In her book Psalm 104
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In her book ‘
Psalm 104: In Wisdom You Made Them All,’ Krista Kay
Bontrager, along with Fazale Rana, explores the creation themes of Psalm 104. Krista
Kay Bontrager is the Dean of Online Learning at Reasons to Believe. She is a teacher at
heart and enjoys teaching Bible to all ages. Fazale Rana is the Vice President of
Research and Apologetics at Reasons to Believe. He is the author of several
groundbreaking books, including ‘Creating Life in the Lab’ and ‘The Cell’s Design.’
Psalm 104 presents a magnificent picture of God as creator and a dynamic
view of the world God made. The main subject of this Psalm is the order of the world
and the sovereignty of God who created and maintains it. There is definitely a
noticeable connection between Genesis 1, and Psalm 104 which offers a poetic
mediation on key themes presented in the first chapter of the Bible. Additionally,
Psalm 104 presents unique parallel passage to Genesis 1, along with passages from
Job 38 and Proverbs 8. In some cases, it offers a broader description of events that
transpired on certain creation days. In order to interpret and dissect Psalm 104, the
authors points out that there must be ground rules to interpret and dissect Psalm 104.
For example, Bontrager identifies several literary techniques used by the Psalmist
such as poetry, parallelism, imagery, and anthropomorphism. The authors also
breakdown the the Psalm into ‘sense units,’ which makes it easy for the reader to
understand the delineation of themes within the Chapter. These lay out a timeline for
God’s creative work. Bontrager mentions in the booklet the viewpoints of young-earth
creationists and how they view this passage of Scripture. However, she prefers the
old-earth perspective and puts forth several arguments to support her stance. For
example, in exploring the account of creation day 4, the timing of the order of
the
creation of Earth, the Sun, the Moon, and the stars are mentioned. Bontrager states
that while those favoring young-earth ideology believe that Earth was created first,
old-earth proponents consider this a description of the increasing visibility of
heavenly bodies as the atmosphere became more transparent over time. In another
example, Bontrager points out the account of the flood of Noah in light of its mention
in Psalm 104. She argues that the young-earth creationist's believe that the flood
covered the entire world. But the Psalm reference that the flood waters will never
again cover the earth.
A strength of the booklet is how Bontrager and Rana, include sections referred
to as ‘Science Integration.’ In these, the authors presents salient arguments for
interpreting Scripture based on scientific evidence from the disciplines of astronomy,
geology, and geography. These provide the reader with a clear understanding of the
best interpretation of the Psalm and other references to the creation story in Job and
Proverbs. Finally, the Psalmist engages in s back-and-forth rhythm, toggling between
the creation days of Genesis 1 and his current observation of the creation. For
example, Psalm 104:7-9 discusses events that correspond to creation day 3 in the
Genesis 1 chronology, followed immediately (in verse 10-13) by events that
correspond to days 5 and 6, when animal's and humans were created. This pattern
results in a few moment of mingling between the creation story and the Psalmist’s
contemporary observations. This back-and-forth nature of the poem makes
interpreting the passages somewhat complicated at times, but it also adds value.
As a follower of Christ and Chaplain, I recommend this booklet to for
believers and non-believers. For me this booklet provided me with encouragement to
look around and admire the beauty of this world. It stands as a reminder to meditate
on God’s creation and the power of God’s creation and the power of God’s kingship
over everything (Psalm 103:19, 22), including our sin and struggles.
ou. Creation isn’t merely something to be admired for its beauty. It
stands as a reminder to mediate on God’s creation and the power of
God’s kingship over everything (Psalm 103:19, 22), including our sin
and struggles.
As a follower of Christ and pastor, I feel this book offers insight that guides the reader
in a better
understanding of how science and Scripture work together to point to God's creation.
More than that, it
inspires one to worship our wonderful Creator with awe and wonder, with gratitude
for his incredible and
intentional work of creation.
