Gordon said:* Wouldn't there be some
intermediate generations in which, unlike our present generation, not all
individuals would be descended from the particular individual you have
picked out to have the role of Adam?*
Yes, clearly. Which is why, if we are going to accept any sort of human
evolution, we would need a theology of original sin that doesn't depend on
direct biological descent. That is the sort of theological resource I'm
looking for. I'm also trying to understand historically how biological
descent became important in the tradition. In a way, this is similar to the
process of reasoning through the nature of "death" before the fall.
Here is a thought on the comment above: Abraham is the father of the nation
of Israel. Does that mean that only Abraham's direct biological descendants
are truly part of the nation? What about people who married into Israel --
for example, Moses' wife, Zipporah, who was a Midianite. Was Zipporah an
heir to the blessings of the covenant between God and Israel? I would think
she was. I suppose we could also extend this to all of us who are gentiles
and who have been ingrafted into Israel through faith in Christ. I don't
know exactly how this would relate to a theology of the imago Dei and
original sin, but it seems to suggest that biological descent alone doesn't
determine one's spiritual status. Anyway, I would love to see some
resources that discuss this in more detail.
On Nov 24, 2007 12:01 AM, gordon brown <gbrown@colorado.edu> wrote:
> On Fri, 23 Nov 2007, philtill@aol.com wrote:
>
> > Suppose a generation of humans fell into sin, rather than just one
> individual falling into sin.? Then, suppose we are all descended from just
> one of them.? Would that not qualify?
> >
>
> I am not sure where you are going with this. Wouldn't there be some
> intermediate generations in which, unlike our present generation, not all
> individuals would be descended from the particular individual you have
> picked out to have the role of Adam?
>
> Gordon Brown (ASA member)
>
>
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Received on Sat Nov 24 09:57:18 2007
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