“Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?” by C. John Collins | Book Review

Collins, C. John. Did Adam and Eve Really Exist? Wheaton: Crossway, 2011. Paperback, $15.99

This next fall I will be teaching a course on the Theology of Creation. One of the topics I expect to cover in this course is the discussion surrounding the historicity of Adam and Eve. Were Adam and Eve real people or were they some sort of fictional character? C. John Collins has a book hot off the presses through Crossway that discusses this specific issue.

As it turns out Collins does believe that Adam and Eve were real people. Furthermore, he demonstrates in his book how believing in a literal Adam and Eve has further implications for ones worldview, theology, and life. Through personal experiences you will see how this topic has been shaped in Collins’ mind through grieving, which is a powerful way he ends the book.

The author’s goal with this book is to look at why we should retain the traditional view of a literal Adam and Eve, in spite of the pressures academically to abandon it. He relies on good critical thinking and draws the readers attention to “abusus usum non tollit, ‘Abuse does not take away proper use.’” He does this in three different ways:

1. He looks at the shape of the biblical story—from creation to fall to redemption and to consummation. He looks at the story of the Bible and sees if the worldview derived from The Story requires a historical Adam and Eve and a historical fall.
2. He examines the primary biblical and second Temple Jewish texts that deal with the topic. He does this to see if they support the historical position.
3. He then considers the biblical view of human uniqueness and dignity. He tries to relate this to the everyday moral and religious experience and sees how this as well lends evidence to a historical Adam and Eve.

It should be noted that Collins is not a straight literal guy with minimal room for figurative language in the early narratives. He states very early that he believes Moses is talking about actual events and actual people, using rhetorical and literary techniques to shape the readers’ attitudes toward those events (pg. 16-17). It is also clear that Collins is not a young earth creationist. On page 122 he talks about how Adam and Eve very well were not the first members of the homo species because the earliest homo species date back over two million years. This I disagree with.

Collin’s last paragraph of the main part of his book is a fitting wrap up to this topic,

There is indeed comfort in the Biblical story that has as real Adam and Eve at its front end: the comfort of finding assurance that we will indeed receive relief and healing and restoration and final bliss, when God has finally banished the intruder forever. This comfort helps us to live fully human lives, as God’s beloved people, even now.

The book was just released in the last couple of days and can be purchased directly through Amazon for about $10 (also available on Kindle).

FTC Rhetoric: I do not receive payment for my book reviews. I do sometimes receive free review and giveaway copies from authors, publishers, and publicists. My first responsibility is to my readers, therefore, I am committed to honest reviews.