In her book
Psalm 104: In Wisdom You Made Them All
, Krista Kay Bontrager, along with Fazale
Rana, explores the creation themes of Psalm 104, positing that the psalm is a parallel
to the creation
account of Genesis 1, along with passages from Job 38 and Proverbs 8 that refer to
creation. The author
rightly points out that there must be "ground rules" to interpreting biblical literature.
Throughout her
dissection of Psalm 104, Bontrager identifies several literary techniques used by the
psalmist, such as
poetry, imagery, parallelism, and anthropomorphism, that give the reader clues
regarding the intended
meaning for the intended audience.
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The breakdown of the psalm into "sense units," as Bontrager calls them, makes it easy
for the
reader to understand the delineation of themes within the chapter. These lay out a
timeline for God's
creative work and describe each act of creation serving as preparation for the next.
While Bontrager
mentions the viewpoints of young-earth creationists and how they view this passage
of Scripture, she
favors an old-earth perspective and puts forth several solid arguments to support her
stance.
For example, in exploring the account of creation day 4, Bontrager mentions the
timing of the
order of creation of Earth, the Sun, the Moon, and the stars. She explains that while
those favoring young-
earth ideology believe that Earth was created first, old-earth proponents consider this
a description of the
increasing visibility of heavenly bodies as the atmosphere became more transparent
over time. In another
example, Bontrager points out the account of the flood of Noah in light of its mention
in Psalm 104. She
argues that the young-earth creationists' belief that the flood covered the entirety of
the world contradicts
the line in the psalm that, in reference to flood waters, reads, "Never again will they
cover the earth."
Another strength of the book is how Bontrager includes sections called "Science
Integration." In
these, she presents salient arguments for interpreting scripture based on scientific
evidence from the
disciplines of astronomy, geology, and geography. These provide the reader with a clear
understanding of
the best interpretation of the psalm and other references to the creation story in Job
and Proverbs
from the
disciplines of astronomy, geology, and geography. These provide the reader with a clear
understanding of
the best interpretation of the psalm and other references to the creation story in Job
and Proverbs.
While it is not a weakness, I did find it odd that Bontrager gave so much room to the
table that
lists the major extinction events. While it was mildly interesting, I did not see how the
detailed list was
necessary for the argument in the book's main body. This list could have been
included as an appendix
and still been helpful to the reader, but to offer two full pages to the list felt like
sideways energy that
disrupted the flow of the rest of the book.
As a follower of Christ and pastor, I feel this book offers insight that guides the reader
in a better
understanding of how science and Scripture work together to point to God's creation.
More than that, it
inspires one to worship our wonderful Creator with awe and wonder, with gratitude
for his incredible and
intentional work of creation.
A brief and simple review of Hebrew poetry and the hermeneutic employed in
Reasons to Believe (RTB, associated with Hugh Ross and old-Earth
creationists). Uses Psalm 104 to examine the poetic structure and techniques
of Biblical Hebrew while offering an interpretation in line with the RTB
philosophy. An enjoyable small book all around that would be useful for a Bible
study group. If one chapter was read each week and served as a conversation
starter for the study group, it would probably last between one and two
months.
Psalm 104 gives a lyrical reflection on important issues covered in
Genesis 1 even if you might not have realized the link. A unique parallel
passage to Genesis 1 is found in Psalm 104. It sometimes provides a more
detailed account of what happened on creation days. The relationship
between Psalm 104 and Genesis 1 does not, however, mean that all the
events mentioned in Psalm 104 occurred in the past. The psalmist uses a
back-and-forth rhythm to switch between his present views of the world and
the days of creation described in Genesis 1. For instance, the events
described in Psalm 104:7-9, which correlate to creation day 3 in Genesis 1,
are immediately followed (in verses 10-13) by those described in verses 10-6,
which correspond to creation days 5-6, when both animals and humans were
formed. Due of this pattern, the creation narrative and the psalmist's present-
day observations briefly overlap. The narrative's back-and-forth style might
often make it difficult to understand the portions, but it also has merit. Genesis
1 does not fully develop a specific concept, which is the deliberate,
progressive nature of God's creation, which is why Psalm 104 expresses it.
