announce an abiding structure any more than it describes a historical happening. Rather, it makes the theological claim that a word has been spoken which transforms reality. The word of God which shapes creation is an action which alters reality. The claim made is not a historical claim but a theological one about the character of God who is bound to his world and about the world which is bound to God. The literalists and rationalists have each been right in one dimension of their argument but doubtful