NPR and the Historical Adam Kerfuffle

By on August 17, 2011 in Creation, Historical Adam

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It is no secret that there is a great debate raging whether or not Adam and Eve were real historical people. I’ve mentioned the issue on the blog previously and will continue to point people to different conversations and debates. I read an article today published by NPR called “Evangelicals Question The Existence Of Adam And Eve.” No sides are taken in the article, it is simply a good reflection of the contemporary conversation.

In the coming months and years we are going to see an onslaught of published material on the topic. I am aware of at least one Ph.D. dissertation being researched on the topic and C. John Collins recently released a book on the topic as well through Crossway.

This topic is of monumental importance because within it are issues that pertain to the nature of God and man, of sin and redemption. In my course this fall, A Theology of Creation, I will be spending a few weeks on this topic, which I plan to barely scratch the surface of all that is going on with the topic. The implications are huge and the fall out from it certainly going to be influential.

  • C A Watson

    The question that I may eventually bring to ETS actually deals with the question of inspiration and hermeneutical priority. If we begin by examining the text believing that it is true (instead of looking at the text as a text), coming already with a worldview that has been influenced by the “scientific consensus,” then our interpretation of the text itself must fall into one of the non-literal categories (framework, temple, etc.) in order to maintain our worldview. However, if we examine the text as a text, we then likely come to a conclusion that the text states that the earth was created in six days. Whether we choose to believe the text or not is a different matter. The text must influence our worldview. We must protect the text as much as possible from our worldview.

  • http://www.craighurst.wordpress.com Craig Hurst

    What is often missing in this discussion is the effect the Flood had on the human race. We initially descended from Adam & Eve but if you believe in a universal flood (which I do) then mankind started over again with Noah and his family.