Comments on: Book Notes: An Old Testament Theology (Waltke)

By: Henry Neufeld

Henry Neufeld — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:38:08 +0000

Julia-Unfortunately, it is clear from the context that this is not the sense in which Waltke used the term. He clearly means that patriarchy is the way to go, as he defines it, but there might be a specific exception for rare circumstances.

By: JuliaL

JuliaL — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:55:31 +0000

I would agree that Deborah is one important �exception that proves the rule.� And I would hope that anyone using this old saying would remember that “proves” here means “tests” not “supports.” In this case, the rule fails the test, and thus is shown to be false.

By: Henry Neufeld

Henry Neufeld — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:51:08 +0000

As I noted, the chapter presents an interpretation consistent with theistic evolution.

I’m not evangelical myself, so it is not surprising that I found much to disagree with in the book.

By: steve martin

steve martin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:55:27 +0000

Hi Henry,
I agree that Waltke’s criticism of “evolutionism” & “naturalism” is a pretty broad brush; it is unclear to me if he appreciates the distinction between methodological naturalism and metaphysical naturalism. However, I prefer to look at this from a “glass half-full” perspective. Waltke clearly supports theistic evolution (mentioning that Francis Collins’ book has been helpful to him). That someone of Waltke’s stature in the Evangelical theological community (eg. a former president of the ETS) can come out and say this is definite progress. I think we need to be supportive of these encouraging developments.