Beginnings: Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives

by Peter C. Bouteneff

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2008

Overview

Recently renewed debates concerning creation and evolution make contemporary Christians wonder how their forebears in the faith understood the Genesis creation narratives. Were the stories of the six days and of the garden read historically, or did they have some other function? This volume from Peter Bouteneff brings needed attention to early Christian understandings of those key biblical texts.

After introductory chapters on the narratives and their reception in early Judaism and in the New Testament (especially in Paul’s letters), Bouteneff focuses on the church fathers. He considers how the narratives of Genesis 1–3 were read as foundational, authoritative texts during the formative centuries when the Greek fathers were laying the framework of Christian theology. Chapters are devoted to writers of the second century (the apologists, from Justin to Irenaeus), the third century (mainly Origen but also the Latin writer Tertullian), and the fourth century (Cyril of Jerusalem, Athanasius, and especially the three Cappadocian fathers). Bouteneff finds that from Paul onward, the primary interest in Adam was as a prefiguration of Christ. The six days of creation bespeak God’s ordered creation of the world through Christ, and early Christian readings of Genesis reflect Christ-centered understandings of providence and time.

Bouteneff’s engaging and informative study makes the Greek fathers’ thought accessible to biblical interpreters and theologians as well as pastors, students, and all who are interested in the early church and its use of the Bible.

In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Delves into early analysis of creation in the Bible
• Discusses how the creation texts were received and read in Jewish culture
• Explores the importance of the texts on the formation of early Christian theology

Contents

• And There Was Morning: An Introduction
• At the Birth of Christian Reflection: Paul and the New Testament
• Recapitulation: The Second-Century Apologists
• Senses of Scripture: The World of Origen and the Origin of the World
• Paradise, Whatever That May Mean: The Cappadocians and Their Origen
• These Are the Generations: Concluding Observations

Top Highlights

“how literally did they read the creation narratives?” (Page xi)

“It follows from the above that the Genesis creation accounts do not suggest that first-created humanity was by nature immortal.” (Page 5)

“The very first scriptural occurrence of the word ‘sin’ (Gen. 4:7) regards Cain, not Adam or Eve” (Page 7)

“New thrusts in the Jewish literature of this period include an increased interest in philosophy and theology. Hallmarks of this interest are anthropological dualism, most notably in the sense of a soul that survives the death of the body, and the sense of an awaited general resurrection.⁴⁶ It is within this climate that we witness the reappearance of the Genesis material.” (Page 17)

“However one analyzes the threat, the transgression, and the curse, they show that humanity was created for life and therefore for immortality.” (Page 6)

Praise for the Print Edition

This wonderfully researched and elegantly written book provides the reader with a compelling and trustworthy portrait of how the fathers of the church read the story of Adam and Eve. As Bouteneff tells that story we see that the tale of the fall is always contextualized within a narrative that celebrates the restoration and redemption of the human race.

—Gary Anderson, Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Notre Dame

I hope this remarkable study will be widely read and appreciated. From the start, the reader is obliged to grapple with questions about how a text is to be read when it can be demonstrated that layers of subsequent interpretation have had as much, if not more, influence than the text itself. And what more crucial text is there than Genesis 1–3, which has shaped Christian understanding of both creation and fall in ways that are now controversial, both within the churches and in the public domain? Though not always agreeing with the analyses presented here, I can guarantee that hardly anyone, whatever their starting point, will come away from this book without having found some new insight.

—Frances M. Young, emeritus professor, University of Birmingham

The volume is very useful for theologians, for biblical scholars interested in the Wirkungsgeschichte of these texts, and for students. . . . The author can be congratulated for this good, serious, and thorough treatment of the topic.

—Review of Biblical Literature

Bouteneff charts a fascinating history of a conversation that is still ongoing today. . . . Bouteneff’s sensitive presentation is attuned to subtleties in the way that each author’s interpretation reflects both his own theology and hermeneutical stance toward, e.g., allegorical reading. . . . Bouteneff’s careful efforts are well worth reading, and in the end provide something like a hermeneutical apologia for reading contentious biblical texts in the company of our patristic forebears.

—Theological Book Review

Product Details

• Title: Beginnings: Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives
• Author: Peter C. Bouteneff
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2008
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Pages: 256
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Creation › History of doctrines; Creation › Biblical teaching; Creationism › History of doctrines; Creationism › Biblical teaching
• ISBNs: 9781441253736, 9780801032332, 1441253734, 0801032334
• Resource ID: LLS:BEGANCCHRBOUTENEFF
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:11:30Z

About Peter C. Bouteneff

Peter Bouteneff teaches courses in theology, patristics, and spirituality at the seminary. After taking a degree in music in 1983, he lived and worked in Japan, and traveled widely in Asia and Greece. He has an M.Div. from the seminary and a doctorate from Oxford University, where he studied under Bishop Kallistos Ware. He has worked for many years in theological dialogue, notably as Executive Secretary for Faith and Order at the World Council of Churches, and has written extensively on Orthodox relations with other churches and with the WCC. Aside from teaching at the seminary, he contributes to the exploration of information technology and its applications in pedagogy. His theological interests include Christ, the Church, and the human person, but as a great fan of music and cinema, he is also committed to exploring the connections between theology and popular culture, and regularly offers a course on religious themes in film. He conceived of and edits the popular “Foundations” series for SVS Press, to which he has contributed a volume on “dogma and truth” called Sweeter than Honey. His most recent book is Beginnings: Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives, published by Baker Academic Press. Tune in to his podcast on Ancient Faith Radio, Sweeter than Honey.