> There is a greater issue than science in the question of whether Adam
> was real or not. That is the question of sin. I am joining this
> discussion late, and perhaps someone has already mentioned this, but
> if Adam was not an individual, from where did sin come? If evolution
> was the producer of humanity, there is no direct source of the
> concept of sin, hence no need of a savior, hence Jesus cannot be the
> Savior of the World, as He claimed to be. Hence, Jesus was not
> factual or accurate, hence He could not be God.
If we ever develop a FAQ list for this discussion group, evolution-and-
original-sin should be included! This is, indeed, a very important
topic.
In lieu of a FAQ, I'll quickly summarize here 11 ideas which I've
encountered in various books and articles. All of them are suggestions
for dealing with the biological and paleontological evidence while
maintaining the doctrine of Original Sin and the need for a savior.
For this post, I won't comment on which ones I believe probable or
improbable, acceptable or unacceptable (theologically), or the problems
faced by each idea. (Quite a few of these have already been discussed on
this group and in the pages of _Perspectives_. It might be useful to
develop a reference list for these various ideas.)
1) Evolutionary creation of plants, animals, some hominids; then special
creation of Adam & Eve, the parents of all modern humans, in a literal
Garden several tens of thousands of years ago.
2) Evolutionary creation up through modern homo sapiens, with special
creation of Adam & Eve, as _representatives_ of all existing and future
humanity, in a literal Garden.
3) Evolutionary creation up through modern homo sapiens, with special
_selection_ of Adam & Eve, as representatives of all existing and future
humanity, in a literal Garden.
4-6) As 1-3 above, with the Garden story as an allegorical re-telling of
another actual historical event.
7) As #1 above, but occurring 5.5 million years ago with the flood
corresponding to the filling of the Mediterranean basin; Abraham as a
modern person.
8) Evolutionary creation of homo sapiens. The story of Adam, Eve and
the Garden as allegory of some actual historical event, in the distant
past, of revelation to a group of humans (perhaps more than two) and
their rebellion. Sin was not inevitable, but a choice. Original sin
"spreading" from this group outward to eventually include all humans.
9) As #8, but the Garden story is a telescoping of multiple events in
human pre-history.
10) As #9, taking into account the slow development of hominid
intelligence and self-awareness. (Analogous to ordinary infant self-
centeredness gradually developing into sinful toddler selfishness.)
11) As #10, but the eventual sinful state of humanity was evolutionarily
"inevitable."
That seems a fairly exhaustive list, though I've probably missed a few.
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Loren Haarsma