Genesis and the Challenges of a 21st-Century Reading

Abstract

What does Genesis 1-3 demand of 21st-century readers? The article focuses on the ancient Near Eastern location of the text, proposing that we ask only as much of the text as that location will allow. Relying on an older discussion of ancient thought as “empirico-logical” reasoning, as distinct from formal logic developed later by Greek philosophy, this article will explore the genre and worldview of Genesis as a means of establishing what is and is not reasonable in our reading of Adam in the opening chapters of Genesis. The article explores the implications of reading the text as an etiologically driven, mythopoeic account of an “historical” event.