Table Of ContentCreation Stories in Dialogue
Biblical Interpretation Series
Editors in Chief
Paul Anderson (George Fox University)
Yvonne Sherwood (University of Kent)
Editorial Board
A.K.M. Adam (University of Oxford)
Roland Boer (University of Newcastle, Australia)
Colleen M. Conway (Seton Hall University)
Jennifer L. Koosed (Albright College, Reading, USA)
Vernon Robbins (Emory University)
Annette Schellenberg (Universität Wien)
Carolyn J. Sharp (Yale Divinity School)
Johanna Stiebert (University of Leeds, UK)
Duane Watson (Malone University, USA)
Ruben Zimmermann (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz)
Volume 139
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bins
Creation Stories in Dialogue
The Bible, Science, and Folk Traditions
Radboud Prestige Lectures IN NEW TESTAMENT
by R. Alan Culpepper
Edited by
R. Alan Culpepper
Jan G. van der Watt
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Culpepper, R. Alan, author, editor.
Creation stories in dialogue : the Bible, science, and folk traditions : Radboud prestige lectures in New
Testament / by R. Alan Culpepper ; edited by R. Alan Culpepper, Jan G. van der Watt.
pages cm. — (Biblical interpretation series, ISSN 0928-0731 ; volume 139)
“The second Radboud Prestige Lectures in New Testament were held in April 2013 at the Radboud
University Nijmegen”—Preface.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-90-04-30442-0 (hardback : acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-30667-7 (e-book) 1. Creation.
2. Bible. John—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Watt, Jan G. van der, editor. II. Title.
BS651.C78 2015
231.7’65—dc23
2015031024
This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering
Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities.
For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn 0928-0731
isbn 978-90-04-30442-0 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-30667-7 (e-book)
Copyright 2016 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi and
Hotei Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior written permission from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided
that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive,
Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Contents
Preface vii
Jan G. van der Watt
List of Contributors ix
Prestige Lecture
“Children of God”: Evolution, Cosmology, and Johannine Thought 3
R. Alan Culpepper
PART 1
Creation and Science
From Mapping to Meaning 35
David Christian
Big History and Big Questions 48
Ted Peters
Big History, Scientific Naturalism, and Christian Hope 78
John F. Haught
The Creation Stories We Live By 95
Graham B. Walker
Created Agencies of Creation in Genesis 1 119
Kurt Anders Richardson
The Evolution of the Consciousness of God and the Gospel of John 137
Randall C. Zachman
vi contents
Part 2
Creation Stories in Religion
Section 1
Creation Stories—Judaism, Buddhism and African Religions
“Creation Out of Nothing” and the Hebrew Bible 157
Ellen van Wolde
“Why the World, Why the Universe?” A Buddhist Perspective 177
Paul van der Velde
The Lost Land and the Earth Mother: African Mythology and the Issue of
Land in Southern Africa 195
Attie van Niekerk
Section 2
John, Creation and the Kosmos
The Johannine Logos-Hymn: A Cross-Cultural Celebration of God’s
Creative-Redemptive Work 219
Paul N. Anderson
“Children of God” and Aristotelian Epigenesis in the Gospel of
John 243
Adele Reinhartz
Cosmos, Reality, and God in the Letters of John 253
Jan van der Watt
The Cosmological Vision of John: The Evangelist as Observer and
Interpreter 271
Mary L. Coloe
Summary and Reflections: The Dialogue about Stories of Origin 287
R. Alan Culpepper
Academic Curriculum Vitae: R. Alan Culpepper 294
List of Publications: R. Alan Culpepper 295
Index 308
Preface
The second Radboud Prestige Lectures in New Testament were held in April 2013
at the Radboud University Nijmegen. They were presented by Prof. Dr. Alan
Culpepper of the McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University, Atlanta, USA.
His main lecture focused on the relation between evolution, cosmology and
Johannine thought. This prestige lecture is printed in this volume.
The aim of the Radboud Prestige Lectures in New Testament is to stimulate
high level academic discussion, not only in the Netherlands, but also wider
afield. In addition, these lectures acknowledge the outstanding work of inter-
nationally recognized scholars, in this case Dr. Culpepper. These esteemed
scholars who are invited to participate in these lectures are widely regarded
as leaders in their respective fields in the New Testament. Through these lec-
tures they share their wealth of knowledge and experience on topics of their
own choosing. While the prestige lectures are held at the Radboud University
Nijmegen, publication of these lectures with responses by international schol-
ars stimulates further academic discussion on the respective topics. This is
done in co-operation with Brill Publishers, who kindly undertake the publica-
tion of the lecture series.
