Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Adam in Genesis 1-11 - Ruest PDF
Adam in Genesis 1-11 - Ruest PDF
Two views of Genesis 111 are common. Young-earth creationism claims to take this text
literally as inspired by God and interprets it as the history of the first few thousand years of
the existence of the universe. Source criticism, on the other hand, takes it as an account of
how ancient Hebrews viewed this history, God accommodating to their mythological beliefs
derived from contemporary Near Eastern cultures, yet breaking these myths by framing
them into monotheism. The former view is contradicted by science while the latter produces
arbitrary hermeneutics and modifies biblical theology.
But if Adam was not the first human created in the image of God, he can be taken as a real
person who lived at a Holocene time in Sumer, but who, called to prepare the way for
the Messiah to come, became a type representative of fallen humans living both before and
Peter Rst
after his time.
dictation by The central belief of Christians is that God Paul refers to the foundation of the
revealed himself most fundamentally through apostles and prophets.1 With apostles
God. the incarnation, death, and resurrection of he may have designated the whole future
his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as canon of the New Testament (NT) and with
prophets that of the Old Testament (OT).
Peter Rst holds a diploma in chemistry and a doctorate in biochemistry from
the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zrich. He did post-doctoral Alternatively, both apostles and prophets
research in DNA chemistry at Columbia University in New York (with may refer to the proclamation of the gospel,
E. Chargaff) and at Hawaii University, in molecular biology at the California with the OT canon included indirectly, as
Institute of Technology (with R. L. Sinsheimer), and in virology at the Swiss all NT authors presuppose it as canonical.
Institute for Cancer Research in Lausanne. In 1999 he retired from heading the In some cases, the writer of a book, e.g.,
Computer Group at the Swiss Dairy Research Institute in Bern. He is actively Hebrews, did not identify himself explicitly.
engaged in publicity and political efforts in Switzerland designed to stem the Other authors, like Luke, indicated that
spiritual degeneration in free churches driven by their discrimination due to the some of what they wrote was derived from
state church system and religious power politics prevalent throughout Europe. diverse sources. Some OT books, such as
An ASA Fellow, Rst has had a special interest in the creation/evolution Psalms, obviously represent collections
question for many years. He can be contacted by email: [email protected] from various authors. Others, like Chronicles
and Genesis, are summaries of anonymous historical a message to its first hearers, while its full implications
records. Such historical sources may not immediately have at the time of its final fulfillment may not yet have been
been considered divinely inspired as a whole when they obvious to themor even to the apostles.
were written, although they might contain proclamations
explicitly attributed to the Lord and accepted as such.
But as dealing with the people of God, they certainly were
Literary Genre
Different types, or genres, of texts have to be read in differ-
considered very important, requiring utmost respect.
ent ways. If the sun comes out like a bridegroom leaving
No matter how a biblical text is to be interpreted, any his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with
concept of genuine divine inspiration must imply that we joy,4 it is clear that this poetical text does not teach
have to keep the entire text in the form indicated by the that the sun has a bride, a chamber, and joy. Nor did Asaf
most reliable manuscripts available. We even may assume necessarily think that the earth rests on literal pillars,
that God not only inspired the text in its original form when he reported God as saying, When the earth totters,
which we do not have at our dispositionbut also kept and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars.5
watch over its transmission. It certainly is his intention to Poetical texts neither give us any reliable information
give his word not only to the first recipients of a text, but about modern science nor about the worldview or cosmog-
to all humans reached by it throughout his Heilsgeschichte ony of the ancients. To understand their meaning, we have
(redemptive history). to recognize their figurative aspects.
the full extent of the canonical texts as A text which is given in narrative form may be either
a historical account or a parable not meant to tell us some-
representing Gods revelatory will and thing that really happened. Again, the context would
indicate the genre. Jesus said, A man was going down
avoid any contradiction to reality from Jerusalem to Jericho ,6 but we can recognize it as
a story invented as an illustration, although it was not
explicitly called a parable.
narrative. He might have talked in this way Or the same details of a text can legiti-
even if the whole story is a metaphor, but mately be interpreted both as an anthropo-
only if his audience recognized it as such. morphic description13 of what the ancients
If Gods But did they? And if not, did Jesus accom- could observe and understand, and as com-
modate himself to their erroneous beliefs? patible withas distinct from teaching
redemptive Such accommodation appears unlikely.10 what we know from modern science.14 God
could achieve this by accommodating him-
Similar considerations apply to the book self to a prophet who did not understand the
history revealed of Job, with James talking of Job as a real second possible interpretation, gently guid-
historical person.11 And if such accommoda- ing him in selecting a formulation conform-
in the Bible tionism is applied to the Torah and later ing to the prophets own limited knowledge
historical books, the consequences are very and vocabulary, yet compatible with reality.
focuses on the serious.
