Found a good article that presents some interesting questions in response to McLaren's book, "The Story We Find Ourselves In". It is found at:
http://www.evangelsociety.org/francisco/thestorywefindourselvesin-review.htmlWhile I abhor the doctrines of Evangelicalism, I also have a problem with (agreed that it is for the lack of a better term) "Postmodern" Christianity. Just because Evangelicalism offers a stringent view of doctrines, does not mean we should swing to the opposite extreme of looking at Christianity as nothing but story (read: narrative), or the great "Mono-myth". As the above article I've linked to suggests, the real issue isn't about Story vs. Doctrine. All stories contain doctrine. The real issue is what kind of story are we going to tell and will we tell it right?
Anyway, having set that up, as the thesis and basis for the sequel book, I can delve in to the issue of a literal vs figurative view of the Creation account. First, I must clarify that the entire account is neither completely literal or completely figurative. Both have their problems, and the questions needing answers from a completely figurative view are:
1. How are we defining "Perfect"? If God made Creation exactly how he wanted, and on the "seventh day" considered it finished, how could He deem it anything other than perfect? Generally, when an artist "finishes" his art, he does not claim perfection. In fact, artists claim their work is never finished, meaning it always has room for improvement. This is not the case with a supreme Being who makes no mistakes and does exactly what he aims to do. If his Creation is imperfect, than God is incompetent and unworthy of our service. Human artists can always claim imperfection, but this is simply because we are finite creations of an infinite Being.
2. If humanity never really "historically" fell, why do we need Christ for Salvation? Or one step further, why do we need Salvation? Why would a metaphorical fall require Salvation?
3. How can we claim that creation being perfect was really a Greek idea? How do we know they originated that thought? There are more than 1,500 flood myths in varying cultures...each claiming to be unique and original. Many claim Christianity and Judaism stole the accounts from other religions, who are accused of stealing it from the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. Is this a point that can be historically and categorically nailed down?
4. If sin was not introduced through Genesis Three, when did sin enter the world? Does sin exist? If so, how? If not, refer back to question two.
5.
"If we approach the story with the concept that creation was perfect, then God screwed up. Think about it. After he's done all this creating, he stops and realizes, oh *watch the language, please*, I forgot something. It is not good for man to be alone (loneliness would most definitely be an imperfection in the Greek view)."
There are quite a few things assumed here, but first, reread Genesis 2:1-3, then holding on to that in memory, read Genesis 2:4-18. (While keeping in mind that Chapter One goes through the complete "seven day" account. The words seven day are in quotes because I will allow wiggle room for the interpretation of the Hebrew word, Yom for the English word, Day which could mean either a literal sunrise to sunrise, or indeterminate period of time.)
v1-3 read that Creation was complete. v4-18 discusses the creation of NOT just woman (that it is not good for man to be alone), but also the creation of man. It is a microscopic (not exhaustive, but more detailed) telling of the more Telescopic (read: summary) account of Chapter One. The creation of woman was part of the creation of man on the sixth day. This occurred BEFORE God rested and said he was "finished".
And as far as loneliness being an imperfection by the Greeks. I wouldn't care what the Greek's thought. I do believe we can learn something from everyone, but when one claims to interpret a document, any document, not just Scripture, and confuses the order of the Narrative, they are misinterpreting the story. This happens a lot in Film too. All sorts of people misinterpret movies because they forget about an earlier point or think something was said at 30 mins in, when it was really said 12 minutes in, or it was never said at all. And then, we can get in to all sorts of discussions on what was meant by the statement said at 12 minutes in. That, I believe is open for debate, but the words spoken or when in the time line of events they were said, I think are pretty well set in stone.
Now, having said that, I'm not into a completely literal view of Scripture. However, when the exegetical, chronological order of the story gets rearranged, the understanding of how those events took place will undoubtedly be skewed. Look at Genesis 2:4, onward, as a flashback or back story to the "present day" telling of Chapter One. I look at Chapter One as more of an Introduction. Chapter Two as the back story, and Chapter Three picks up the story where Chapter one left off (skipping some time in between). To put it in to a story structure, we are coming in to this story at Point B, then we go back to Point A for clarification, then on to Point C to understand how B fits in with A. The X-Files team were notorious for using this method of story telling.
The one thing I do take quite literally in Scripture is the Creation account of Chapters 1-3. I don't think everything in it is literal, but the overall story, I do believe happened in real time and space. Without Genesis 1-3, all of Christianity falls apart. No Adam and Even, No Fall, No Sin, No Savior, No Crucifixion, No Resurrection, No Salvation!!! (Not to mention, the Apostle Paul would either be misled about Genesis, or he is deceiving us since he equates modern man to the same space and time continuum as Moses, Adam and Eve (and even Christ) in Romans 5:12-21. If Paul was misled, and influenced by Greek thought, than how can I take anything he's written seriously, and if he wasn't misled, but instead deceiving us, how can I trust anything he's written?) If you question one part of Scripture's authenticity, the whole document comes under an entire cloud of mistrust and problematic situations. Also, any doctrine or "story" of Christianity must adhere to the entire harmony of Scripture. If a doctrine cannot hold up across the entire book, it probably is not truth.
