History, Science, Poetry, or What? Understanding the Genre(s) of Genesis 1 – 3

Genre assumptions are so intuitive we hardly think about them. Whether walking into a movie theater, picking up a new album, or opening a book, our assumptions about the genre that we’re about to encounter shape how we understand it. The same is true of Scripture. While concern for genre-sensitivity is widely acknowledged, the vexed problems associated with determining the genre of a particular text and what exegetical and theological implications follow remain a pressing set of issues in evangelical theology, particularly with regard to the opening chapters of Genesis. In this symposium, Drs. Beall, Longman, and Oswalt, will each weigh in with their view of the genre of Gen. 1–3 and discuss some of the implications these questions have for a Scripturally faithful and a scientifically informed doctrine of Creation.

Biography

	Tremper Longman III, Westmont College (Santa Barbara, CA)
	Todd Beall Liberty University School of Divinity (Lynchburg, VA)
	John Oswalt Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, KY)