Mike wrote,
<< Adam and Eve and their descendants were considered to be "sons of God"
because they were in a covenant relationship with him. But how does this
fact
prove that those who were spoken of in Gen. 1:26,27 as being created "in
God's image" were Adam and Eve and not the preadamic human race? I have
argued this subject matter before with Dick. And though I agree with 99% of
what he has to say in his fine book, "The Origins Solution," I take issue
with him on this point.
Most Bible readers believe that being "created in the image of God" simply
means that people are like God in many ways. Most Christians believe all
human beings have eternal spirits. We also have many of God's abilities and
His attributes. Such as the ability to express love, kindness and
compassion.
We expect and demand that people be treated fairly, and when they are not we
desire to see justice done. Yet we often are willing to show mercy to the
one
who has done wrong, especially when they express remorse and show repentance
for their hurtful behavior. We are highly intelligent and highly creative. I
could go on, but I'm sure you are aware of how most Bible readers have long
understood the words in Gen 1:27, that man was created "in God's image."
Dick's position maintains that the author of Genesis described in some
detail
virtually everything that God had made prior to His creation of mankind, but
after doing so failed to make any mention of God's creation of the human
race, prior to His creation of Adam and Eve. I find it very hard to believe
that the author of Genesis would have made absolutely no mention of God's
creation of preadamic man. And I am not the only one who does. Critics of
our belief that the Bible does not present Adam as being "the first man" in
an absolute chronological sense have often asked me, "So then, if that's the
case, why does Genesis not tell us of God's creation of men before Adam?"
When they do I tellthem to read Genesis 1:26,27.
Mike >>
This view is closer to the Bible. On Dick's view, those "pre-Adamites" who
were isolated before the Flood, e.g. the Proto-Ainu in Japan, Australian
aborigines, Native Americans, et al. would not be made in the image of God.
Since the basis of forbidding murder is the image of God in man (Gen 9:6),
this leaves justifiable the near genocidal practices that newcomers to these
areas practiced against the earlier inhabitants; and, in fact, justifies such
a practice even today.
If you want to get even closer to the Bible, combine "the Adam" of Gen 1:26,
27 with "the Adam" of Gen 2:7, 8, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 3:8, 9,
12, 20, 22, 24; so that the individual man Adam is indistinguishable from
"the Adam" of Gen 1:26, 27.
That is what Gen 5:1, 2 does:
In 5:1 "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God
created Adam, in the likeness of God made he him." Adam is used without the
article, indicating an individual name, which is at least a sure
interpretation in the phrase, "book of the generations of Adam" (note also
the singular pronoun "him.")
Then 5:2 says, "male and female created he _them_, and blessed _them_, and
called _their_ name Adam, in the day when they were created." "Their name
Adam" uses Adam without the article and the next verse shows that the
individual Adam of Gen 2 is indeed the one being spoken of; but the "them,"
"them," "their" take you back to Gen 1:26, "male and female created he them."
So, the Bible identifies the individual Adam of Gen 2 with the "them" of Gen
1:26, 27. The Bible does not separate the Adam of Gen 2 from "the Adam" of
Gen 1:26, 27.
Paul
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