>I caught the last of an interesting discussion from Russ about the de novo
>creation of Adam. I agree with Russ entirely, for hermeneutical reasons.
Since you did not mention those hermeneutical reasons, and Russ has
apparently chosen not to post his views nor forward me the posts he said he
would, it is hard for me to see any reasoning behind the de novo creation of
Adam. I simply don't see that as a requirement. He may have been created de
novo, but it does not appear to be a necessity. And no one has given any
reasons why it is a necessity.
I decided that maybe I had better look up de novo. I found out I had a
slight misunderstanding of de novo. My dictionary, an unabridged one, says it
means "anew, once more, again."
So I went to my Cassell's Latin dictionary, and found Novo means "to make
new, renew"
Neither of these definitions seems to rule out my view of how Adam and Eve
were created. Russ had suggested that my view was ruled out because we must
hold firm to a de novo creation of Adam and Eve. My view is that Adam was a
product of a chromosomal mutation and didn't survive the deformity. God took
him, fixed him up and made him anew. (de novo according to my dictionary).
Adam being the sole survivor had no mate, necessitating the surgical
creation of Eve.
Unless I am missing some specialized philosophical use of de novo, I fail to
see why my view does not match Russ's requirement.
So Russ, and Jim, why does making Adam anew (de novo), in the way I
suggested, rule out my view?
Russ, were you meaning ex nihilo? The Bible says God made Adam from the
dust of the ground, but does not define what that the chemical composition of
that dust was. A dead body is not much more than dust. But having dust as
the antecedent to Adam rules out ex nihilo. And Eve was made from Adam, once
again, ruling out ex nihilo.
I must confess to being confused as to what standard my view is being held up
to. Or is it that my view is different and we must find some reason to reject
it? I admit that it is different, but it most assuredly fits a de novo
creation of Adam and Eve as well.
glenn