RE: The puzzle of Adam

I would say that accountability comes with awareness of God's will - indicated in Gen.2 by the prohibition of the tree of knowledge. & before our ancestors were able to be aware of God's revelation (in whatever form it came) they weren't human _in a theological sense_.
 
rich:
They weren't human in a "human" sense either. They did not have free will, no self-consciousness.

george:
& yes, salvation is not return to a pre-fall paradisal state. We are to move forward - to "grow up into Christ" (Eph.4:15)
 
Shalom
George

rich:
Salvation is most certainly a return to Adam's pre-fall ontology. This is most clearly seen in the gospel of thomas when Jesus tells Mary Magdalene not to leave because he will make her male so she can enter the kingdom.
"For every woman who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven." last line of GofT

also:
"When Eve was still in Adam death did not exist. When she was separated from him, death came into being. If he enters again and attains his former self, death will be no more."
The Gospel of Philip, Nag Hammadi 68

"If he attains his former self" refers to a possible ontological return, not a chronological one.

male+female=pre-fall Adamic state

Let me ask a question. Do you restrict yourself to canonical texts when trying to flesh out religious ideas on this list? I use everything available that will shed light on the subject such as the talmud, the nag hammadi texts, the dead sea scrolls.

rich faussette
Received on Mon Nov 29 18:32:16 2004