Adam and Eve: Real or Imaginary
by William A. PowellCommander, Retired, United States Navy
FACT # 1: If Adam and Eve were not the first human beings, the Bible cannot be trusted! Some serious questions are being asked about Adam and Eve. Answers to these questions are far more important than most people imagine!
(1) Were Adam and Eve the first human beings? (2) Did Adam and Eve give birth to the first human babies? (3) Did God inspire every word of the Bible? (4) Is the Bible perfect and without error? (5) Are Adam and Eve only imaginary people, or are they representatives of human beings as evolution teaches? (6) Is what the Bible says about Adam and Eve only myth, folklore, idea, theory, or parable as the liberals teach? (7) What difference does it make whether they were actual historical persons? Why is any one couple so important? (8) Why is it so important to believe Adam and Eve were the first human beings and that they gave birth to the first human babies? Why all of this attention being given to Adam and Eve? (9) Is it possible to believe that Adam and Eve were created as the Bible teaches and also believe they were only representatives of the beginnings of the human race as evolution teaches? (10) Is it possible to believe in creation and evolution both? (11) Is it possible to believe both evolution and the Bible? (12) Is it possible to believe theistic evolution and the Bible? (13) If we believe there are no errors in the Bible, can we be loyal to the Bible and support ministers, teachers, and writers who deny Adam and Eve were the first human beings?
These are the questions brought about by the spread of modern critical thought.
FACT # 2: The Bible is the only reliable source for facts. The first and primary source of information for answers to these questions is the Bible. Consider very specific teachings of the Bible. "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them" (Gen. 1:27; see also Ge. 2:7,18-23; 3:20-21; 4:1-25; 5:1-5). It is obvious that the Bible teaches a literal creation.
FACT # 3: Adam is mentioned by name 30 times in the Bible. Adam is mentioned by name at least 18 times in the first five chapters of the Bible. He is mentioned in at least four books of the Old Testament. Ge. 2- 4; De. 32:8; 1 Ch. 1:1; and Job 31:33. Adam is mentioned in five books of the New Testament: Lk. 3:38; Ro. 5:14; 1 Co. 15:22; 1 Co. 15:45; 1 Ti. 2:13-14; and Jude 14. The Bible mentions Adam by name at least 30 times in nine different books. Therefore, no one who believes the Bible is infallible can doubt that Adam and Eve were created as the first human beings by a special act of God.
The first five chapters of the Bible give great attention to make it very clear that Adam and Eve were the first human beings and that they gave birth to the first human babies. Thus, if Adam and Eve were not the first human beings, the first five chapters of the Bible cannot be trusted. In fact the Bible would be telling things that were absolutely not true if Adam and Eve were not the first human beings. If you read a secular history book that taught things in the first five chapters that were definitely not true, you would not have any reason to believe the other things that book taught in later chapters.
Evolution denies that Adam and Eve were created by God. There are very few persons other than Adam who are named 30 times in the Bible, yet, evolution teaches mankind descended from some kind of an animal.
FACT # 4: To deny Adam is to deny Jesus Christ. The third chapter of Luke lists the genealogy of Jesus beginning in verse 23. It traces Jesus through history to show that His humanity came from Adam. This genealogy covers 16 verses and goes back to Adam as seen in verse 38: "And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the Son of Joseph ... Noe ... Lamech ... Mathusala ... Enoch ... Jared ... Maleleel ... Cainan ... Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God" (Lk. 3:23-38).
The N.T. speaks of Jesus and Adam in a simple but very significant comparison. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Co. 15:22). Paul speaks of Adam, the first man, as being given a natural human body, and of Jesus being much more than Adam for He was a life-giving Spirit. "And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit" (1 Co. 15:45).
FACT # 5: The Bible and evolution are in direct contradiction.
The Bible is conclusive. If you believe the Bible you must recognize that Adam and Eve were the first human beings and that they gave birth to the first human babies simply because the Bible clearly and emphatically teaches it. Evolutionists and others who deny parts of the Bible say that Adam was not a real person but simply represents mankind. But Ge. 5:5 says that Adam lived 930 years and then Adam died! If Adam only represented mankind, what happened to mankind after Adam died!
On the other hand, evolution emphatically denies the Bible's teaching about Adam and Eve and their children. Evolutionists have many different theories and some of their theories are very weird. There's only one thing that all evolutionists agree upon and that is that the Bible is absolutely wrong about Adam and Eve and the way they were created, and therefore you cannot trust the Bible. To accept evolution is to deny the Bible.
FACT # 6: Theistic evolution is a biblical impossibility. Some persons today say they believe in theistic evolution. This is the false teaching that God created mankind by some long drawn out process of evolution. In other words--evolution was the method God used to create mankind. The Bible says that God created Adam out of the dust of the earth, and that Eve was created from a rib taken out of Adam's side. The Bible does not say how long it took God to create Adam, but it does not seem that it would take a long time to create him out of the dust of the earth. It is an act of God's creation, not a process of evolution spread out over many thousands or millions of years. The Bible clearly teaches that God, in a brief simple surgical procedure, removed a rib from Adam and created Eve. Surely, this surgical operation did not require many thousands or millions of years. And we know that Eve gave birth to the first human baby. This first mother's name was given "Eve" because she was the mother of all living (Ge. 3:20).
The reason that it is so important to believe that Adam and Eve were the first parents is that the Bible clearly and emphatically teaches it. If you do not believe that, how can you know what else is false in the Bible? Therefore, anyone who cannot believe that Adam and Eve were the first human beings and that they gave birth to the first human babies absolutely denies parts of the Bible. And if there are any errors in the Bible, who will know and how will they know what parts of the Bible are true and what parts are false? Every person who believes in evolution or in theistic evolution denies parts of the the Bible and makes a liar out of God and all those who do believe the Bible.
Theistic evolution is commonly believed among Christian teachers. A large number of ministers and teachers in colleges and seminaries and writers of Christian literature believe in evolution or in theistic evolution and do not believe what the Bible says.
One simple way to help find out if a person believes the Bible is to show him all of these Bible verses about the first family, then ask if he believes in the Bible or in evolution or theistic evolution. Anyone who says that he believes the Bible AND evolution or theistic evolution is either misinformed, uninformed, dishonest, or attempting to conceal his lack of faith in the Bible with some good-sounding phrases.
When you ask your pastor, leader, Bible college or seminary professor, or the person teaching your youth in the church or classroom the first four questions on page one, don't be surprised if they try to evade the question or beat around the bush. If they do not answer these first four questions with a solid "Yes," watch out! Try it. It's amazing the way some people will try to avoid a direct answer to these first four questions. Just one error in the Bible is too many. For, if there is one error, there may be many errors, then who will decide where the errors are?
I made more than 500 dives on my submarine while I was in the Navy, but I'll never forget one dive! No one on that dive will ever forget it! It was December 3, 1945, in the freezing North Atlantic on the USS Pomodon (SS- 486). We had watched and examined as they built the submarine. We especially watched for a leak. The day came for us to "take her down." We went down very slowly, constantly looking for a leak! It was a very tense day, for our lives were at stake. We didn't think there were any leaks, but we could not be sure. We went deeper and stayed longer than any dive I ever made. Finally the Captain made a decision and got the microphone. He said, "This sub is okay; not one leak; let's surface!" I have never known a submarine sailor who would go down on a submarine that had just "one leak." You see, just one leak is too many for a submarine. [And just one error is too many for the Bible, God's holy infallible Word!
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