Having read Iain Strachan's comment on Dr. Polkinghornes' theology, I realized that I had a glimmer of my own to add. I wrote a note of appreciation to Dr. Polkinghorne in 1998 and asked at the time if he had any plans to write on Genesis. He was kind enough to reply and the applicable paragraph follows:
"I think that Genesis 1-11, the primeval history as it is sometimes called, are largely theologically symbolic writing, of great power and importance. There are no doubt some historical persons and events that lie behind some of the symbols, but their significance is mythical- not meaning untrue, but truth conveyed in story. It seems clear to me that Abraham is an historical character and so from Gen 12 onward we are dealing with history, albeit interpreted history."
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Aug 13 2001 - 21:04:12 EDT