The format of this volume is somewhat unique and provocative, not only
because of the topic, but also because of the variety of contributors from dis-
tinctly different fields of expertise. The current volume came to light in the
following way: Dr. Culpepper offered his main prestige lecture on the relation
between evolution, cosmology and Johannine thought, in an effort to bring
modern thought about the cosmos into discussion with the ancient source
texts of Christianity. This provocative lecture, with its wide interdisciplinary
scope, was then presented to a variety of scholars from different disciplines
(for instance, Biblical studies, studies in African and Asiatic religions, system-
atic theology, philosophy and other sciences). They obviously approached the
issue from a number of different perspectives, thus ensuring a rich texture of
insights. The aim was not only to get an overview from some of the important
players in the field, but also to provide insights into the current standing of the
research on this problem. Two things were asked of the contributors. Firstly,
they were asked to respond to Dr. Culpepper’s lecture in any way they like,
be it briefly or more extensively. Although there is, of course, agreement with
much of what Dr. Culpepper maintains, his views are nevertheless discussed
critically by some, not hesitating to note some differences among the schol-
ars on crucial points. Other articles just took their point of departure from
viii preface
Dr. Culpepper’s article and then expanded on a related topic. This is the advan-
tage of these contributions—they not only introduce the reader to the finer
nuances of the debate, but also explore the wider field. Secondly, the contribu-
tors were asked to present their own views. The articles therefore do not only
critically engage with Culpepper’s views, but also offer alternative views, which
obviously broaden the scope of these discussions. Dr. Culpepper then finally
offers some concluding remarks in light of the discussions in the volume.
The volume consists of three parts. There is firstly the prestige lecture by
Dr. Culpepper itself. The next major part, “Part 1: Creation and Science,” then
reflects on creation, science, “Big history,” in some cases in dialogue with some
Biblical texts. This is followed by “Part 2: Creation Stories in Religion” which
is divided into two sections, namely, “Section 1: Creation stories—Judaism,
Buddhism, and African Religions,” and “Section 2: John, creation and the
kosmos.” The purpose of section A is to get a wider scope of creation stories
and in the case of the African religion’s view it is also shown how these stories
impacts on the culture and politics of the people adhering to it. In section 2
the focus shifts to different aspects of the Johannine creation story, which was
also discussed by Dr. Culpepper.
The wide scope of the different perspectives the contributors approach
the issues with is a strength of this volume. However, theoretical tensions, the
impact of differences in presuppositions and points of scientific departure, the
role of different world views, and many other issues are tabled in this book,
inviting the reader to think along in this difficult but nevertheless intriguing
debate to which Dr. Culpepper invited us.
Our thanks and appreciation go especially to Dr. Culpepper for his willing-
ness to read the Radboud Prestige Lectures in New Testament in 2013, as well
as for taking a leading part in developing this volume and co-editing it. We
also want to thank the other contributors for their willingness to participate in
this volume. Brill deserves special mention for their willingness to support and
print the lecture series.
Jan G. van der Watt
List of Contributors
Paul N. Anderson
Professor of Biblical and Quaker Studies, George Fox University, Oregon, USA;
Research collaborator North-West University, South Africa
[email protected]
David Christian
Distinguished Professor of History, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
[email protected]
Mary L. Coloe
Head of Biblical Studies Department, MCD University of Divinity, Box Hill,
Vic., Australia
[email protected]
R. Alan Culpepper
Professor of New Testament, McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University,
Atlanta, USA; Research collaborator North-West University, South Africa
[email protected]
John F. Haught
Professor Emeritus, Theology Department, Georgetown University, Washing-
ton, USA
[email protected]
Attie van Niekerk
Director: Centre for Sustainable Communities, Faculty of Theology, University
of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
[email protected]
Ted Peters
Professor of Systematic Theology, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary,
Berkeley, USA
[email protected]
Adele Reinhartz
Professor, Department of Classics and Religious Studies, University of Ottawa,
Ottawa, Canada; Research collaborator North-West University, South Africa
[email protected]
Description:This book is about creation stories in dialogue, not only between different religious views, but also between current day scientific perspectives. International specialists, like Alan Culpepper, David Christian, John Haught, Randall Zachman, Ellen van Wolde from various disciplines are reflecting on
