> However, it seems fair to ask: Is knowing that men are under the
> curse of sin dependent on knowing _when_ sin originated? The Bible
> asserts throughout that men are sinful and that the only remedy for
> sin is Jesus' finished work on the cross. No one has ever
> explained to me why it is not possible to accept the fact of the
> sinfulness of men withuot knowing preciesly when it began and who
> committed the first sin.
>
The response I have to this is Genesis 2:16,17 and 3:17-19. If Adam
is a type of humanity and not a real person, from where did sin (and
the knowledge of good and evil) arise? God cursed the ground because
of the sinful disobedience of Adam. Adam disobeyed a direct
commandment from God - if there was no Adam but only an evolutionary
by-product, there would be no direct disobedience, hence no curse.
Maybe a better question, than from where did humanity arise, is the
question, When did God begin to impose accountability? What was the
source of the protoplasmic evolution that disobeyed God, resulting in
a curse? If Adam was not a person, how did the knowledge of good and
evil enter the heart of humanity? A denial of the personal existence
of Adam leads to the liberal theological point that the Bible is a
collection of beliefs of a group of humanity and not divinely
inspired. After all, if the knowledge of good and evil was not an
incident in time, it had to be an evolutionary process of society -
hence subject to society. Knowledge of good and evil then does not
arise from God (Genesis 3:22), but from within humanity - hence the
existence of God becomes a moot question. If there is no fundamental
question of right and wrong (imparted by the Tree of Knowledge, hence
God can hold us accountable), there is no absolute sin, no need of a
Savior, and Jesus becomes a liar.
I'm afraid the question of when did sin arise does impact the
question of whether sin exists. Is sin a departure from God or an
evolutionary feeling / belief / determined sense of benefit to
society?
William M. Frix
Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering
Box 3021
John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
Phone: (501) 524-7466
FAX: (501) 524-9548
EMAIL: wfrix@engr.jbu.edu