/767886280355566/.

As Josh will tell you over at Peaceful Science (and as the wide range of endorsees of his book shows) the idea has found support amongst all shades of Christian opinion on origins, not to mention some atheists. It ought to change radically the terms of the discussion. If you’re at all interested in the origins question (and why else would you be reading here?) you will want to be up to speed on what will, I think, change the landscape forever.

BUT… that is just the beginning. Having been working on Genealogical Adam myself since 2010, I’ve been considering how it changes our understanding of biblical theology – the whole big narrative of Scripture, from creation through to the second coming and the “new heavens and the new earth” to be revealed in Christ. That is the subject of my own new book, which my editor (my first reviewer, who has no axe to grind on the subject) calls “pacesetting,” “opening up all sorts of new avenues.”

It is my privilege to endorse @jongarvey’s book. I highly recommend it!

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#4

Cheque in the post, Josh.:slightly_smiling_face:

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#5

Haha. :slightly_smiling_face: How much does privilege cost? :slightly_smiling_face:

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#6

Now let’s see … I’m white, male, heterosexual, Christian and old. 99c should cover it.

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#7

To the Left, maybe. :slightly_smiling_face:

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#8

Any pre-pub excerpts, or free song downloads? How did Josh get to read it already? :o)

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#9

Guy

Josh got to read it through nepotism and intrigue… more realistically, he needed to inform his own book on what mine would cover (and vice versa). We are looking to introduce a new paradigm here.

No excerpts yet - though it’s not a bad idea I guess. I’ll have a think. Perhaps I’ll publish the index first…

If you want free music, you can have a YouTube video of a song which is, in essence, about adamic man and his not altogether beneficial effect on the world: Clever Fellow. The best I can do on Adam at present!

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#10

To whet (or dampen) your appetite, here at least is a list of contents:

Introduction

§1: Generations of Heaven (Time)
1 Genre and Metaphor
Literal or metaphorical?
Metaphorical elements in the Eden account
Creation of Adam and Eve
The nakedness and clothing of the man and the woman
The trees of life and knowledge
The creatures named by Adam
The talking serpent
Anachronism
Literary emphasis
Patriarchal longevity
Is the whole garden metaphorical?
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
2 Biblical Signs of People beyond Eden
Where are all the people in Genesis?
Geographical names
Cain and Abel’s occupations
Cain’s exile
Cain’s wife
Calling on the name of Yahweh
Marriage, sons of God, and daughters of men
The nephilim
The repopulation of the world
The longevity of tradition
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
3 The Lord is Not Slow
The problem of time
How Genealogical Adam helps
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam

§2: Generations of Earth (Place)
4 Clues from the Ancient Near East
Adam and Adapa, priest-sages
Adam, the Ewe, and the Wheat
Curses for all
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
5 Culture and Geography
Cultural pointers
Eden in Israel
Northern Eden
Southern Eden
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
6 The Table of Nations
Language
Culture
People
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam

§3: Generations of Adam (Humanity)
7 What is Man: What’s in a Name?
Three meanings of adam
Generic adam: who is in the genus?
More on adam as a generalized tribal designation
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
8 What is Man: What’s in an Image?
Image, creation and election
Imago dei and non-Adamic man
Soul, image and bestiality
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
9 The Special Creation of Adam?
When is transformation creation?
The nature of Adam and Eve’s creation
Command, relationship, and freedom
Special creation and deception
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
10 Religion before Adam
Primitive religions of the world
Primitive religions before Adam
Primitive religion and a good creation
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
11 The Importance of Genealogy
Genealogies and Adam
Genealogy, adoption and culture
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam

§4: Generations of Glory (New Creation)
12 Original Sin
Preserving the family inheritance
Is another will hidden somewhere?
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
13 The Transmission of Sin
Is inherited sin really implausible?
Tentative thoughts on culture and sin
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
14 Adam and the New Creation
History and the Bible’s metanarrative
Adam as the new creation
A word from the Westminster Confession
The new creation through Christ
New creation narrative constituents
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
15 A Tale of Three Testaments
Third time lucky
The non-story of Genesis 1
Metanarrative and missio dei
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
16 A Tale of Two Temples
The cosmic temple of Genesis 1
A phenomenological temple account
The garden as a temple
Temples of the old and new creations
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
17 The Devil and All His Works
Revisiting the Ransom Theory
The psychology of Satan
Satan and humanity before Adam
The devil as a personal being
Conclusion relative to Genealogical Adam
18 Alternative Views
Genealogical Adam: a versatile paradigm
A-historical views of Adam
Young Earth views of Adam
Older alternatives
The Framework Hypothesis
The Day Age Theory
The Gap Theory
Concluding thoughts on the historical Adam

General Index

Index of Ancient Sources

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#11

@jongarvey, are you on facebook? I want to post about your book there and tag you.

#12

Josh, I’m afraid to say I closed down my Facebook account (a) because it didn’t generate any value and (b) because I didn’t see why the corporate world should access my personal information free.

Could I become that mysterious masked man whose book is tagged on Facebook but who only has a self-hosted blog (and not even a mobile phone, to save the planet)??

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#13

Do you have the text of the endorsement I gave your book?

#14

I do… and here’s what you (kindly) said:

Summarizing a decade of contemplation, Garvey makes a provocative, must-read contribution to a new conversation about Adam and Eve. After 150 years of mistaken conflict, we now know that traditional readings of Genesis can be entirely compatible with evolutionary science, as long as there are people outside the Garden. Garvey presses one step further, arguing that allowing for people outside the Garden is helpful to theology, recovering the original understanding of Genesis. Evolutionary science, in this way, encourages a coherent and grounded synthesis of traditional theology and mainstream science.

S. Joshua Swamidass, Associate Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington Unversity in Saint Louis

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#15

Thanks for cluing us in on the “nepotism and intrgue.” I’ll be sure to phone The National Enquirer in the U.S., and The Guardian in the U.K., to get to the bottom of that bit of misbegotten nastiness… Christians cooperating across the pond!!! What is the New World Order coming to?? :o) Thanks to you both!

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#16

On reflection I should have put out my endorsements to tender, and had some kind of affirmative action policy to ensure that under-represented groups got to do some.

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#17

I feel so underprivileged… I may have to break into a song, or something. :o)

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#18

Do you not have anywhere nearby that you could Occupy as a protest?

#19

@jongarvey , I did have, but the government seized it from me. I am such a victim… ;o)

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