Editors’ Note: Below is Dr. Richard Belcher, Jr.’s reply to Dr. C. John Collins’s reply. We give Dr. Belcher the last word.

I thank Dr. Collins for his response to my “review” of his book. My response will be limited to what I see as the main issues arising from the substance of his book.

I understand Genesis 1-11 to be historical narrative like the rest of the book of Genesis. Historical narrative can use figurative and symbolic language, but I believe Dr. Collins goes beyond that when he advocates for the advantages of a pictorial approach to the Bible (p. 20). After stating that the Mesopotamian origin and flood stories provide the context in which Genesis 1-11 are to be set in order to provide clues on how to read the literature, he states that there are reasons to accept an historical core to the story in Genesis (pp. 35, 66).

It is problematic to take our cue from the Mesopotamian stories on how to read Genesis and to argue that Genesis 1-11 has only an historical core. I do believe that Genesis 2:7 demands (his words) the view that God took soil from the dust and made Adam the first man by breathing into his nostril the breath of life. Only by taking “dust” in a figurative or pictorial way can it be interpreted as other than soil.

Read More