Such a modern interpretation would be
incarnation, sufficiently ambiguous to prevent its misuse
Can Different as a logical proof of God. To safeguard human
Interpretations Be Correct? personality, secondary interpretations com-
death, and patible with facts unknowable at the time
Some assume that a given biblical text can
only have one correct interpretation, namely of writing must always be ambiguous. This
resurrection of restraint in divine revelation is necessary
what the human writer could know and
because it will leave humans the freedom
wanted to say. But if Gods redemptive
the Son of God, history revealed in the Bible focuses on the
not to believe15which they clearly must
have, as God does not treat the humans he
incarnation, death, and resurrection of the
NT quotations Son of God, NT quotations of OT texts make
wants to commune with as puppets or robots.
it clear that many prophecies have more than
of OT texts one fulfillment, and therefore more than one Early Genesis and
interpretation may be correct with respect
make it clear to Gods revelatory will.12 But does the fact
Abraham
Now, what is the genre of Genesis 111? Is it
that clearly messianic prophecies may have
basically the history it looks like, or is it a
that many more than one correct interpretation extend
collection of broken myths of the Ancient
to other statements or text details, as well?
Near East, God accommodating himself to
prophecies have A prophecy is a message, inspired by the mistaken beliefs the Israelites encoun-
God, about something unknown or even tered in Egypt, Canaan, or Babylonia?
more than one unknowable by humans at the time it is
From internal and external evidence, much
given. It may relate to the near or far future.
of Exodus through Deuteronomy apparently
fulfillment, Or it may point backwards in time. There are
was written by Moses.16 But these books
many biblical references to the creation of
presuppose the contents of most of Genesis,
and therefore the universe, the earth, the first humans, etc.
the history of the founding fathers. Thus,
As most knowledge about such topics by
Genesis certainly looks like the preface to
means of human investigation has surfaced
more than one in modern times only, such references would
the Torah, the Law. And as far as we can
tell, throughout the history of the people of
be prophecies, divine messages about things
interpretation unknowable at the time they were given.
Israel, the Torah was regarded as sacred,
as divine revelation, off-limits to any tam-
pering, deleting, or adding. This implies that
may be This does not imply that a biblical text
Genesis was so regarded, as soon as Moses
can inform us about facts that only became
known by modern science. Some references included this collection of older records as
correct the first of the five books constituting the
to creation may just express the fact that God
created, but not how he did it. Aspects of the Pentateuch.
with respect text looking like operational details may be Unfortunately, the source-critical hypoth-
metaphorical ornaments, which the original esis of the Pentateuch has gained wide ac-
to Gods readers did not take literally. Such meta- ceptance in many theological circles, even
phorical details, taken literally, need not be evangelical ones. Beginning more than two
revelatory will. compatible with reality, knowable then or hundred years ago, the text was split up into
today. many fragments attributed to speculative
Jahweh (Yahweh), Elohim, Deuteronomy, and writing on clay tablets,22 and we may reasonably assume
Priestly sources (JEDP), supposedly written much that he kept the information important to him in such a
later than the time of Moses. This hypothesis derives durable form. In fact, the text of Genesis 136 contains
Genesis 111 from myths current in Babylonia in the sixth remarkable tell-tale indications of having originated as
century BC. Apparently narrative details are considered cuneiform records: the concept toledot (generations or
to be remnants of a mistaken ancient mythology, in which history) marks colophons at the ends of Sumerian and
the writers believed and to which God accommodated Akkadian clay tablets.23 A colophon contained the name
himself. In this minimalist understanding of divine of the owner, the title of the tablet or series of tablets,
inspiration, the only real content of the text would be and sometimes the date of writing. Keywords linking the
the replacement of polytheism with monotheism.17 tablets of a series were placed at the beginning or end.
tions are sometimes wrong. Some errors can be detected human created in Gods image. But because Adams envi-
by comparing the text with modern findings. ronment depicted in Genesis 24 is a Holocene one, he still
places him after 9000 BC.55 According to McIntyre, Adam
One obvious example is Noahs flood, which clearly and Eve became sinners when they acquired the knowl-
was restricted to Mesopotamia, as shown by plausible edge of good and evil by eating of the forbidden tree. This
correspondences between the Hebrew text and scientific moral knowledge made them responsible, and therefore
findings.48 Eden can be localized at the confluence of guilty. All other humans also are sinners, but sin is not
the four rivers: Euphrates, Hiddekel (Tigris), Pishon (from counted where there is no law.56 He is right in pointing
Saudi Arabia into Kuwait, now blocked by sand dunes), out, as Calvin and others did, that sin cannot be inherited.
and Gihon (from Iran).49 It lies on top of 10 kilometers McIntyre claims that this moral law made possible the
of sedimentary rock, which therefore cannot have been organization required for building cities, and that there-
deposited by Noahs flood. The traditional belief in a fore cities are a marker for the propagation of moral
global flood is mistaken.50 knowledge, and therefore of sin, into all continents.
