Adam and Eve

[UsagiTsukino]

I mean what do we do with the fact there were pre-humans or something similar to humans before Adam and Eve? Like Homo habilis.I know Adam had Eve created from him with his rid cage or side since Tsela can be translated differently

[DBowling]

I mean what do we do with the fact there were pre-humans or something similar to humans before Adam and Eve? Like Homo habilis.I know Adam had Eve created from him with his rid cage or side since Tsela can be translated differently

It's not just pre-human hominids that existed before Adam and Eve.

Archaeology and genetics both tell us that biologically modern humans (species homo sapiens sapiens - ie us) existed 150,000 to 200,000 years before the Biblically established timeframe for Adam and Eve (5,000 - 6,000 BC).

The interesting thing here is that the Scriptural sequence of events in Genesis 1 and 2 is consistent with the premise that God created mankind (Genesis 1:26-27) sometime before the time of Adam and Eve (later in Genesis 2).

[Philip]

DB: Archaeology and genetics both tell us that biologically modern humans (species homo sapiens sapiens - ie us) existed 150,000 to 200,000 years before the Biblically established timeframe for Adam and Eve (5,000 - 6,000 BC).

The interesting thing here is that the Scriptural sequence of events in Genesis 1 and 2 is consistent with the premise that God created mankind (Genesis 1:26-27) sometime before the time of Adam and Eve (later in Genesis 2).

This all begs some interesting questions - the most curious of which is, when did sin enter the creation.

The passage SEEMS to indicate that Adam, at the time of Abel's killing, only had one offspring, which was Cain. True - obviously, not necessarily? Silence doesn't equal fact.

Then, after Cain is banished to wandering (Genesis 4): "14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

So, WHO, exactly, would Cain have feared might kill him, IF, at that time, there were yet no other men on the earth?

Genesis 4: "17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch."

Um, where did the wife come from - was she an unnamed sister (Incest not yet having been an established sin)? That's entirely possible.

Then, while Adam is still fathering children, in Genesis 4: "25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord."

Sometime after Abel's killing, the text APPEARS to indicate that God blessed Adam with a replacement for Abel, with Seth - and though it doesn't say so, it would appear that Seth would only have been Adam's third offspring And "people" began to call upon the Lord around the time of Seth - WHAT people? Just whatever offspring of Adam?

Romans 5: 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

The Apostle Paul indicates sin AND thus death came into the world through just one man (Adam). And he says sin was not counted where there was NO law - but this can't be the Law of Moses - because, clearly, God was giving instructions to Adam's line and noting sin well before Moses' time - and from the time of Adam's creation. And so why does Paul frame the time death reigned - which was tied to sin - to within a specific time frame (Adam to Moses)? So WHAT men would sin not have been counted toward (as in a time where there were yet no laws of God - presumably, from the time of Adam?) - and why even note that if there was NEVER a time in which men didn't have ANY instructions (laws) of God?

I know many of these have been mentioned on the forum long ago - but it's good to refresh some of these questions for those not around long.

[DBowling]

DB: Archaeology and genetics both tell us that biologically modern humans (species homo sapiens sapiens - ie us) existed 150,000 to 200,000 years before the Biblically established timeframe for Adam and Eve (5,000 - 6,000 BC).

The interesting thing here is that the Scriptural sequence of events in Genesis 1 and 2 is consistent with the premise that God created mankind (Genesis 1:26-27) sometime before the time of Adam and Eve (later in Genesis 2).

This all begs some interesting questions - the most curious of which is, when did sin enter the creation.

I think I have shared my thoughts on this before.
Romans 5:12 is pretty clear on this, sin entered the human world through Adam.
Adam was the first human to disobey a command/law from God and sin, therefore sin entered the world of humanity through Adam.

I agree with many of the thoughts you shared in your post.

[Philip]

DB: I agree with many of the thoughts you shared in your post.

It's interesting how many Christians have never thought about this issue, in the context of modern scientific analysis - apparently without being aware of the discrepancy (between the wide number of ancient dates given for modern man and for the time frames posited for Adam). Or if one notes that there may have been humans prior to Adam, many Christians will think you are bringing up heresy. And yet heresy would only be where one is denying the truth of Scripture - as opposed to merely questioning what might ALSO be true in ADDITION in places where the text is silent. But I always refer back to Romans 1, which tells us that the Creation itself (which is exactly what science studies and knows more and more about every year) is ALSO (in ADDITION to Scripture) a powerful testimony to God and His existence - so much so that Paul says unbelievers will have NO excuse before God upon judgment - AS IF they had no previous understanding that He existed. And in that same passage - not one word about such unbelievers being condemned because they rejected Jesus (it doesn't even mention Jesus). So rejecting the testimony God has given EVERYONE of Himself through the Creation alone is enough to eternally condemn them, as God sees that as a denial of Himself!

[DBowling]

Here's an interesting article I recently came across that is relevant to the topic at hand.

First Human or First King? The Introduction of Adam in the Eden Narrative
https://biologos.org/articles/first-hum ... -narrative

I'm still mulling it over, but I figured I'd throw it out there and see what you all think.

[UsagiTsukino]

So what is the Garden of Eden suppose to be?The new start of humanity?

[DBowling]

So what is the Garden of Eden suppose to be?The new start of humanity?

When God decided it was time to enter into personal relationship with his image bearers he chose the Garden of Eden to be the sacred space where God would dwell with man.
As NT Wright points out, heaven and earth intersected in the Garden. The Garden of Eden acts as a template of sorts for the future New Heaven/New Earth that we see in Rev 21 when Heaven and Earth come together fully in the final eternal state.

From an ANE perspective, the Garden acts as a Temple with Adam and Eve functioning as priests.
In the Old Testament, the Garden, the Tabernacle, and the Temple were the sacred space where heaven intersected earth and God chose to dwell with man.
In Acts 2 God changed his dwelling place to mankind itself when he sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within his followers, so that those who put their faith and trust in Jesus become the "temple of the Holy Spirit".

When Christ returns, the template that was first established in the Garden of Eden, will extend to all creation. Heaven and Earth will come together, creation will cease its groaning, and God will come to dwell with his image bearers in the eternal state.

[UsagiTsukino]

One of the thing is the fact many think age technlogy lies that they are just made to look that way. Or these aren't humans rather something else. So why all this confusing? We are able to accept many other things