Each act of creation by God creates the conditions on Earth required for the
next act of creation to take place. In other words, God's actions on Creation
Day 2 prepare the way for His actions on Creation Days 3, 4, 5, and 6. One
may link the connection between Genesis 1 and Psalm 104 to the parallel
tales of the Hebrews fleeing Egypt in Exodus 14 and 15. The Red Sea
passage is described historically in Exodus 14. The identical incident is
poetically described in Exodus 15. Both are true, accurate, and inspired by
God. God's Word is presented to us in both historical narrative and poetry, but
in different literary forms. Take some time to consider the wonders around you
the next time you're enjoying the great outdoors by hiking, fishing, or simply
lounging on the beach. Creation deserves more than just admiration for its
aesthetic appeal. It serves as a prompt to consider God's creation and His
dominion over everything (Psalm 103:19-22), even our troubles and sin. This
book is very enjoyable little book. The authors sho
w how Ps 104 ties directly to the creation account of Genesis 1.
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This book gives an overview of both the scientific evidence for creation and
the biblical narrative of creation. The Bigger Picture on Creation Study Guide.
A study guide is also provided to assist readers in comprehending the data
and using it in their own lives.
This book, Wisdom You Made Them All, examines the empirical support for
God's creative plan. A study guide is also provided to assist readers in
comprehending the data and using it in their own lives.
The four primary theories on the beginnings of life are summarized in this
book, Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design. A study guide
is also provided to assist readers in comprehending the data and using it in
their own lives.
This book, More Than a Theory, examines the scientific data supporting
Intelligent Design. A study guide is also provided to assist readers in
comprehending the data and using it in their own lives.
Each book's fundamental argument is that there is scientific proof of God's
design in the universe. Each book comes with a study guide that is designed
to aid the reader in comprehending the data and applying it to their own
situations.
In summary
In conclusion, each of these four works offers empirical proof of God's creative
intent. Each book comes with a study guide that is designed to aid the reader
in comprehending the data and applying it to their own situations.
"Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design" is a book written by Ken Ham,
Hugh Ross, and Deborah Haarsma, which explores the topic of the origin of
life and the universe from three different perspectives - young-earth
creationism, old-earth creationism, and evolution.
One of the strengths of the book is that it presents a well-rounded exploration
of the three views. Each chapter is written by one of the authors, providing a
unique perspective and insight into their beliefs. The authors also provide
evidence and arguments to support their views, making it a valuable resource
for those seeking to understand the debate on the origin of life and the
universe.
Another strength of the book is its approach to the topic. The authors present
their views in a respectful and constructive manner, avoiding personal attacks
and ad hominem arguments. This approach makes the book accessible to a
wide audience, including those who may not agree with their views.
However, the book also has some weaknesses. For one, it may not fully
satisfy readers who are seeking a more in-depth examination of the scientific
evidence and arguments for evolution. While the authors do provide evidence
for their views, some may find that their discussions are limited in scope and
do not fully address the complexity of the issue.
Additionally, the book may not appeal to those who have already made up
their minds on the topic of evolution and the origin of life. Some may find that
the authors' views are too limited or one-sided, and that the book does not
provide enough information to challenge their beliefs.
In terms of using the book to enhance your ministry, it can be a valuable
resource for those who are interested in exploring the topic of creation and
evolution from a Christian perspective. It can be used as a starting point for
discussions and debates on the topic, and can help to clarify the different
views and arguments. It can also be a useful tool for those who are seeking to
understand the perspective of young-earth creationists, old-earth creationists,
and evolutionists.
Overall, "Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design" is a well-written and
accessible book that provides a valuable exploration of the topic of the origin
of life and the universe. While it has its strengths and weaknesses, it can be a
useful resource for those seeking to understand the different views and
arguments on the topic.