The list of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah displays
certain parallels to that of the ten pre-flood Sumerian kings
found in Mesopotamian cuneiform texts, which points to A main motivation for equating Adam and
a partially common historical basis.51 There are more or
less close parallels between the first two kings or patri- Eve with the first humans of Genesis 1
archs, as well as between the last four men on both lists,
whereas the third to sixth kings bear Sumeric names and seems to be the belief in original sin
show no relationship to the third to sixth Adamite patri-
archs. Apparently, Adam lived less than about 7,000 years (understood in the sense of Erbsnde,
ago in southern Mesopotamia, together with the Sumer-
ians. Many archeological and biblical hints fit into this inherited sin).
pattern of correspondence. So, there were pre-Adamites.
doctrine that sin and death came into the assuming a divine inspiration which respects
(human) world by Adam and that all his both Gods and the prophets freedom, and
descendants inherited sin and death from excluding mythologizing presuppositions
him. Fischer claims that both Adamites and rooted in reductionism. All Scripture, in
Apparently non-Adamites inherited death from their every detail of the originals, has to be taken
animal ancestors, but Adams descendants as inspired by God. Of course, this does not
each proposal, inherited accountability, and therefore sin, imply any kind of mechanical dictation view,
from him. nor can the fact be ignored that we do not
Adam early dispose of any of the originals. Therefore,
sound text and genre criticism is essential.
Full Harmonization Details in the original are there because God
and Adam late, Apparently each proposal, Adam early and wants them to be there. He used fallible
Adam late, solves some problems, but each prophets who may have entertained errone-
solves some runs into others. Placing Adam early either ous views of reality. He did not force them,
ignores the biblical environment and Sumer- but gently guided their thinking to formu-
problems, but ian allusions of the Adam story or assumes late, despite their limitations, text which is
unreasonably large genealogical gaps. Plac- compatible with his design for revelation.
each runs into ing Adam (taken as the first man) late It would be a literal mistake65 for herme-
ignores the specifically human characteris- neutics to just consider what the writer him-
tics of many earlier humans. Even more seri-
others. ously, the humanity of living humans who
self would have thought, whether the result
is young-earth creationism or accommoda-
did not descend from Adam (also according tion to mythology.66 Placing Adam earlier
I shall now to Genesis 410) is called into question.58 than a few thousand years BC leads to forced
interpretations in early Genesis, and there-
propose a fully I shall now propose a fully harmonious
fore violates Scripture.
interpretation. Three requirements have to
be met: (3) Reliable scientific results: Gods revelation
harmonious is given not only for the original recipients,
(1) Unique focus on Gods redemptive plan:
The Bible represents Gods revelatory will. but also for humans of all other cultures
interpretation. and all later times, so he is expected to have
Redemption was not an afterthought
prompted by someones fall, but designed directed the prophets to use language com-
Three from eternity. All of Scripture points to the patible with reality, avoiding unnecessary
incarnation of the Son of God, his substitu- offense of later readers. There is sufficient
requirements tionary sacrifice on the cross, and his bodily unavoidable offense in the cross of Christ.67
resurrection.59 All of the OT, from creation to The biblical concept of genuine prophecy
have to be met: the last prophet, has to be interpreted as God regarding past or future events beyond the
preparing the way for his becoming man. ken of the prophet makes it possible that
an ancient biblical text is compatible with
(1) Unique As George Murphy rightly emphasizes,60
a reality unknown before the advent of
there never were any pre-Fall, sinless and
immortal humans, no Erbsnde in the sense modern science. Language is sufficiently
focus on Gods flexible to allow for such compatibility provi-
of inheritance of sin and death from Adam.
