Creation and the Patriarchal Histories: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Genesis
Overview
The Book of Genesis is foundational reading for the Christian. Its opening pages provide the theological suppositions of the entire biblical story: creation, the structure of time, man’s relationship to God, the entrance of sin into the world, and God’s selection of a specific line of revelation that gives structure to history. This text argues that early Christian writers like St. Paul saw no dichotomy between the writings of the law, of which Genesis is the beginning, and the Gospel. Rather, the Gospel is the key to understanding the law. In Creation and the Patriarchal Histories, Reardon shows how the proper understanding of creation and the fall informs all of Christian doctrine, and how the narratives of the patriarchs from Noah to Joseph pave the way for the salvation history that continues in Exodus.
- Examines Christian doctrine, focusing on creation
- Discusses the narrative structure of Genesis and how it leads into Exodus
- Presents an Orthodox perspective on the book of Genesis
- Creation and Primeval History
- The Noah Cycle
- The Abraham Cycle
- The Isaac Cycle
- The Jacob Cycle
- The Joseph Cycle
Top Highlights
“‘One’ is not simply the numeral that precedes two; it is, rather, the number out of which that second number comes. There is a formal disparity between one and the other numbers. One (to hen) is the font determining the identity of two and the subsequent numbers. ‘One’ is not just ‘first’ as part of a sequence; it is what we call a principle, an arche. On ‘day one,’ then, God creates light, which He thereby separates from darkness. It is out of this light, which is the product of God’s first creating word, that all the rest of Creation comes. All things that God makes are filled with His light. God’s light lies shining at the heart of the world.” (Page 33)
“The origins of the world and more especially of the human race occupy the opening pages of Genesis, which provide the theological suppositions, not only of the ensuing chapters, but of the biblical story as a whole. These suppositions are Creation, especially that of man in God’s image, the structure of time (prerequisite for historiography), man’s relationship to God, the entrance of sin into the world, and God’s selection of a specific line of revelation that will give structure to history.” (Page 9)
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“‘Predetermination is the work of the divine command based on foreknowledge,’” (Pages 99–100) |
“Thus, in a given passage, we are not obliged to choose between the inherited Hebrew and Greek readings. It is quite legitimate to accept both, each of them representing a different stage in the development of the biblical tradition.” (Page 12)
“Grace, that is to say, does more than reverse the effects of sin; it transforms the effects of sin. Our new innocence in Christ is not to be identified as simply the earlier innocence of Adam. The effect of sin is not merely removed; it is assumed into a more ample transformation.” (Page 43)
The Greek and Latin fathers of the church found the revelation of creation, the fall, and the covenantal promises in Genesis immensely enlightening. Evil and sin were not due to human nature but to a prideful flight from the offer of friendship with the transcendent God who created the universe and, even after the fall promises a redemptive Messiah. Patrick Henry Reardon’s commentary conveys central aspects of this enlightenment, showing that is as relevant today as it has ever been down the millennia.
—Rev. Dr. Matthew L. Lamb, chairman, department of theology, Ave Maria University
Archpriest Patrick Henry Reardon has given us a new map to find the time tested answers that are part of the treasury of the rich tradition of the Orthodox Church. This trenchant commentary is indeed a new gem to be added to the library of those who love Holy Scripture.
—The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, chancellor, St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Any serious student of Scripture and culture will benefit from reading [this] book.
—Father Hans Jacobse, editor, OrthodoxyToday.org
Patrick Henry Reardon is the pastor of All Saints Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and a senior editor at Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity. He was educated at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, St. Anselm’s College in Rome, the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, the University of Liverpool, and St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Seminary. He is the author of several books and more than 500 articles, editorials, and reviews published in Books and Culture, Touchstone, The Scottish Journal of Theology, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Pro Ecclesia, St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly, and other journals across three continents.