<<The Bible in context affirms that man was made from "dust" (Gn 2:7; 3:19;
Job 34:15 Ps 103:14, etc).>>
I agree. Sorry, Stephen, if my post wasn't clear. Here's what I meant. I
brought up creation ex nihilo as a setting for the context of man's creation.
My point was not that man was made from "nothing," but from "non-living
[inorganic] matter," and that the immediate context of God bringing forth the
universe "from nothing" supports that view. In other words, it is closer to
creation ex nihilo than it is from creation from pre-existing, organic matter.
Genesis 2:7 is teaching a miracle. "Dust" means dust (as any literalist ought
to agree). In fact, nowhere does the Bible use "dust" to mean anything else.
For instance, when God through Aaron caused the "dust" to become "lice," it
was not a fixing up of something inanimate but lice-like. It was a miraculous
transformation of something unlike anything living, into lots of little living
things!
Jim