Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 05:3 (Fall 2001)
Article: Creation in Old Testament Theology
Author: Paul R. House

SBJT 5:3 (Fall 2001) p. 4

Creation in Old Testament Theology

Paul R. House

Paul R. House is Professor of Old Testament and Chair of the Dept. of Bible and Theology at Wheaton College. Previously he taught at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Taylor University. In addition to various books and scholarly articles, he is the author of Old Testament Theology (IVP).

Introduction and Methodology

In recent times few passages in scripture have generated as much heated discussion as Genesis 1–2. Naturalistic evolutionists have debated adherents of a literal six-day creation. Theistic evolutionists, framework theory proponents, and others have attempted to find mediating ground in the disputes. Many people simply do not want to engage in the debate, or do not possess the scientific or theological background to comment on the discussions. Through the years much has been accomplished to clarify what the Bible and what science teaches. Gains have been made, though not without significant struggle. Happily, many of the gains made have been in the area of the theology of creation.1

This article does not attempt to cover the various areas involved in these debates. Rather, it attempts to strengthen readers’ theological understanding of creation by tracing the use of creation theology in selected portions of the Old Testament canon. It tries to broaden readers’ appreciation for creation theology by demonstrating some of the ways writers of scripture used the truths found in Genesis 1–2 to challenge or comfort their readers. Perhaps this method will then help teachers, students, and ministers to use these texts in their own context.

Because of the current diversity of approaches to Old Testament Theology in academic and ecclesiastical circles, it is appropriate to explain the methodology that will be used to accomplish these goals. Given the brevity of this article and the fact that my general method for pursuing Old Testament and Biblical Theology is outlined elsewhere,2 I will present my procedure in skeletal form here. Simply stated, Old Testament Theology as it is practiced in this article follows five basic principles.

First, this article proceeds with a commitment to the Bible as God’s written word (see Ps 19:7–14 and 2 Tim 3:16–17).3 Since the Bible is God’s written word, it carries the authority and character of God. What ...