Genesis and Human Origins
"The majority report among mainline biblical scholars is that the ancient texts which Genesis 1-3 resembles most are ancient Near Eastern creation myths, an observation which suggests that that is probably the best way to read Genesis, as well. In fact, most mainstream biblical scholarship today would understand Genesis to be an Israelite revision or version of prior mythical creation stories. For many Christians this has been a tough pill to swallow, and it’s not hard to understand why." - David Williams
The key to understanding the evolution/creation debate is first and foremost to understand what the early chapters in Genesis are about. Once this question is settled, the evolution/creation debate falls into place. There are three big reasons not to take the early stories in Genesis literally. First, Genesis invites a non-literal reading. There are actually two creation stories, not just one. The first story (Gen 1:1-2:4) was written by the P source and concerns itself with priestly promotion of sabbath observance. The second creation story (Gen 2:4-3:24) , written by the J source, is about the transition of society from hunter gatherers to the discovery of agriculture and the resulting change in societal organization. The Adam story is not about absolute human origins but the beginning of one smaller subset, ancient Israel’s origins. There are contradictions in the text when trying to read the stories in Genesis literally. Difficulties also arise when we work out the implications of the human race beginning with only two initial people. Second, Genesis must be read in light of its ancient Near Eastern cultural context and cannot be read from a modern Western culture perspective. Many of the stories in Genesis, including the two creation stories and Noah's flood were borrowed from older ancient Near Eastern myths such as Enumas Elish, Atrahasis, and Gilgamesh. Finally, modern science is utterly at odds with a literal reading of the Genesis creations stories and flood story. Modern science says the universe is about 13.7 billion years old and that life evolved over millions of years. Evolution is supported by fossil evidence, genetic evidence, and biogeography. The Bible is not a science book and does not describe creation in any scientific or historical way. PETER ENNS QUOTES The challenge of evolution is here to stay, and its effect on how Christians read Genesis and Paul must be addressed deliberately. The root of the conflict (over evolution and creation) for many Christians is not scientific or even theological, but group identity and fear of losing what it offers. Evangelicals tend to focus on how to protect the Bible against the attacks of evolution. The real challenge before them is to reorient their expectation of what the story of Adam and Eve is actually prepared to deliver. It strains credulity to think that, of all the ancient peoples with origins stories, Israel alone escaped this story-telling mentality and gave us something approximating 'history' or 'science' in the modern sense. To think that the Israelites, alone among all other ancient peoples, were interested in (or capable of) giving some definitive, quasi-scientific, account of human origins is an absurd logic. And to read the story of Adam and Eve as if it were set up to so such a thing is simply wrongheaded. KARL GIBERSON QUOTES In contemporary debates over the historicity and theological significance of Adam we would do well to distinguish the Adam of Genesis, the Adam of Paul, and the Adam of Augustine. We must certainly avoid reading Augustine’s Adam back into Genesis as if that is our only interpretive option. Hebrew reflections prior to Paul suggest that Adam passed nothing on to his offspring. Subsequent sin—Cain’s murder of Abel, the wickedness of Noah’s generation or the folly at the Tower of Babel—is never described as inevitable. Adam’s sin is never mentioned again in the Hebrew Scriptures, which is very curious, given the importance now attached to it. Biblical literalists unfamiliar with contemporary science are like theologians with half the pages missing from their Bibles: their conclusions are bound to be suspect. God’s revelation in nature establishes with certainty that the earth is billions of years old; that humans evolved from other life-forms; and that the human race never consisted of just two individuals. The clarity of this revelation—no matter how unwelcome—requires that we revisit the creation story in Genesis, just as Galileo’s astronomy forced reconsideration of the Psalmist’s claim that the earth did not move. . |
Introductory Articles
The Deep Problem Evangelicalism Has With Evolution Adam, Evolution, and Evangelicals Creation and Science Catechism Evangelicals, Creation, and Scripture GENESIS Genesis 1-3 When Was Genesis Written and Why Does It Matter? Israel's Two Creation Stories Enuma Elish Genesis and Myth (C.S. Lewis) Myth, Truth, Fact, and Genesis (C.S. Lewis) Genesis 1 and a Babylonian Creation Story Adam Is Israel Israel's Second Creation Story and Atrahasis The Historicity of Adam Adam Is Israel Adam and Sin in the Bible Does Paul's Christ Require a Historical Adam? After Adam: Reading Genesis in and Age of Evolutionary Science Paul's Adam 5 Things Jesus Wants You to Know about the Adam Story Four Articles on Adam and Eve Noah's Flood Who Wrote the Flood Story? Gilgamesh, Atrahasis, and the Flood What if God Threw a Flood and No One Came? SCIENCE Scientific Evidence Evolution for Christians Where Are the Transitional Fossils? Genetic Evidence for Evolution Age of Our World Made Easy Evolution (NOVA) 100 Reasons Why The Earth Is Old I Love Jesus and I Accept Evolution (Part1) I Love Jesus and I Accept Evolution (Part 2) YOUNG EARTH CREATIONISM Henry Morris' Deception Why Doesn't Answers in Genesis Tell You the Truth? Ken Ham’s Alternative History of Creationism BOOKS The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say About Human Origins by Peter Enns Beyond The Firmament by Gordon Glover In the Beginning We Misunderstood by Johnny Miller and John Soden Saving the Original Sinner by Karl Giberson Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters by Donald Prothero Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation by Bill Nye Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne WEBSITES BioLogos Questioning Answers in Genesis American Scientific Affiliation Mod Synthesis Science and Faith . |