No created human can have the freedom dentially designed by God. Placing the first
redemptive required for a personal relationship with God humans at just a few thousand years BC is
and remain sinless. Therefore, the necessity incompatible with very reliable scientific
plan ; for the Creator himself becoming man to results. It violates biblical theology by pre-
accomplish redemption has been clear from senting either Gods revelation or his creative
(2) Plenary eternity, before the foundation of the maintenance as deceptive.
world.61 Thus, redemption history cannot Thus, (2) requires a late Adam, whereas
inspiration ; have two poles, like fall and restoration, but (3) requires early first humans. These two
can only have a single focus, the redemption requirements cannot be brought together
(3) Reliable wrought once for all by the Messiah.62 Adam as long as the unbiblical tradition of original
cannot have any fundamental importance, sin inherited from Adam is held. Therefore
and there can be no further canonical revela-
scientific tion after the NT.63
the way out of the seeming deadlock
between (2) and (3) is clear: the first humans
(2) Plenary inspiration: The text has to be were early, and Adam has to be placed late.
results interpreted in its full canonical context,64 Adam was not the first human created in
Gods image. Genesis 1:2631 does not refer to the same an unusual wayintimating even Jesus birth from a vir-
events as Gen. 2:525.68 gin. So Adam recognized that Eve would be the typical
mother of all who would be spiritually alive, namely
Humans are three-dimensional, body-soul-spirit beings. in Christ. When she gave birth to Cain, she may have
As to their bodies and souls (in the sense of sentiency), thought Gods promise would already be fulfilled.
the first humans arose by natural evolution from ances-
tral primate forms. Then, at a specific point in time, God Adams naming the animals has to do with Gods
created them in his image, as far as the (human) spirit is charge of having dominion over the other creatures,
concerned.69 Much later, one of them, Adam, was chosen a charge given much earlier to the first humans. But now,
by God and given the challenge of proclaiming the king- Adam is to be able to take care of the creation, which
dom to come, just as Abraham was chosen later. Adam implies much more than dominating it and presumably
failed, and God changed his covenant with him, in accor- requires, in practice, his intimate spiritual relationship
dance with his eternal preknowledge and predetermined with God. Yet, at the same time, he has to learn that his
redemptive plan of incarnation and cross. very personal spiritual yearning for a believing wife can-
not be replaced even by his mission of loving the creation
and caring for it.
The first humans were early, and
Adam in the New Testament
Adam has to be placed late. Adam was There is a hermeneutical difficulty with biblical texts about
Adam.72 The designation adam occurs almost six hundred
not the first human created in Gods times in the OT. The Greek translation73 of the OT usually
renders it as anthrpos (human), and only about forty
image. Genesis 1:2631 does not refer times as Adam, referring to the particular man of this
name, a distinction based on the respective contexts. There
to the same events as Gen. 2:525. are a few ambiguous occurrences. In its OT quotations,
the NT deals in a similar manner with this word. Are the
choices made by the NT authors reliable? The canonicity
of the NT would argue at least for a greater reliability
Various objections have been raised against the idea of
than that of our non-inspired judgments regarding the OT
pre-Adamites. If there were other humans around, from
text. Furthermore, a prophetic ambiguity may, in particu-
whom Adam arose, why could he not find a suitable wife?
lar cases, have been intended by God.
Why did he have to name the animals to search for a suit-
able partner? Why did God have to build one for him It may be that the NT authors believed Adam to be the
out of his rib or side? Why did he call Eve the mother first man. Yet none of the NT references to Adam requires
of all living?70 it. These may be cases of providential compatibility with
reality unknown to the writers.
All this depends on the question of what happened
to Adam in Gen. 2:7. He was formed, not created. Genealogies containing Adams name need not concern
Whereas forming implies a preexisting entity, creat- us, as they just represent quotations of received texts. They
ing implies the origin of something out of nothing. Even do not argue that Adam was the first human. Luke 3:2338
if the breath of life given Adam would imply that he was gives a genealogy, going backwards from Jesus to Adam,
miraculously created without having parents, it would not who is then linked to God. In Jude 14, Enoch is the sev-
necessarily follow that he was the first biblically genuine enth from Adam, referring to the genealogy in Genesis 5.
human created in the image of God. On the other hand, Some genealogies are demonstrably incomplete. Their pur-
Adam may have had parents and was now given spiritual pose was to show a significant derivation, but not neces-
life in the sense of John 3:16 and 8:56.71 sarily a complete line of descent. Even biological descent
may not be given, as in the first and the last links in Luke 3:
Now, if Adam lived among other people when God
Jesus , being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph,
placed him into the garden and filled him with the spirit
of Heli , of Seth, of Adam, of God. Nor does the use
of life, he would quite naturally yearn for a wife who
of the term fathered guarantee biological fatherhood,
would share this new spiritual life, and when he finally
as shown in 1 Chron. 4:8: Koz fathered the clans of
was given one (whether we interpret this event literally
Aharhel, the son of Harum. There is a striking analogy
or metaphorically), he would joyfully recognize her as
between some biblical genealogies and phylogenetic trees
a suitable mate. After their fall, God told Satan (the snake)
in biology.
that the seed of the woman would crush his head.
