The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about Human Origins
By Peter Enns
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About this ebook
Can Christianity and evolution coexist? Traditional Christian teaching presents Jesus as reversing the effects of the Fall of Adam. However, an evolutionary view of beginnings doesn't allow for a historical Adam, making evolution seemingly incompatible with what Genesis and the apostle Paul say about him. For Christians who accept evolution and want to take the Bible seriously, this presents a faith-shaking tension.
Peter Enns, an expert in biblical interpretation, offers a way forward by explaining how this tension is caused not by the discoveries of science but by false expectations about the biblical texts. Focusing on key biblical passages in the discussion, Enns demonstrates that the author of Genesis and the apostle Paul wrote to ask and answer ancient questions for ancient people; the fact that they both speak of Adam does not determine whether Christians can accept evolution. This thought-provoking book helps readers reconcile the teachings of the Bible with the widely held evolutionary view of beginnings and will appeal to anyone interested in the Christianity-evolution debate.
Peter Enns
Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is the Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, St. David’s, Pennsylvania. He has also taught courses at Harvard University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the host of The Bible for Normal People podcast, a frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias, and the author of several books, including The Sin of Certainty, The Bible Tells Me So, and Inspiration and Incarnation. He lives in northern New Jersey.
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Reviews for The Evolution of Adam
32 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A well drafted synopsis of what the Bible does and does not say about Adam and human origins. Peter Enns skillfully crafts arguments on how Christians should be reading the creation story, backed up by legitimate scholarly insight into culture and time. Readers of Enns other works will find the arguments outlined in this book to be familiar and inline with his other books.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bible is replete with parables, metaphors, and symbolic language. It should be no surprise to us (and it is certainly no cause for alarm) that the creation stories were not intended to be taken literally. The use of mythology implies neither a misunderstanding of reality nor an attempt to deceive. It was simply a literary device intended to convey important (but in some regards complex, particularly for ancient populations) concepts regarding God's sovereignty and humankind's relationship to Him and His creation.Now, with the skill and depth of knowledge afforded a world-renowned Bible scholar, Dr. Peter Enns has courageously and convincingly explained why we need not understand the Bible's creation stories to be a literal history of events for them to be valid and important. Indeed, the creation stories, along with the entire book of Genesis, establish the foundation for all that follows in the Bible. Dr. Enns provides a detailed account of the historical context within which these essential Scriptures were recorded and how they, through the work of the Apostle Paul, affect the very foundational principles of Christianity.For anyone wishing to better understand the history, the literary character, and ultimately the relevance of Biblical Scripture to Christianity and to the entire world, Dr. Peter Enns' The Evolution of Adam is a must read.Bruce Glass--author of Exploring Faith and Reason: The Reconciliation of Christianity and Biological Evolution
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5God created Adam in the image of God, as a full grown human male on the 6th day of creation. Then, Adam named the animals, so he wasn't an animal. Genesis 1 completely contradicts the "Theory" of evolution. They cannot coexist.