God's Pattern for Creation: A Covenantal Reading of Genesis 1 Paperback – October 20, 2003

Wow! Great book!Godfrey comes to the conclusion the "Days" in Gen. 1 probably were long periods of time based only upon interpretation from the Bible itself. Godfrey is truly a theologian. Nowhere does he give as an argument any discoveries from science, but instead, reaches his conclusion just from the structure of Genesis. Very interesting reading!Godfrey's ideas have similarities with astrophysicist Hugh Ross's interpretation of Genesis 1, especially in connection with Day 4 (Creation of Sun, Moon, Stars...). Godfrey says: "The Biblical text seems to suggest that day four is not about the creation of a new and different source for the light created on day one but rather is now pointing us to the lights that fill the sky and that always were the source of light. In other words, day one and day four describe the same creative act of God from different perspectives..."If you want to see a Biblical approach "harmonizing" the Bible's explanation of Creation Days with science (a heretical notion if you're a "24 hr Day" person) Godfrey's analysis comes pretty close explaining how God could have done it.

This book is one of several that significantly help to make the point that the Bible does not preclude the possibility of an old earth and an old universe. Other books are also helpful in this regard, including C. John Collins'  Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, And Theological Commentary , Rodney Whitefield's  Reading Genesis One , David Snoke's  A Biblical Case for an Old Earth , Mark S. Whorton's  Peril in Paradise: Theology, Science, and the Age of the Earth , and Hugh Ross's  Creation and Time: A Biblical and Scientific Perspective on the Creation-Date Controversy .I highly recommend all of them, including Godfrey's "God's Pattern for Creation," to anyone struggling with reconciling the Bible with the scientific evidence for an old earth or struggling with how to convince young earth creationists that young earth creationism is not the only possible way to interpret the Bible.In addition to 80+ pages of text supporting compatibility of the Bible with an old earth through a careful examination of the words of the Bible, this book includes appendices on "Calvin on Creation," and "The Reformed Confessions on Creation." It is a worthwhile investment.

This is an excellent and balanced discussion regarding the creation of the universe.

It is refreshing to read a book that is packed with meat but written on a layman's level. This book was amazing. I highly recommend it!

I love the books; have not had time to finish two of them, and don't have time to write a review. I'm sorry. I do appreciate reading reviews. It definitely helps me in buying. E.R.

At first glance this book looks too simplistic to be all that helpful in understanding book 1 of Genesis. For there's little reference to max-min (e.g., Kenneth Kitchen's  The Bible in Its World: The Bible and Archaeology Today  or even  On the Reliability of the Old Testament ), unity-divergence (e.g.,  Before Abraham Was: The Unity of Genesis 1-11 ) biblical debates. After many glances and a much more thorough reading, however, the book exudes a close and faithful reading of scripture revealing its author an intelligent and reliable Christian witness. In fact, Godfrey's book must be carefully read to realize that it is written with learned simplicity that represents a lifetime of study and experience, which remains far too rare in Biblical discussions.Also, this book does not in any way suffer from a jingoistically pro-modern and ultimately offensive, anti-Hebrew perspective that can be found in Jaki's  Genesis 1: Through the Ages .

Even Though pastor Godfrey is a great preacher and lecturer, this is not his best material. He spouses a view that is not very well substantiated in this book. A good point in the book is his conclusion, where he asserts a position that we all could have as Christians, and his Appendix where he brings positions from many other relevant theologians. Although I don't interpret the subject as pastor Godfrey, I think it is good for all to get a better understanding on opposing views.

This book is a very accessible and fascinating look at the creation account in Genesis. Dr. Godfrey challenges conventional thought by asserting an analogical view of the creation account. The point of the narrative is to direct us to understand the covenant of creation, and that God created all things because He wanted to enter into covenantal relations with mankind. Genesis is neither a science book, an anthropology book, nor a geology book. It is a book about God as He has revealed Himself through the covenants, not the least of which is the covenant of creation. This is a fascinating book and very easy to read. High School students should be able to read it just fine and get a lot out of it.

Exciting exegesis of Genesis 1 from a covenantal perspective. God's purpose in creation is to produce a people in His image with whom He will fellowship in eternal glory, and to His glory, as they praise their God-Creator-Savior forever. Genesis 1 is the foundation, as God is providing the material world for the needs of this people.

Such a refreshing read; instead of the typical effort to wash over the Bible, Dr Godfrey faithfully expounds the text and confirms the essentials - well worth a read. Excellent.