Resources responding to John Walton

Resources responding to John Walton’s “Lost World” thesis.

1) A quick summary of the issues:

Cox, Gavin (2019). The Lost World of Walton: Why John Walton’s Lost World books are a lost cause.

2) Response to the material/functional hypothesis:

Leithart, Peter (2014). Genesis 1 in Ancient Perspective?

https://theopolisinstitute.com/leithart_post/genesis-1-in-ancient-perspective/

3) Response to material/function, ANE worldview, temple-building, and other issues:

Weeks, Noel K. (2016). The Bible and The “Universal” Ancient World: A Critique of John Walton. Westminster Theological Journal 78 (2016): 1-28.

http://files1.wts.edu/uploads/images/files/WTJ/WTJ%20Noel%20Weeks%2078.1.pdf

Collins, C. John (2009). Review of Walton, Lost World of Genesis 1. Reformed Academic, 26 November 2009.

http://reformedacademic.blogspot.com/2009/11/lost-world-of-genesis-one-book-review.html

4) Highlighting problems with the goals of Walton’s approach:

Purifoy, Jr., Thomas. The Gnostic World of John Walton.

https://isgenesishistory.com/gnostic-world-of-john-walton/

Bloom, John A. (2015). The Lost World of John Walton; a book review of The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and the Human Origins Debate. Christian Research Journal 38:3.

https://www.equip.org/article/the-lost-world-of-john-walton/

Amended article here: The Lost World of John Walton.

5) Brief survey of ANE creation accounts in contrast to Genesis:

Bloom, John A. and Collins, C. John (2012). Creation Accounts and Ancient Near Eastern Religions. Christian Research Journal 35:1.

https://www.equip.org/article/creation-accounts-ancient-near-eastern-religions/

6) Response to Walton’s deconstruction of Old and New Testament laws and ethics:

Miller, Joseph R. (2021). Jesus in the Torah. Global Journal of Classic Theology 17:3.

https://www.globaljournalct.com/jesus-in-the-torah/

Books for those who want to go deeper:

The full titles give a good sense of the coverage:

Oswalt, John W. (2009). The Bible among the Myths: Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature? Zondervan.

Collins, C. John (2011). Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?: Who They Were and Why You Should Care. Crossway.

The following has good summaries, and good interaction between Walton and Collins:

Caneday, Ardel B., et al (2013). Four Views on the Historical Adam. Zondervan.

The best accessible introduction to Genesis and Creation that I’m aware of (includes some response to Walton):

Lennox, John C. (2011). Seven Days that Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science. Zondervan.