Scripture and Cosmology: Reading the Bible Between the Ancient World and Modern Science, ISBN-13: 978-0830840786

Scripture and Cosmology: Reading the Bible Between the Ancient World and Modern Science, ISBN-13: 978-0830840786

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• Publisher: ‎ IVP Academic (September 3, 2015)
• Language: ‎ English
• ISBN-10: ‎ 0830840788
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0830840786

Christians often claim to hold a biblical worldview. But what about a biblical cosmos view? From the beginning of Genesis we encounter a vaulted dome above the earth, a “firmament,” like the ceiling of a planetarium. Elsewhere we read of the earth sitting on pillars. What does the dome of heaven have to do with deep space? Even when the biblical language is clearly poetic, it seems to be funded by a very different understanding of how the cosmos is put together. As Kyle Greenwood shows, the language of the Bible is also that of the ancient Near Eastern palace, temple and hearth. There was no other way of thinking or speaking of earth and sky or the sun, moon and stars. But when the psalmist looked at the heavens, the delicate fingerwork of God, it evoked wonder. Even today it is astronomy and cosmology that invoke our awe and point toward the depths of divine mystery. Greenwood helps us see how the best Christian thinkers have viewed the cosmos in light of Scripture―and grappled with new understandings as science has advanced from Aristotle to Copernicus to Galileo and the galaxies of deep space. It’s a compelling story that both illuminates the text of Scripture and helps us find our own place in the tradition of faithful Christian thinking and interpretation.

Table of Contents:

Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1 Scripture in Context
Text in Context
A New Yorker’s Geography
Worldview
Scripture and Cosmology
Part One: Scripture and Cosmos in Cultural Context
2 Ancient Near Eastern Cosmologies
What Is the Ancient Near East?
Why It Matters
Ancient Near Eastern Cosmography
Forms of Ancient Near Eastern Writings
Summary and Conclusion
3 Cosmology in Scripture
Earth
Heavens
Sea
Summary and Conclusion
4 Cosmology and Cosmogony in Scripture
Genesis 1
Genesis 2
Exodus 20:8-11
Nehemiah 9:6
Job 38:2-38
Psalm 8
Psalm 19
Psalm 74:12-17
Psalm 95:1-7
Psalm 104
Psalm 136:1-9
Proverbs 8:22-31
Isaiah 40:12
Summary and Conclusion
Part Two: Cosmology in Scripture in Historical Context
5 Scripture and Aristotelian Cosmology
Spherical Cosmology
Spheres and Scripture
Geocentrism, Anthropocentrism
Summary and Conclusion
6 Scripture and Copernican Cosmology
Cosmological Revolutionaries
Heliocentrism and Scripture
Summary and Conclusion
Part Three: Scripture and Science
7 Cosmology and the Authority of Scripture
The Context of Scripture
Divine Accommodation
Conclusion
8 The Authority of Scripture and the Issue of Science
The Authority of Scripture and Medicine
The Authority of Scripture and Astronomy
The Authority of Scripture and Human Origins
The Authority of Scripture and Science
Notes
Chapter 1: Scripture in Context
Chapter 2: Ancient Near Eastern Cosmologies
Chapter 3: Cosmology in Scripture
Chapter 4: Cosmology and Cosmogony in Scripture
Chapter 5: Scripture and Aristotelian Cosmology
Chapter 6: Scripture and Copernican Cosmology
Chapter 7: Cosmology and the Authority of Scripture
Chapter 8: The Authority of Scripture and the Issue of Science
Bibliography
Image Credits
Author and Work Index
Subject Index
Scripture Index
Praise for Scripture and Cosmology
About the Author
More Titles from InterVarsity Press
Copyright

Kyle Greenwood (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is associate professor of Old Testament and Hebrew language at Colorado Christian University. He is the author of several studies of the Old Testament in its ancient Near Eastern environment.

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