Adam and Eve appear to have appreciated by faith some In 1 Tim. 2:815, Paul deals with the proper behavior of
of this wonderful messianic prophecy, formulated in quite men and women in worship services. He refers to the story
of Adam and Eve,74 writing: I do not permit through whom sin and death came to all
a woman to teach or to exercise authority humans:
over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. sin came into the world through
For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and one man, and death through sin, and
Sin became Adam was not deceived, but the woman so death spread to all men many
was deceived and became a transgressor. died through one mans trespass the
possible when Apparently, his argument here is typologi- free gift is not like the result of that
cal, Adam and Eve standing for men and one mans sin the judgment follow-
humans were women. Although Paul seems to have taken ing one trespass because of one
them as historical persons,75 the text does mans trespass, death reigned through
not imply that Adam was the first human,
created in just that he was formed before Eve, and that
that one man as one trespass led
to condemnation for all men as by
Eve was deceived and transgressed before the one mans disobedience the many
Gods image Adam did. Creation is not in view: accord- were made sinners
ing to both Gen. 2:7 and 1 Tim. 2:13, Adam
and therefore was formed, not created.76 Of course, There was first a (possibly rather small)
by whatever means Adam was formed, his population of humans created in Gods
God-conscious, origin, like that of any other individual image, and of course one of these was the
human, implies Gods creative activity.77 But first to sin. This was the one man, through
self-conscious, in any case, if Paul thought Adam was the whom sin came into the world. And all
first human, God kept him from saying so. other humans after him trespassed, as well.
In none of the eight times Paul here referred
and Apart from Luke, Jude, and 1 Timothy, to this first man did he explicitly identify
the only NT mentions of Adam (at least in him with Adam.
correspondingly an explicit way) are the ones in Romans and
1 Corinthians, which we now shall consider Only verse 14 mentions Adam: death
responsible to in detail. reigned from Adam to Moses, even over
those whose sinning was not like the trans-
gression of Adam. This can be applied to
God. So sin In AdamIn Christ pre-Adamites, as well. Sin became possible
Romans 5 is not about human origins. Paul when humans were created in Gods image
came into the dealt with the origin of sin in chapters 13. and therefore God-conscious, self-conscious,
In chapter 5, the focus is on the eternal and correspondingly responsible to God.
world through security of the believer in Christ.78 Romans So sin came into the world through one
5:1221 compares the old, fallen humanity man, namely the first one of those created
one man, with the new, redeemed humanity. Adam, in Gods image who sinned, long before
the head of fallen humanity, is a contrasting Adam. Sin indeed was in the world before
type, foreshadowing Christ, the head of
namely the redeemed humanity. Adam, the one whose
the law was givenand similarly before
God gave Adam the particular law of the
history is given in Genesis 23, is a represen- Garden of Eden. But sin is not counted
first one of tative of all fallen humans. Similarly, Christ where there is no law.
is the real typical man, the representative of
those created in all those redeemed by him. Christ represents Humans varied and increased in their
the redeemed before Gods throne in knowledge of God during the course of time,
Gods image heaven, making intercession for them.79 God and so did their responsibility. This increase
sees all redeemed humans in Christ, all in God-consciousness, of course, is not just
who sinned, the unredeemed in Adam. Just as the natural psychological evolution. It is a part
redeemed humanity includes all OT and NT of Gods revelatory and redemptive history
saints, so all humans before and after Adam in the supernatural spiritual realm. God
long before are included in the fallen humanity. deals intimately and creatively with each
human individuals personal development
Adam. Paul may or may not have thought Adam and opportunities.80
was the historically first man, but if he did
so, God kept him from putting such an Adam received a special calling and law,
opinion down in writing. Eight times in so his fall was special. He had already been
verses 1221, Paul wrote of the first man mortal; the death he reaped was spiritual.81
And the spiritual death which the first sinner reaped, long EvolvedThen Created
before Adam, spread to all men, not because of Adam, In conclusion, this article demonstrates a possibility of
but emphatically because all sinned (Rom. 5:12). harmonizing a plenary inspiration of the Bible with the
findings of science, including the evolution of Adam from
Man of DustMan of Heaven earlier humans, as follows:
Pauls great resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, is a Inspired by God: Gods central revelation is the incarnation,
pointed defense of a real, bodily resurrection82 against all death, and resurrection of his Son. This is the basis of
opponents: how can some of you say that there is no biblical Christianity. A corollary is the plenary inspiration
resurrection of the dead? If in this life only we have of the sixty-six canonical biblical books (excluding the
hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Apocrypha), as shown by the NT use of the OT.
