Here is a book everyone should read:
"For years, the evangelical church and its members have debated whether the Bible should be interpreted literally or symbolically in regards to the age of the earth. In their groundbreaking new book, In the Beginning . . . We Misunderstood, authors Johnny V. Miller and John M. Soden say that all these arguments have missed the point. Rather, what Christians really need to know is how to interpret the Bible in its original context.
Exposing the fallacies of trying to make the biblical text fit a specific scientific presupposition, Miller and Soden offer a new approach to interpreting Genesis 1 that explores the creation account based on how the original audience would have understood its teaching. First, the authors present a clear explanation of the past and present issues in interpreting the first chapter of the Bible. Second, Miller and Soden break down the creation account according to its historical and cultural context by comparing and distinguishing both the Egyptian and Mesopotamian settings. Finally, they explore common objections to help readers understand the significance that the creation account has for theology today.
Christians need not look any further than Genesis 1 to find clues to its meaning. Both irenic and bathed in Scripture,
In the Beginning . . . We Misunderstood will equip every believer to navigate the creation wars, armed with biblically sound explanations."
From one of the reader reviews:
"The authors' target audience is students and lay Christians who have an interest in the creation account of Genesis 1:1-2:4 and who believe that the Bible trumps science every time. It begins with the personal journeys of the two authors from Young Earth Creationism to a belief that the Bible was never intended to be a literal, chronological description of the creation.
Unlike many previous books on this subject by scientifically-trained authors who deal with the interrelationship of science and the Bible, these authors, both with advanced degrees in theology, deal almost exclusively with the biblical text, rather than with science. They make their case from Scripture, not from science, and the difference shows.
Their main point can be summed up in one of the questions that they ask and answer near the end of the book: "How can I trust the Bible if it does not mean what it says?" which they rephrase as "Can I trust the Bible if it does not mean what I thought it meant from my context when I initially read it, before I understood what it would have meant to the original readers?" They then proceed to help us to understand the original intent and meaning of Genesis 1 by placing us in the position of the original readers as much as possible.
The book centers on very readable descriptions of the creation accounts of the ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Canaanite, and how they are both similar to and different from the Genesis 1 account (68 out of 177 pages of text), complete with summary tables and some photos. The emphasis is on understanding what Moses' original audience understood about the gods and creation and what God wanted the original audience to understand. The book is similar to John H. Walton's "The Lost World of Genesis 1," but without the functional vs. material creation issue.
The book does not deal directly with the age of the earth or exactly how God created the universe. The authors state that "while we do accept the possibility that the earth is very old (the age of the earth is a legitimate scientific field of study) and that the creation of humanity is relatively recent, we are not advocating any particular scientific conclusion. We believe that God may have intervened often in the history of creation to produce exactly the forms of plant and animal life that he wanted on the earth, leading up to the climax of creation, human beings, and we believe that he specifically intervened in the creation of human beings (Adam and Eve)." Thus the issues of the Big Bang and biological evolution are not addressed in this book.
Their stated goal is to move "the center of the discussion regarding Genesis 1 away from what one believes about science to what the Scriptures say and mean." I believe that they have succeeded admirably in achieving that goal. This is a book you can give to your Young Earth Creationist friends, particularly to young Christians."
http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-We-...-1&keywords=in+the+beginning+we+misunderstood
One can listen to an interview with one of the authors here (starting around the 1:52:15 mark):
http://www.str.org/podcasts/weekly-audio/one-moment-from-eternity#.VF1CFvnF-50