Who Were Adam and Eve?

Some theologians believe our ancestors were cavemen or primitive humans.


Summary: Two Christian apologists writing in Answers magazine have tackled the questions of the nature of cavemen and the existence of Adam and Eve. The authors, Answer in Genesis’s David Menton and John Upchurch, recognize the ongoing debate among Christians regarding the biblical account of creation and whether it can be supported scientifically.


The people referred to as “cavemen” were all descended from Adam through Noah’s family. They were also in need of God’s grace. Many of the early humans simply found temporary shelter or buried their dead in caves, as archaeology reveals. That does not make them primitives.  On the contrary, they made musical instruments and tools, farmed, built cities, and acted as stewards of God’s creation. Menton explains that even today there are people who live in caves including some in modern countries, and we don’t consider them as being less than human.


David Mason, publisher of Answers, referred to the ongoing, complicated debate over creation and evolution. He noted the arguments by some Christian theologians that cavemen should be placed on the evolutionary line between apish human ancestors and modern humans. Some theologians are even questioning whether Adam and Eve were real people and suggest primitive cavemen were our actual ancestors.


John Collins, a scientist and professor at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, while seeming to suggest that Adam and Eve were real persons and our ancestors, noted some reasons for questioning who they were. These reasons include the parallels between Genesis and stories from other ancient Near Eastern cultures as well as advances in biology. While he insisted that Christians shouldn’t lose faith in the biblical account in Genesis, he added, "We must trust that God created the kind of world that He did because an evolutionary process involving selfishness, suffering, and death was the only way to bring about such creaturely values as novelty, complexity, and freedom." 


Collins believes it is necessary to make the Scriptures more credible with modern men. He would like more evangelical and Reformed scholars to get involved in evolutionary theology, a field dominated by Roman Catholic and Anglican thinkers.“ The task of Christian theology in every generation is not simply to repeat or paraphrase the tradition but to re-present it in fresh ways so that it can continue to speak meaningfully.”  


(Illustration from The Bible Revival)


To read the entire article, click on THE CHRISTIAN POST.


Comment: A big mystery is why when modern creation science was in its infancy fewer theologians seemingly questioned the creation account, but now that the weaknesses of evolutionary theory are being more and more exposed by creation scientists (and sometimes by secular scientists themselves), religious leaders appear to be increasingly attracted to theistic evolution (the idea a person can believe in both evolution and Christianity). 


The article contains a misleading statement when it says that Answers in Genesis “maintains that evolution and creationism are not mutually exclusive.” Dr. David DeWitt, a Christian who once accepted evolution, writes on the AiG website, “Theistic evolution is a significant threat to the Christian church. It undermines the very foundation of the Christian faith and causes people to doubt the truth of Scripture….Clearly, the theory of molecules-to-man evolution is incompatible with the clear teaching of the Word of God. Therefore, theistic evolution (and its stablemate, “progressive creation”) is incompatible with the Christian faith.” And Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis, is on a crusade to oppose theologians who compromise the Bible in order to accommodate evolutionist teachings.


John Collins is also wrong when he implies that Christianity needs to be reinvented with each generation to keep it fresh and current. The central Christian message is the same today as it has always been. The Gospel which Jesus commands us to spread around the world (Matthew 28:19) has always been — “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). 


“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17)  The “one man” who brought sin into the world was, of course, Adam, a real historical Adam, and the “one man” who has overcome death and brought us righteousness and salvation is Jesus Christ. If death ever becomes old-fashioned and goes out of existence, then so will the need to preach the Gospel. However, that won’t happen (for believers) until Jesus returns to lead us to eternal life in heaven. 


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QUESTION OF THE DAY


Is drinking vegetable or 100% fruit juice as nutritious as eating whole vegetables or fruits?


Vegetable and fruit juice are definitely better than sugary teas or soft drinks, but they are not as nutritious as whole vegetables and fruits. Whole vegetables and fruits contain more fiber, and there are nutrients in the skins that don’t show up in the juices.


Source: Dr. Richard S. Lang in Cleveland Clinic Men’s Health Advisor (December, 2011) 


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