Adam is named in verse 22: as by a man came death,
Literary Genre: Every text has to be interpreted in its full
by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
biblical and extrabiblical context, requiring nondestructive
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be
text criticism, seeking the original divine revelatory intent
made alive. The first sinner is not called Adam, but
in the available text, and respecting the principle that the
a man.83 Then Paul contrasts the old, fallen humanity,
original and later readers must understand the genre.
the representative of which is Adam (in Adam), with
the new, redeemed humanity in Christ, as he did in Can Different Interpretations be Correct? Genuine, divinely
Romans 5. Again, if Paul thought Adam was the first inspired prophecy, as seen in the NT use of the OT, demon-
man, God kept him from saying so. strates that a text can have more than one correct interpre-
tation, including, in principle, compatibility with modern
Verses 3553 explain what a bodily resurrection means, science.
quite practically: How are the dead raised? With what
Early Genesis and Abraham: The source-critical hypothesis
kind of body do they come? Again, the human origin
of the Pentateuch destroys biblical revelation, but is con-
is not in view here, but the contrast between the old,
tradicted by its own inconsistency and by more recent
natural humanity, represented by Adam, and the new,
archeology. Genesis consists of basically historical tradi-
spiritual humanity represented by Christ. Verses 4449
tions transmitted through Abraham and his descendants.
read, in part:
An Individual Adam: Any transition from mythology to
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
history in Genesis is arbitrary. The NT use indicates an indi-
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual
vidual Adam. This has to harmonize with paleontology
body. Thus it is written, The first man Adam became
and genetics which virtually prove early humans. To fore-
a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving
go this requirement of harmony means to question even
spirit The first man was from the earth, a man
the theology of Genesis and its sequel.
of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was
the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, An Early Adam: The creation of the first humans in the
and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are biblical sense is defined by the image of God. Indirect
of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the indicators of spiritual, self-conscious behavior, and there-
man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man fore of humans created in Gods image, date back at least
of heaven. 50,000 years.
A Late Adam: Genesis 24 places Adam firmly into the
Paul quotes Gen. 2:7, the man became a living crea-
Holocene in Sumer. Genesis 69 is compatible with a flood
ture (literally a living soul84), and correctly identifies
restricted to Sumer-Akkad. But the unbiblical doctrine
this man with Adam (the passage quoted does not talk
of inherited original sin causes problems for a Holocene
about creating Adam, but about forming him). Paul
Adam as a progenitor of all humans living in historical
contrasts him with the last Adam, who obviously is
times.
Christ. Christ is the typical man, as God meant man to
be. The qualification last clearly indicates that no histori- Full Harmonization: Required conditions are: (1) Gods
cal consideration is in view here at all, but a theological, redemptive plan, (2) plenary inspiration, (3) reliable sci-
typological comparison of the two human collectives ence. Genuinely human pre-Adamites are the solution.
represented by Adam, the man of dust, and by Christ, God created the spiritual dimension in Homo sapiens who
the man of heaven. Similarly, Christ being called the inherited the psychological and corporeal dimensions from
second man shows that Adam is not called the first evolutionary precursors.
man in a historical sense. If there is a temporal sequence, Adam in the New Testament: Adam also means human,
it is only in the sense that the collective of fallen humanity but the NT judiciously distinguishes the two meanings.
logically precedes the collective of redeemed humanity, The writers may have believed Adam was the first human,
just as redemption presupposes fallenness. But obviously, but God kept them from explicitly saying so, even where
the two collectives overlap in time.
they refer to Adam and the first humans in the same tion of the God with us is a second correct interpretation. The
charge that some NT quotations of the OT misinterpret what the
context.
original author intended, has been convincingly refuted by G. K.
In Adamin Christ: Romans 5:1221 has been improperly Beale, Did Jesus and His Followers Preach the Right Doctrine
used to fashion the inherited-sin dogma. But neither inheri- from the Wrong Texts? Themelios 14 (1998): 8996; , Right
Doctrine from Wrong Texts? Themelios 32 (2006): 1843.
tance of sin and death nor a time sequence is in view, but 13P. Rst, Phenomenological Language in Ancient Revealed Narra-
rather the contrast between two humanities in the context tive, PSCF 58 (2006): 1645; www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2006/
of the security of the believer in Jesus. PSCF6-06Ruest.pdf.
