Abstract

"And God said...." The author of this interesting study takes seriously the use of the italicized word in the biblical account of Creation. His thesis is that a modified version of the late J. L. Austin's analysis of "performatory" language can be used to reinterpret the traditional Christian claim that God "created" the world. The first half of the book is a purely philosophical analysis of self-involving language. Of particular importance is its clear distinction between, and logical mapping of, performative and expressive language. In the second half this analysis is applied to biblical talk about Creation, an application which is made more valuable by the author's thorough grounding in biblical theology.—R. J. W.