Re: [asa] Does ASA believe in Adam and Eve?

Hi Dave, you wrote:

Since Isaac de la Peyrere was thoroughly familiar with the Bible, he
must have known about Mesopotamia. He would not have any knowledge of
the pagan myths from the area, for their discovery and decipherment came
much later. But the geography is noted in a number of works that were
known, whether from pagan Greek and Roman sources, or later Christian
sources. There were sees throughout the ancient Near East.

I read his entire book in the Library of Congress on film. I saw
nothing to indicate he had any awareness of the part Mesopotamia played
in early Genesis. Still the absence of evidence is not the evidence of
absence.

I understand that Genesis 1 messes up the simplicity of your approach,
for it cannot be honestly manipulated to avoid ridiculous consequences.
I recall the notion of an icy canopy that Glenn destroyed, and the
attempt to make the firmament simultaneously into space and atmosphere.
Water above the sun is a major problem. You try to get out of the
problem by claiming that Mesopotamian sources were not of one piece.

Genesis 1 appears to come from another source. I'm certainly not the
first to point that out. And hey, they found water on Mars! Does that
count?

But the king lists which have a few individuals reigning for something
between 186,000 and 456.000 years, depending on which list is consulted,
suggest a lack of history. Sounds like one piece to me. However,
Adama-Adapu being a fisherman rather than a farmer is interesting.

Sumerian years aren't easily reconcilable with Hebrew years. Still the
Sumerian king lists become more like Genesis 5 before "the flood swept
thereover." Compare Enmenduranki - Ubartutu - Sukurlam and Ziusudra
with Enoch - Methuselah - Lamech and Noah. From other sources we can
confirm a father and son relationship for the last three on the king
list which strengthens the case that at least the last three are the
same persons.

Actually, Adapa was a baker. "With the bakers of Eridu he does the
baking." Remember in Genesis it says "in the sweat of your face you
will eat bread." Although Adapa was in a fishing accident according to
the legend, that highlights his location at Eridu beside the Persian
Gulf. When Eridu was excavated in addition to a copious amount of fish
bones they found a small altar at the bottom on virgin soil. It's the
oldest altar in Mesopotamia dated to the 5th millennium. There's a
picture of it in a 1948 issue of The Illustrated London News and in my
book. I think there is a distinct possibility Adam himself may have
built the altar and worshipped there.

Dick Fischer

Dick Fischer, Genesis Proclaimed Association

Finding Harmony in Bible, Science, and History

 <http://www.genesisproclaimed.org> www.genesisproclaimed.org

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Received on Sat Mar 31 11:49:10 2007