14A. Held and P. Rst, Genesis Reconsidered, PSCF 51 (1999):
Man of DustMan of Heaven: 1 Corinthians 15 deals with 23143; www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1999/PSCF12-99Held.html;
the glorious resurrection hope of the believers in Christ, , Taking Genesis as Inspired, PSCF 52 (2000): 2124,
not with sin or time sequence. Christ being the last Adam www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2000/PSCF9-00Held.html; P. Rst
and A. Held, Der Genesisbericht und die Evolution, Texte aus
and the second man would be nonsensical in a context
dem VBG-Institut 1/03 (2003): 28 S.; www.vbginstitut.ch/uploads/
of genetic inheritance or genealogies. media/INS_TE_03_1_Evolution_und_Genesis.pdf.
15P. Rst, How Has Life and Its Diversity Been Produced, PSCF 44
EvolvedThen Created: Biological evolution of humans and
(1992): 8094, www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1992/PSCF6-92Rust.html;
historicity of Adam and Eve may be compatible. Gods J. Polkinghorne, Where Is Natural Theology Today? Science and
creating humans in his image is placed at whatever time Christian Belief 18 (2006): 16979.
most plausibly fits the paleontological and genetic data, 16O. T. Allis, The Five Books of Moses (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian
but Adam and Eve lived only a few thousand years BC and Reformed Publishing Company, 1949); E. J. Young, An Intro-
duction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989);
in Sumer.
A. A. MacRae, JEDP: Lectures on the Higher Criticism of the Pentateuch
(Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1994);
This is not claimed to be the only possible interpreta- K. A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids,
tion of early Genesis, but a reasonable one if both the MI: Eerdmans, 2003), 241312.
Bible and the creation (nature) are taken to be reliable 17Or even just the supposedly more primitive henotheism,
revelationsdifferent in type and scope, but coming from addressing the highest among other gods.
18Allis, The Five Books of Moses; G. L. Archer, A Survey of Old Testa-
the hand of the same absolutely truthful Author. He has ment Introduction (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1964); G. Maier, Das
charged us to take care of the planet on which he has Ende der historisch-kritischen Methode (Wuppertal, Germany:
placed us and given us the possibility and ability to do Brockhaus, 1975); R. C. Newman, Evolution-Religion and the Genesis
the science required to fulfill this charge. He will therefore Account, Res. Report No. 23 (Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Bibli-
cal Research Institute, 1984); E. J. Young, An Introduction to the Old
not deceive us with apparent properties of his creation
Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989); MacRae, JEDP:
which do not correspond with reality. Harmony between Lectures on the Higher Criticism of the Pentateuch; R. C. Newman,
his word and his work is not only reasonably to be Scientific and Religious Aspects of the Origins Debate, PSCF 47
expected, but it is a theological requirement. (1995): 16475; A. Rof, Introduction to the Composition of the Penta-
teuch (Sheffield Academy Press, 1999); Kitchen, On the Reliability
of the Old Testament.
19Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, 31372.
Acknowledgment 20 Ibid., 42147: Later generations might recopy such works , but
I am grateful for the very careful critical remarks and sug- nobody composed them afresh anymore after about 1500 (p. 447).
21Ibid., 316.
gestions of four anonymous referees and of the editor.
22To claim that Abraham would not have been literate is implausi-
They have helped me to substantially improve my original ble, as he apparently was highly regarded as a prince of God
manuscript. Any possibly remaining errors and lack of by his contemporaries, Gen. 23:6, even in adjacent countries,
clarity are my responsibility. cf. Gen. 14:1721; 21:2223.
23P. J. Wiseman, New Discoveries in Babylonia About Genesis (London:
from complete, it is often difficult to be sure a given feature is cient, the possibility of a recent Adam being the ancestor of all
unnecessary. But an increasingly sophisticated analysis of large living humans cannot be excluded, cf. D. L. T. Rohde, S. Olson,
numbers of similar cases decreases the importance of this caveat. J. T. Chang, Modelling the Recent Common Ancestry of All Liv-
31Gen. 1:28. ing Humans, Nature 431 (2004): 5626.
32Held and Rst, Genesis Reconsidered; K. B. Miller, ed., Perspec- 59R. Liebi, Der Messias im Tempel (Bielefeld, Germany: Christliche
tives on an Evolving Creation (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003). Literatur-Verbreitung, 2003); G. L. Murphy, Christology, Evolu-
33Isa. 45:7. tion, and the Cross, in Miller, ed., Perspectives on an Evolving
34P. Rst, Dimensions of the Human Being and of Divine Action, Creation, 37089.
