<<I do have a question. If there is no historical value in Genesis 1, why
does the grammer mean anything at all? It conveys no historical information
so why do we study the grammar for every jot and tittle to understand what the
story is saying when we already know that it says nothing historical.>>
1. There IS historical value in Genesis 1. I've covered this ad nauseum. God
created all there is, and BLESSED it. He actually did all this in space-time.
Isn't this wonderful to know?
2. Grammar always means something in hermeneutics, because it is essential to
understanding the meaning of the text as written. Just because the text does
not deal with detailed, journalistic style history doesn't mean it is devoid
of MEANING. This is a non-sequitur. One holding this view would say grammar
means nothing in the Psalms. Psalm 23 has little "historical" value, but it is
important to know if the Lord is MY shepherd, or somebody else's. It's
important to know if He leads me beside still waters, or drowns me there. It
is important to distinguish if he prepares a table for me in the presence of
my enemies, or sets the table for THEM while I am merely present. And so on.
3. The grammar takes on special importance when claims are made about the text
which are not supported (e.g., the "executive summary" claim).
4. Finally, grammar is important because it is essential to language, and
Scripture is written in language. God did it that way, so we ought to allow
Him his method.
<< Would you examine the grammar of Poe's "The Tell-tale Heart" with
such gusto?>>
Absolutely, if someone claimed Poe was really writing a scientific text about
how the heart survives outside the body. If someone claimed Poe was writing a
real history of someone's actual heart, then, of course it becomes important.
And if one went on further, and said the opening sentence of the story was an
executive summary of the entire text, different in kind from the second
sentence, a grammarian might step in and cry foul.
Jim