RE: How to interpret Adam (was: Re: Kerkut)

>George said: Do you have to know that Adam & Eve were historical figures
before you have
>any sense of your own sin & need of forgiveness? Of course not.

In direct answer to your question - No, I don't need to know that Adam and
Eve are historical figures before I have any sense of my own sin and need
forgiveness. Having said that, nor do you need Jesus (otherwise most of the
people in the Old Testament couldn't have been saved) to have any sense of
your own sin and need of forgiveness.

However, if I am being intellectually honest, I struggle to read the
accounts of Adam and the references to him as anything but historical
references that have a direct implication on the whole bible itself. Given
this, do I have to believe Adam was a historical figure to trust the rest of
the bible? Yes, I do or I am being dishonest to myself (and therefore to
others). If I am wrong, God will forgive me for my honest mistakes but He
would, I believe, be most disappointed if I wasn't being honest.

I am still thinking about old and young earth histories and don't claim to
be an expert on any of the arguments used either way. However, here is
where I am in my thinking:

1. My main objection to a young earth is the starlight problem. The
only close explanation so far has been the Humphries' Starlight and Time
and, to be honest, this does seem to be choosing specific boundary
conditions to match one's need. Having said that, I don't think that the
human conception of (space)time is yet anywhere near the end of its own
evolution.

2. Evolution seems on shaky ground to me. The main thing is that it
seems to me that there is an overall trend of downward progression within
species. Mutations seem to lead from perfect to imperfect and the empirical
creationist information argument of 'show me one non-contentious counter
example' seems to be quite powerful. Sometimes you get new species in the
biological sense but this is humanly defined and may be within the same as
the kinds of the ark.

3. For me at least, when I started thinking about the possibility of it
actually being a young earth, the theology of the bible fell into place in a
way which it hadn't for me before.

I am, personally, very glad that issues such as this aren't essential to
salvation. I means that I can look at the available evidence and
philosophies, be true to what I find myself believing and still change my
mind should I be convinced otherwise. I do find such investigations help me
to focus on God and develop my relationship with Him.

I do realise that I am not saying anything that anybody here hasn't heard
before but, if I am to post messages to this list at all, I thought that it
would be nice for you to know a little bit about where I am.

In love, Guy
Received on Wed Feb 25 06:22:44 2004