LESSON 3: WHY DO ADAM AND EVE MATTER?
Is Genesis History?
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| CREDIT Photos:
Illustrations - Is Genesis History?
Original illustrations from the documentary film "Is Genesis History?" https://www.flickr.com/photos/compasscinema/sets/72157678045709095/with/31712911366/ |
Scripture Selection: Genesis 1.26-32; Matt. 19.3-9; Romans 5.12-17
Video: https://vimeo.com/198226057
Speakers: Dr. Del Tackett and Dr. George Grant, Pastor.
We took a family trip to Williamsburg, Virginia last summer. As we toured the town, we heard how the people of the Colonial Era changed history.
But how we can be sure Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson were real? None of us have met them. Couldn't they have been made up to fulfill a patriotic function? Does it matter?
There are two good reasons we know they were real. First, there are reliable historical accounts. Second, we can see the results of their actions in our world today.
Adam and eve are no different. Some people say, however, that they were made up to serve a theological function. They want to replace the history recorded in the Bible with a different history, one that says "Adam" and "Eve" represent our first human-like ancestors that lived millions of years ago.
Saying this is like denying the reality of our Founding Fathers. Adam and Eve are essential for understanding the history of the world. Without them, there can be no history.
In his gospel, Luke traces Jesus' genealogy to Adam. He then says Jesus went into the desert to be tempted by Satan, the same spiritual being who tempted Adam thousands of years before.
The apostle Paul makes the same comparison in Romans. Adam brought death into the world; Jesus brought life. In fact, Jesus came to save us because of what Adam did.
When Paul is in Athens, he explains that all people are descended from one man. When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he says marriage goes back to the first couple. And when Paul talks about roles in the church, He refers to the first temptation.
This is a very different history than the evolutionary history of the world. Those who seek to merge them have to deny aspects essential to each.
Charles Darwin understood this. One os his friends living in the United States wanted to create something called 'theistic evolution'. Darwin thought this was a strange idea; the whole purpose of his theory was to replace the history recorded in Genesis.
Darwin, of course, was not the first person to re-interpret the physical world according to his own views. Adam and Eve to do so, too. We are still living with the consequences.
REFLECTION:
How does reality of Adam and Eve impact your life today?
We took a family trip to Williamsburg, Virginia last summer. As we toured the town, we heard how the people of the Colonial Era changed history.
But how we can be sure Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson were real? None of us have met them. Couldn't they have been made up to fulfill a patriotic function? Does it matter?
There are two good reasons we know they were real. First, there are reliable historical accounts. Second, we can see the results of their actions in our world today.
Adam and eve are no different. Some people say, however, that they were made up to serve a theological function. They want to replace the history recorded in the Bible with a different history, one that says "Adam" and "Eve" represent our first human-like ancestors that lived millions of years ago.Saying this is like denying the reality of our Founding Fathers. Adam and Eve are essential for understanding the history of the world. Without them, there can be no history.
In his gospel, Luke traces Jesus' genealogy to Adam. He then says Jesus went into the desert to be tempted by Satan, the same spiritual being who tempted Adam thousands of years before.
The apostle Paul makes the same comparison in Romans. Adam brought death into the world; Jesus brought life. In fact, Jesus came to save us because of what Adam did.
When Paul is in Athens, he explains that all people are descended from one man. When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he says marriage goes back to the first couple. And when Paul talks about roles in the church, He refers to the first temptation.
This is a very different history than the evolutionary history of the world. Those who seek to merge them have to deny aspects essential to each.Charles Darwin understood this. One os his friends living in the United States wanted to create something called 'theistic evolution'. Darwin thought this was a strange idea; the whole purpose of his theory was to replace the history recorded in Genesis.
Darwin, of course, was not the first person to re-interpret the physical world according to his own views. Adam and Eve to do so, too. We are still living with the consequences.
REFLECTION:
How does reality of Adam and Eve impact your life today?
