I think it's worthwhile to discuss them.
Rich recently put up this article regarding Adam's creation and immortality.
What do you think?
Any Old Earther's uncomfortable with this or disagree with it and why?
(note: I removed the footnote numbers from inside the text. Please link to original article to see supporting materials.)
http://www.godandscience.org/youngearth ... ortal.html
Introduction
Adam Created Immortal?
Young earth creationists claim that Adam was created as an immortal being. There are scientific as well as biblical problems with this idea. If Adam were created immortal before he sinned, then what was the purpose of the tree of life? Rich Deem
Young earth creationists say that Adam was created as an immortal being and that his sin resulted in the initiation of his death and the death of every other living thing. What does the Bible say about the idea that Adam was once immortal?
Scientific objections
The idea that Adam was immortal is easily contradicted by the laws of the universe. The second law of thermodynamics (entropy) says that all living things in this universe (including the entire universe itself) will eventually die due to increasing disorder and dissipation of heat. Simply put, the second law of thermodynamics states that heat flows from hot bodies to cold bodies. This law affects virtually everything that happens in our universe. It allows the Sun to shine and warm the Earth. It has also been called the law of decay, since it addresses the "decay" of the universe. Since all heat flows from hot bodies to cold bodies, the logical end result will be that at some point the entire universe will have the same temperature ("cold death").
It might be proposed that the laws of the universe were different at the time Adam was created. In fact, young earth creationists used to claim that the second law of thermodynamics did not begin until after Adam sinned. This idea has been rejected by at least one major young earth ministry, although another biblically unsupported doctrine has replaced it. However, the Bible clearly states that entropy began well before the fall of mankind. Stars cannot shine (Genesis 1:31), animals move (Genesis 1:202), etc. if the second law was not in effect. So, the Bible directly contradicts the idea that the laws of physics were vastly different before Adam sinned. Therefore, we know that Adam was not created as physically immortal.
Scriptural objections
The scriptural objections to the idea that Adam was created immortal are actually stronger than the scientific objections.
First, before Adam sinned, God warned him not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the warning, God told Adam that "in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die." However, not too long after, Adam did eat the fruit, but did not die that day, but lived until the age of 930 years. Either the death God was referring to was not physical death or the "day" God referred to was hundreds of years long. Since young earth creationists claim that the Hebrew word for "day" never refers to a long period of time, we shall assume that the death referred to in Genesis 2:16 was spiritual death and not physical death. Therefore, Adam died spiritually when he sinned, although his body continued to live for hundreds of years more.
The second problem for young earth creationists is what to do with God being so worried about Adam eating from the tree of life that He posted the cherubim with the flaming sword to block the way to the tree of life. If Adam already had eternal life then God wouldn't have cared that he would eat of the tree of life. It only makes sense if God did not want Adam to live eternally, since he had already died spiritually.
Conclusion: Two lines of evidence suggest that Adam was not created as an immortal being. First, immortality is not possible in this universe, since the universe itself will eventually die without God's intervention. The second law of thermodynamics (entropy) guarantees that physical beings cannot live eternally. This is why those who go to heaven will eat of the tree of life, and be given spiritual bodies in the place of physical bodies.8 Second, the Bible indicates that Adam died spiritually the day he sinned. If he would have eaten from the tree of life, he would have lived eternally, though spiritually dead. This is why God went to such great lengths to keep Adam from the tree of life after he had sinned.
