"A dangerous trend exists in evangelical circles today: we seem to 
have a growing
number of evangelical scholars and leaders who are functioning as “popes.”
One not-so-subtle example of this trend is John Walton’s book, The Lost
World of Genesis (IVPress, 2009). Here Walton, an Old Testament professor
at Wheaton College, argues that God did not create anything in Genesis 1. Instead,
He only gave pre-existing things a new function as a “cosmic temple” to dwell
in.
An appendix of frequently asked questions addresses the question, “If this
is the ‘right’ reading, why didn’t we know about it until now?”
His reply (p.
171) is that until scholars of recent times learned the ancient Near-Eastern
languages and pagan literature around Israel, we had no way of understanding
Genesis. Earlier he stated that without knowledge of Hebrew or access to Hebrew
scholarship, a lay person could not accurately comprehend Genesis (p. 39).
The implication is “you can’t understand the Bible on your own, so let the
scholarly experts explain it to you.” The result is that the supposed experts
are in effect stealing the Bible from the people in the pew.
Read and study your Bible faithfully and follow the example of the Jews in
Berea.
As they heard the apostle Paul preach, they were “searching the Scriptures
daily” to see whether his words lined up with God’s Word (Acts 17:11)." AIG
