[asa] Neo-orthodox and Traditional views of the fall

What are the key dividing lines between views of the Fall that are
"neo-orthodox" as opposed to traditional (or whatever term would be
appropriate in contrast to "liberal" or "neoorthodox")?

My understanding is that neo-orthodoxy views the Fall as entirely
non-historical, a story of "everyman."

The traditional view, I suppose, is that the Fall was truly cosmic -- the
entire creation, and particularly the earth, were dramatically changed at
the fall.

The prevailing contemporary concordist view among mainstream (non-YEC)
evangelical theologians seems to be that the fall was not truly cosmic, but
that it was a historical event that had some physical consequences, most
notably in the death of humans, who before the fall were either immortal or
conditionally immortal (naturally mortal but potentially immortal through
direct action by God, eating from the tree of life, or some other means).

However, it seems that many contemporary evangelicals blend concordist and
neo-orthodox themes. For example, some hold that the Fall was historical in
the sense of some real primordial individual or group of human individuals
having the opportunity to follow or rebel against God, but with the
consequences of the choice to rebel being primarily relational -- a loss of
fellowship with God, others, and creation -- rather than physical. Among
this group, the degree of literalness with which the Fall narrative is taken
seem to differ -- some posit a real paradisaical garden with two specially
selected / created representatives, while others suggest a primarily
spiritual interpretation of the first couple / garden / tree / snake
themes.

So where does this latter group fit? In a broader sense, are there aspects
of evangelical theology that have moved beyond the "neo-orthodox" /
"traditional" divide? Is this where some "post-liberal" or
"post-conservative" evangelicals would fit? Who are some representative
authors, outside the origins question, in this middle ground, if it exists?

-- 
David W. Opderbeck
Associate Professor of Law
Seton Hall University Law School
Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology
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