Should Genesis be taken literally?

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Evolutionists sometimes accuse Creationists of believing that the whole Bible should be taken literally. This is not so!

Rather, the key to a correct understanding of any part of the Bible is to ascertain the intention of the author of the portion or book under discussion. This is not as difficult as it may seem, as the Bible obviously contains:

Thus the author's intention with respect to any book of the Bible is usually made clear from the style and the content. (Click here to find out who the author of Genesis was).

If we apply the normal principles of biblical exegesis (ignoring pressure to make the text conform to the evolutionary prejudices of our age), it is overwhelmingly obvious that Genesis was meant to be taken in a straightforward, obvious sense as an authentic, literal, historical record of what actually happened.

More information about the literal interpretation of Genesis

Author: Russell Grigg, M.Sc. (Hons.), Creation Ex Nihilo Dec 93 - Feb 1994, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 38-41. Supplied by Creation Ministries International

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