@swamidass well I had already read that second one out of prior interest since as I said two of our children have been baptized in Lutheran churches. I just read the first one now. I agree with their framework, and as someone who has attended Lutheran churches I think the Christ Centered Model in “Early Genesis, the Revealed Cosmology” is a fantastic fit for Lutherans, especially those with a high view of scripture. Just like it says on the back cover, you have to look at the text through the lens of Christ to understand its true meaning. That is the way they do all of the scriptures so why not early Genesis?
Look if they come up with a Lutheran Option then bully for them. But so far based on my years of personal experience with them there is nothing I’ve heard that would fit them better than the Christ-centered model. My mind can be changed on this, but not from silence.
OK. Jonathan, @J.E.S have you followed along when I have tried to explain the Christ-centered model laid out in “Early Genesis the Revealed Cosmology”?
I don’t see how they could if they don’t know what the tenants of the Christ-centered model for Early Genesis are. So in Lutheran fashion I pin my 25 Theses on Early Genesis to the virtual door of Peaceful Science…
I briefly read your “25 Theses” and will need to give them some further thought as well as what is being called the “Christ Centered Model.” It sounds very interesting and thought provoking.
I will say that the terminology of a Christ centered approach is very much the way a Lutheran would speak. Mind you I’ve only had an undergraduate training in Lutheran theology, but I remember learning about Christ being the center of Scripture and our dogmatic view of theology. Christ is like a rock thrown into water, where the waves radiating outwards from Christ are the various layers of doctrine – All of scripture and doctrine should point to Christ.
Moreover, we tie our high view of early Genesis to the words of Christ Himself in the NT. Christ validates that the Genesis account is true. He puts His divine stamp of approval (Matt. 5; John 5:39; Luke 24:27) on the OT as we have received it. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that we know how it all worked out or even looked like. Here is a quote from a LCMS Lutheran author, “The biblical text nowhere describes their appearance [Adam and Eve]; perhaps they were very hairy and their arms were long enough that they could scratch their feet without bending over.” (Tractatus Logicus-Theologicus, John Warwick Montgomery))
The pointing to Christ point and the forgiveness of sins always trumps any discussion about the nuance of how God created Himself. To quote the old Galileo saying, “The Scriptures teach us how to go to Heaven, not how the Heaven’s go.”