Re: The puzzle of Adam

----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Perrett" <donperrett@genesisproclaimed.org>
To: "George Murphy" <gmurphy@raex.com>
Cc: "ASA Discussions" <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 4:20 AM
Subject: RE: The puzzle of Adam

> George wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> On the general issue: Certainly the Urzeit-Endzeit theme is used in some
> places but never just in its simplistic form. E.g., in Revelation there
> is
> the tree of life but it's in the middle of a _city_, not the garden of the
> Urzeit. NT eschatology in general is forward looking - "Behold I make all
> things new." Creation is not only by Christ but _for_Christ
> (Col.1:15-20).
> He is the purpose of creation (Eph.1:10), not "Adam."
>
> Shalom
> George
> http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
>
> Don P:
> Good points. While I agree with your citations and view on this, but is
> it
> not safe to say that pychologically, and spiritually, the end result would
> still be one in which we have access to the "tree of life", live in
> harmony
> with God's creation, live in and for his grace, and do according to his
> will
> as we were to have done prior to the fall? And if so, then we are going
> back in a sense, not by going backwards in direction, but rather by going
> forward and completing the circle (cycle) that was pre-designed by God.
> As
> we know, He knows all and I'm sure that he knew/knows we would fall and
> that
> we would need his salvation.

Certainly we should expect that the ultimate future which God intends for
creation will have some of the features indicated (in quite sketchy fashion)
in the stories of creation. But my point is that it will contain much more
than that - all the good that has been accomplished in history. "They will
bring into it [the holy city] the glory and the honor of the nations."

In addition -
    1) The fact that the descriptions of an originally paradisal state in
the Bible _are_ very sketchy, and many features of a blessed initial state
that Christians have accepted in the past have been read into, rather than
out of, scripture.
    2) Given what we know of evolutionary history, we really have to wonder
whether or not anything like an initially perfect state of harmony, peace &c
ever existed. Of course this just returns us to the much-discussed question
of whether or not - or to what extent - the Genesis accounts are to be read
as historical narrative.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
Received on Sat Dec 4 17:20:07 2004