Walton espouses a view of Genesis creation narrative that resonates with ancient Near Eastern mindsets, much like a temple dedication ceremony, and not a strictly material account of cosmological origins. He uses a restaurant as an analogy, arguing that a restaurant does not begin to exist when the material building is completed, but when the owner declares the restaurant open for business.[2] Through his book The Lost World of Genesis One he presents the Genesis creation as being functional rather than material.[3] This view is opposed by some theologians such as Vern Poythress[4][5] and young earth creationistKen Ham.[6][7]
Publications
Books
Walton, John H (1989). Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context, A Survey of Parallels Between Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Texts. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
——— (2001). Genesis. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
——— (2004). Old Testament Today. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
——— (2006). Essential Bible Companion. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
——— (2006). Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
——— (2008). Jonah. Expositor's Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
——— (2009). The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. Downers Grove, IL: IVP.
——— (2011). Genesis 1 as Ancient Cosmology. Warsaw, IA: Eisenbrauns.
——— (2012). Job. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
———; Sandy, D. Brent (2013). The Lost World of Scripture: Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority. Downers Grove, IL: IVP.
——— (2015). The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2–3 and the Human Origins Debate. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
——— (2017). The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest: Covenant, Retribution, and the Fate of the Canaanites. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic. ISBN978-0-83085184-3.
——— (2019). The Lost World of the Torah: Law as Covenant and Wisdom in Ancient Context. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic. ISBN978-0-83085241-3.
———; Walton, J Harvey (2019). Demons and Spirits in Biblical Theology: Reading the Biblical Text in Its Cultural and Literary Context. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. ISBN978-1-62564-825-9.