Here’s an example of what I meant:
You can believe that the point of Genesis is to give a scientific account of how God created the earth.
Or:
The author of Genesis intended to teach that God made man in His image. One of the resemblances between God and man is the ability to reason. One of the aspects of reason is counting the days, and devoting the seventh day to worship of God. This is something that no creature on earth does except for man.
Among all animals, only man “rests” on the seventh day. By saying that God “rested” after his work, Genesis teaches that God is like us in some essential ways. He is a person, with a mind.
This communicates a philosophical point for which the philosophical language did not yet exist.
You can believe that the point of Genesis is to give a scientific account of how God created the earth.
Or:
The author of Genesis intended to teach that God made man in His image. One of the resemblances between God and man is the ability to reason. One of the aspects of reason is counting the days, and devoting the seventh day to worship of God. This is something that no creature on earth does except for man.
Among all animals, only man “rests” on the seventh day. By saying that God “rested” after his work, Genesis teaches that God is like us in some essential ways. He is a person, with a mind.
This communicates a philosophical point for which the philosophical language did not yet exist.
I knew it!!!
No kidding, I'm not even surprised! The most militant, reactionary, fire-breathing, liberal-bashing Catholic poster on this site is nevertheless an evolutionist because, he's a Catholic, and by golly, Catholics believe in evolution! I mean, what are they, rednecks?
I suggest the "virgin birth" is a description of a purely natural process for which the philosophical language did not yet exist.
That’s a false choice. That’s not what taking the Creation account literally means. It’s taken as history - history of a unique sort. Now, a historical account of something doesn’t mean it’s about science. If you read an account of something, it’s not about science (unless that’s the actual topic), but along the way there will almost certainly be a lot that relates to human knowledge of the natural world. But that doesn’t mean that the point of every history is science. The point of Genesis is history. I doubt we could even begin to understand the physical science, despite what’s known today.