6.
"So, I'm tossing out any notion of a "perfect" creation in favor of the Jewish view of a good creation in which there is plenty room to grow, lots of potential for development--which fits better with God's command to name all the animals, and care for the earth, and procreate."
Again, naming the animals, procreation and the "Cultural Mandate" (taking care of the earth) were all before the seventh day. I believe we have room to grow, as human beings, as God has left much to be discovered. However, any discoveries we make are not really an "improvement" on God's creation, per se. They are a Revelation given to us by God, that has always been here, but we didn't know about it beforehand. With this in mind, Creation and all of life are liberating because EVERYTHING is open to humanity for exploration and discovery. Again, it's no improvement on God's part, it's simply a growing on our part. God's already made it possible...Nothing we say, create or do is new. And we cannot say, create or do anything that hasn't already been afforded to us by God, himself.
Creativity is a wonderful thing and God has left it open for us. But our creativity is limited to that which God has already created. Only God may create Ex Nihilo (out of nothing), as he is the infinite. We, the finite, are only able to create with the raw materials given to us.
So, to conclude, I will offer my answers to the two questions posed by your note, from the point of view I have offered:
1. What does this tell us of the importance of general revelation, or ways God speaks to us outside of the Scriptures and Church tradition, like nature, art, politics, culture, and all of humanity?
2. Is heaven actually not perfect? Might it be more exciting to look forward to heaven as a good place, a place with potential to grow and develop and become, rather than a pre-made perfect eternal worship service (i.e. an eternity of boredom)?
General Revelation has always existed in the history of Creation. When God created, he communicated through two means:
1. Special Revelation with the presentation of God's Word: Scripture.
2. General Revelation with the presentation of God's World: Culture, Science, Politics, Economics, etc.
Both are important because of the fact Man has fallen. When man fell, everything was tainted within General Revelation including our understand of the Special Revelation. So, as Christians, we need to learn of the original intent for each of the various realms given through General Revelation, and work at restoring them, by studying the Special Revelation and how it ties in with General Revelation (Psalms 24:1 and Leviticus 25:24).
Each discovery we make will have been allowed through God's guidance towards that discovery. Christians have no reason to fear any area of life. God has made everything and has provided a means of living withing each of those areas of life.
As to the question of Heaven. Scripture is quite silent as to what will be in Heaven. I believe it is perfect, as will be the "new heaven and earth". The question begged here though, if Heaven is perfect, why the need for a NEW heaven and earth? What's wrong with the current Heaven? On the opposite side of that, how can I question God's decision? If he wants a new Heaven, he gets a New Heaven irregardless of how I feel about the old Heaven.
But I've digressed too long, Revelation seems to portray an endless worship of God through chants lasting of 10-15 words. Sounds like many of the empty praise choruses offered in many of our modern day Christian college chapel services and modern day church services. But not to worry, Christians who are wanting substance, I don't think Revelation is one of those books to be taken literally (at least most of it). So, such passages in Revelation probably mean something else. As to what, I do not want to get in to, as I've not figured that out myself yet either.
As much of a cop-out of an answer as this will seem, I don't think there is sufficient information to claim Heaven will be boring, or even fun for that matter. We virtually know nothing about Heaven, except that it is where God resides, and where His followers will be at death. (The new heaven and earth are a bit sketchy to me, only at the point to where they fit into the grand scheme of things. I don't doubt though, that there will be a Kingdom set up as a new Heaven and new Earth...whatever that might be.)
But I do believe Heaven will be perfect, in the sense that all things will be restored to the intent of Creation before the rebellion occurred. But, that's also because I don't equate perfection with "no room for growth", as finite creations. (However, I don't equate "room for growth" with "ability to do something wrong (mistake, sin, etc.)". In Heaven, there will be no sin. God cannot tolerate sin in Heaven. Which, through Christ's death, our sins have been covered already. It's not that we've attained a sinless life here, but that God will see his Son in place of our sins, and count them as non-existent. So, we will not sin in Heaven, but we will still expand our minds and experiences [as we currently define them].)
Even in Heaven, we will not be all-knowing. So, humanity, while in a "perfect" environment, will not reach perfection. Only God is perfect. I believe humans will still learn. I believe there will be much to discover in Heaven, things that were impossible to know here in this life, as much will even deny the laws of Physics. We will never know all, or be all-powerful, or anything like that, but I do believe a third type of Revelation will be given. Besides Special Revelation and General Revelation, something will be added. I don't know what it will be, but I look at it like an "easter egg" to the end of a hard interactive DVD puzzle. Something will be revealed!
It is a rough issue to deal with and grasp, but Scripture is rich in literal meaning, nuances, sarcasm, blunt truths, figurative metaphors, factual narratives, fictional stories, vague hints, and others. Scripture is a living, breathing document that spans many writing personalities, eras and cultures. It would take several lifetimes to understand all that is contained within those covers, since we do not have access to the original authors or messengers who could expound on their words.
Until then, the best we can do is exegesis and hope we come close. And when we do meet those people in Heaven, we'll be spending all Eternity discovering the vastness of what was revealed in Scripture and even what was left out. Throughout all of Eternity, we will never exhaust a knowledge of that which is God.
