Date

4-26-2024

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Theology and Apologetics (PhD)

Chair

David D. Pettus

Keywords

Genesis 1, creation, creationism, material creation, functional creation, Trinity, Elohim, logos, yom, day, young earth, Speech Act Theory, J.L. Austin, John Searle, locutionary act, illocutionary act, perlocutionary act, Kevin Vanhoozer, John H. Walton, Ancient Near East, form criticism, comparative studies

Disciplines

Christianity | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

Speech Act Theory is a branch of linguistics that explores not only how language is used to convey meaning, but also how it is used to perform actions or functions. In recent decades, it has been applied as a viable hermeneutical tool to aid biblical interpretation and defend the inerrancy of Scripture. Identifying the speech acts of the biblical author or speakers in the biblical narratives can be useful to understand the meaning and intention of the utterances, phrases, and words spoken. In the Genesis 1 creation narrative, God spoke words to create the universe. While adopting a canonical approach to interpretation and a trinitarian reading, this research applied Speech Act Theory to Genesis 1 to identify the locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts God performed with His speech on each day of creation. In doing so, it showed how the application of Speech Act Theory to the Genesis 1 creation narrative can be a viable hermeneutical tool to understand that the narrative intended to communicate how God created a universe of material origins instantaneously in a way that is consistent with His character as the Trinitarian God. This research also used Speech Act Theory to critique John H. Walton’s functional view of creation in Genesis 1 and reveal the challenges of his speech act methodology with Ancient Near East comparative studies.

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