PSCF 57 (2005): 191201. 60G. L. Murphy, Roads to Paradise and Perdition: Christ, Evolu-
35P. Rst, Creative Providence in Biology, PSCF 53 (2001): 17983; tion, and Original Sin, PSCF 58 (2006): 10918.
www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2001/PSCF9-01Ruest.pdf; ,
611 Pet. 1:1821.
Gods Sovereignty in CreationA Reply to Howard Van Till, 62E.g., Heb. 9:12.
PSCF 54 (2002): 21617; www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2002/PSCF9- 63Both would compromise the unique focus on the cross, which was
02Ruest.pdf. preplanned from eternity and which ushered in the last days
36E.g., Rana and Ross, Who was Adam? (Acts 2.17; James 5:3).
37P. Rst, Dimensions of the Human Being and of Divine Action, 64G. K. Beale, Right Doctrine from Wrong Texts? Themelios 32
Altpalolithikum, in Ur- und frhgeschichtliche Archologie der 69P. Rst, Dimensions of the Human Being and of Divine Action.
Schweiz Vol. I (Verlag Schweiz.Ges.Ur-u.Frhgesch., 1968), 89106; 70Gen. 2:1823; 3:15, 20; 4:1.
G. R. Morton, Adam, Apes and Anthropology: Finding the Soul of Fossil 71Held and Rst, Genesis Reconsidered.
Man (Dallas, TX: DMD Publishing Company, 1997); P. Yoder, 72The Hebrew adam means man, in the sense of human.
Will the Real Adam Please Stand Up! PSCF 58 (2006): 99101; 73The Septuaginta, or LXX, the Greek version of the OT translated
J. P. Hurd, Reply to the Real Adam and Original Sin, PSCF 58 between the third and first centuries BC in Alexandria, Egypt,
(2006): 1023; D. Wilcox, The Original Adam and the Reality of by about seventy Jewish scholars, often used in NT quotations
Sin, PSCF 58 (2006): 1045. of the OT.
42Morton, Adam, Apes and Anthropology. 74Genesis 23, the source Paul quotes, by the way, makes it clear that
43G. R. Morton, Dating Adam, PSCF 51 (1999): 8797;
, Lan- it would be wrong to accuse him of discriminating against women.
guage at the Dawn of Humanity, PSCF 54 (2002): 1934. The womans submission under her husband is linked with the fall
44K. Hs, The Mediterranean Was a Desert (Princeton, NJ: Princeton of both. It may be a remedial help for both. No intrinsic superiority
University Press, 1983). of man is even hinted at. It may even be argued that Paul appears
45G. R. Morton, The Mediterranean Flood, PSCF 49 (1997): 23851; to attribute to Adam a greater misuse of what had been given him
, Noah, From Whence Art Thou? PSCF 53 (2001): 137. (and therefore a greater guilt) than to Eve. At least Adams was
46D. Fischer, The Days of Creation: Hours or Eons? PSCF 42 (1990): a conscious transgression.
1522; , Young-Earth Creationism: A Literal Mistake, PSCF 75It might be argued that Paul was just referring to Genesis 23 as
55 (2003): 22231. a story written in the Torah, without committing himself as to its
47D. Fischer, In Search of the Historical Adam: Part 1, PSCF 45 historicity, just as the parable of the Good Samaritan was a story
(1993): 24151; , In Search of the Historical Adam: Part 2, invented by Jesus to make a theological point.
PSCF 46 (1994): 4757; , The Origins Solution: An Answer in the 76Held and Rst, Genesis Reconsidered; Rst, Dimensions of the
Creation-Evolution Debate (Lima, OH: Fairway Press, 1996); J. A. Human Being and of Divine Action.
McIntyre, The Real Adam and Original Sin, PSCF 58 (2006): 908. 77Rst, Dimensions of the Human Being and of Divine Action.
48Fischer, The Origins Solution; C. A. Hill, The Garden of Eden: 78Cf. J. G. Fijnvandraat, Wiedergeboren in Ewigkeit? (Schwelm:
Flood: Universal or Local? PSCF 54 (2002): 170183; , Quali- Rom. 8:27, 34; 11:2; Heb. 7:25.
tative Hydrology of Noahs Flood, PSCF 58 (2006): 1209; A. E. 80Rst, Dimensions of the Human Being and of Divine Action.
Hill, Quantitative Hydrology of Noahs Flood, PSCF 58 (2006): 81He is reported to have lived for a long time after the day in which