We know that the Lord lets go of some things - and wants us to let go of them - when they become obsolete, when they are replaced by something greater.
For example, when the temple was built, the tabernacle was no longer important. And when Messiah came, the temple was no longer important - nor were its furnishings, nor was animal sacrifice, nor was the Levitical or Aaronic priesthoods, nor were dietary restrictions, nor was Jewish bloodline, and so on.
We also have this Scripture:
1 Cor 13:10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.
Thus we have the clear principle from Scripture that while some things stand forever, others rightly pass away.
Therefore, it seems reasonable to ask: With the coming of Messiah (and His glorious resurrection from the dead) and particularly with the advent of modern science, is Old Testament history thereby rendered obsolete? That is, should we regard it as no longer important to uphold or defend?
We can ask and answer this question about OT history at several levels:
- The entirety of OT history
- The history recorded in the Torah
- The history recorded in Genesis
- The history recorded in Genesis 1-11
In other words, the answer to the question might differ based on which portion of OT history we are considering.
Although I have not previously asked the question, at least not in this formal way, it seems clear to me that many of you would answer “yes” to the question, at least in one of these forms - most saying that the history recorded in Gen 1-11 may be discarded in favor of SGH with no loss to our faith.
I give you the opportunity now to answer this question explicitly at whatever level you wish. (I am adding to the OP by making this issue a fifth “Stipulation” by which MC would fail.) If any of you do answer, please describe at what level you are answering it and what guided you as to where to draw the line. That is, if you think it’s only history in the Torah that’s obsolete, how did you decide that as opposed to all the history in the OT on the one hand and only the history in Genesis or in Genesis 1-11 on the other?
P.S. The relevant fundamental difference between MC history (see “Defining Mosaic Creation” in the OP) and SGH is that the former dates the universe in thousands of years and the latter dates it in the billions. Other important differences include:
- The extent of Noah’s Flood
- The historicity of Adam as progenitor of the human race
- The historicity of Eve as an individual formed by God through Adam
- The historicity of the Fall as the actions of these two individuals
- The historicity of the Tower of Babel including the multiplication of languages