From: George Murphy (gmurphy@raex.com)
Date: Mon Oct 06 2003 - 14:57:46 EDT
Alexanian, Moorad wrote:
>
> George, I am not sure I understand. If man had not fallen, we would
> still be "walking in the garden in the cool of the day (with God)."
> There would be no need for the Incarnation since God was already here
> with us!
You are begging the question by assuming that at the very beginning of creation
humanity had already been brought to complete union with God. Scripture never says
this. Your quotation marks above are misleading, for the phrase "walking in the garden
in the cool of the day" refers to _God_, not to the man & woman walking with God. In
fact, Genesis does not ever speak of the man &/or woman walking in the garden with God.
Of course I am being very literal here but that is necessary if you are going to
interpret Genesis 2 as literal history (which I would not do).
The command in Genesis 1:28 for humanity to "be fruitful and multiply, and fill
the earth and subdue it" clearly looks ahead to a temporal process which humanity is to
be involved in in the world. It is not a call just to stroll in a localized garden.
There is plenty of indication in scripture that God's plan for creation is not
something realized all in one instant at the beginning, but something toward which
creation was to progress. Ephesians 1:10 speaks of God's "plan for the fullness of time
(N.B.), to gather up all things in him [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth."
One might argue that the Incarnation would have taken place differently, without
a state of humiliation, if sin had not entered the world. But in a fully evolutionary
creation, the possibility of sin _not_ entering seems remote. It wouldn't have taken
much in the way of divine foreknowledge for God to know that creating a world & an
intelligent species in this way would involve sin, & thus the need for salvation. & so
Revelation 13:8 speaks of "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
Shalom,
George
George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
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