Hello Adrian,
I wrote: The only place in Scripture Adam is referred to as the "first" man
is in 1 Cor.15:45-47. There Adam is called "the first man." But there we also
find that Jesus is called "the second man." The context shows that the writer
of those words was referring to Adam as the "first" man only in his relative
chronological position to Christ. In other words, since Adam came "first" and
Christ came "second," Adam came before Christ.
You responded: Actually Verse 45 says "the first man Adam" in contrast to
"the last Adam".
I guess you didn't read the entire passage. I referred you to 1 Cor.
15:45-47. There, as you pointed out, verse 45 calls Christ "the last Adam."
But there, in verse 47, Paul also refers to Christ as "the second man." He
wrote: "The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from
heaven." That being the case, you cannot use this passage of scripture to
prove that Adam was literally "the first man." For to do so you would also
have to say that Jesus Christ was literally "the second man." But, as I
recall, those who believe that Adam was literally "the first man" believe
Cain was literally "the second man."
The questions I asked you, which you say you answered, were the following:
Maybe your answers got lost or delayed in the moderator shuffle.
Thanks,
Mike
1. In your attempt to reconcile what science tells us about how long man has
lived on earth, I take it you must believe that the "Adam" of Genesis 2 and 3
lived a long time ago. Why then does Bible chronology indicate that only some
4,000 years passed between the creation of Adam and the birth of Christ?
2. If you say there are "gaps" in the Genesis 5 and 11 genealogies, what was
the point in the author of Genesis recording all that chronological
information?
3. When do you think Adam was created?
4. If later than 30,000 years ago, how do you answer scientists who say that
men just like ourselves have continually inhabited places like Africa, Asia
and Australia for at least that long?
5. If more than 10,000 years ago, how do you answer scientists who say that
nowhere on earth did men raise crops and heard animals, activities that the
Bible tells us Adam and his children engaged in, more than 10,000 years ago?
6. Who were the people living in the land 'east of Eden' whom Cain was afraid
might kill him? (Gen. 4:14-17)
7. Though the Bible tells us God does not hold children responsible for the
sins of their parents (Deuteronomy 24:16; 2 Kings 14:6; Ezekiel 18:20), the
doctrine of "the fall" of mankind says that all who have not accepted Christ
as their Lord will be eternally condemned by God because of something Adam
did. How do you explain this apparent contradiction?
8. The science of genetics has determined that information coded within the
nucleotide sequences of human RNA and DNA is fully responsible for
determining what characteristics will be inherited by a couple's children.
And this branch of science has proven conclusively that a human being's
genetic code cannot be altered by actions as ordinary as those performed by
Adam in the garden of Eden. However, advocates of "the fall" doctrine say
that Adam and Eve's original nature somehow changed at the time of their
disobedience and that their altered nature was then passed on to their
descendants. How do you believe the act of eating a piece of fruit was able
to alter Adam and Eve's genetic codes?
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