[asa] Genesis written less than 1000 years ago? Dawkins misquote?

First time poster - so first a very brief introduction. I'm a relatively
new CSCA member (< 2 years) with a Mathematics & Computer Science degree
(almost 20 years ago) and a strong interest in history, theology, science,
and particularly the interaction of faith and science. I've been an
off-and-on lurker on this list for a while, but have never yet jumped into
the fray.

Second, I'd like to thank the ASA for providing a wealth of resources. A
few years ago, my young son started asking questions about science, faith,
and evolution. I realized pretty quickly that it was time to stop avoiding
the topic of evolution, and try to figure out for myself where I stood.
Little did I know where it would take me. (If you are interested, you can
follow the conversation on my blog "An Evangelical Dialogue on
Evolution<http://evanevodialogue.blogspot.com/>").
Suffice to say that stumbling across the ASA (and PSCF) a couple of years
ago was a literal Godsend. Again, thanks a lot!

Now, my question:

In the Scientific American article reporting the discussion between Richard
Dawkins and Lawrence
Krauss<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=44A95E1D-E7F2-99DF-3E79D5E2E6DE809C&pageNumber=3&catID=9>
 Dawkins
is quoted as saying:

> As for the option that [Lemaître's] physics might or might not be taken to
> support Genesis, why is it even an interesting question? *There never was
> reason to expect that the writings of an unknown scribe, probably less than
> a millennium ago in Babylon, might have any special insight into the origin
> of the universe. *If Genesis happened to get something right, why would
> that be anything but a trivial accident? (bold italics mine)

Is Dawkins serious or is this a misquote? I know he disdains learning any
serious theology or biblical criticism, but this seems a little off the
charts. I have never heard of any respectable academic who thinks Genesis
was written less than 1000 years ago. (Well, besides Fomenko and the New
Chronology converts<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Chronology_%2528Fomenko%2529>–
but I'd be shocked if Dawkins took this view of history).

Looking forward to some insight on this.

thanks,

-- 
Steve
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