I was raised in young-earth creationism and moved to other approaches as I grew up. This path tends to colour how I view YEC. It seemed simplistic while the cool “ahah!” moments that surfaced something new in the text largely came from exploring other perspectives. But I know that’s not everyone’s experience.
This thread is for insightful biblical interpretations from YEC proponents. If you moved to YEC later in life, maybe share something you discovered about a passage from a YEC that made a lightbulb go on. Or, if you’ve left YEC, is there a reading that sticks with you and remains helpful even though the overall picture now looks different? The reading doesn’t need to originate with YEC or be unique to YEC, but it’s something you encountered through YEC.
One for me is the significance of “waw consecutives.” In Hebrew, a sequence of actions is often chained together by placing the letter waw (or vav) in front of the verbs. Although the syntax can have a few different meanings, typically it links events as consecutive. The effect is like placing “and then” between the events.
I first heard about waw consecutives in a YEC article that also showed how pervasive they are in Genesis 1. The article used this to argue against a poetic reading or one that saw the days as thematic while the actual events took place in a different order. While I don’t agree with every conclusion drawn from them (since non-literal narratives can use waw consecutives just as literal ones do), I still find it helpful to look closely at the sequence presented in the text. A subsequent “ahah!” moment – seeing that “and there was evening, and there was morning” described the uneventful passing of a night rather than the summary of a day – depended on what that YEC article taught me about waw consecutives.
What insightful readings or reading strategies have others here gleaned from YEC sources?
I’m no longer sure if ANE texts can be entirely trusted as a background to Genesis (unless the parallels are overwhelming or universal), I thank YEC Ancient historian Noel Weeks for pointing out that there was no homogenous ANE worldview to begin with. I do not however, as he does, accept it as a valid critique of Walton’s cosmic temple hypothesis, since that can be substantiated via the Bible alone
This may not be so much a particular biblical insight or method of reading as a general admiration. I continue to admire the egalitarian enthusiasm (chutzpah or tenacity) that many YECs have toward these subjects. In true reformational spirit and just as they don’t depend on intermediaries between us and Scriptures (except for commentaries and computer aids maybe!) … so also they tend to shun a lazy reliance on experts and ambitiously delve into math for themselves; checking and looking to see if something makes sense. Not saying all YECs do this, of course. But enough of the outspoken ones do to make the impression. And these inquiries lead to interesting and good questions that the average person may not think to ask, but benefits from hearing the question addressed.
There is a lot that we share in praising God and studying the Bible (especially the New Testament) that does not depend on the age of the earth or evolution. Reading serious YEC literature (Navigators, etc; not specifically origins) that I grew up with reminds me of the joy of meditating on Scripture and finding purpose in dedicating my whole worth to God.
To his credit, also, Ken Ham and others have tried hard to distance YEC from racism, and that’s been a good influence for many families.
Yes, was he the one who pointed out the trouble with pressing the Tiamat/deep connection? Basically, we can’t assume that the Hebrews were referring to Tiamat every time they used the word for the sea (tehom?) that looks similar. That would be like assuming every time someone mentions Thursday they’re evoking Thor.