Welcome to Defenders, the teaching class of Dr. William Lane Craig.

Today, excurses on creation of life and biological diversity.

Part 3.

For more information and resources from Dr. Craig, go to reasonable faith.org.

We're talking about various interpretations of Genesis chapter 1, and we have begun our discussion

of the literal interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis.

And last time I explained that most evangelical exeges will say that these narratives are meant to be taken

in a sort of figurative and yet historical sense. The underlying historical events actually

happened, but nevertheless the narrative is told in poetic imagery and figurative speech

that shouldn't be pressed for literal precision.

So if Genesis 1, 2, 3 is a kind of historical but figurative genre of writing that is to say it covers historical events, but

it uses poetic or figurative language to describe them, then it would be a mistake to make

unwarranted demands upon the text by interpreting it literally. And in particular, I think for example, that it would be unwarranted to press the Hebrew word

Yom for literal precision to mean that the earth was created in six consecutive 24-hour

days.

For example, in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 4, we have this word yome used in a clearly

metaphorical way.

In Genesis 2.4, we read, this is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created in the day that the Lord made the earth and the heavens.

In this verse, it refers to the entire creative week of Genesis 1 as a day.

So in the Genesis account itself, we find that it uses the word yome or day

in a metaphorical sense to describe the entire creation week and not just a 24-hour period of time.

Now, one of the best proof texts to which literalists can appeal for thinking that

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