This week we feature the third clip from the upcoming documentary “From the Dust”, directed by filmmaker Ryan Pettey. It is our sincere hope that, above all else, the film can become a focal point for some of the big questions that inevitably arise at the intersection of science and faith. We believe Ryan's work will inform faith and enrich discussion, and we feel that this week’s topic, the Fall, is of particular importance for Christians as we think through the ramifications of creation by evolutionary mechanisms.

To help foster such dialogue, we are once again including several discussion questions with this week’s clip. In the transcript below, you’ll find several prompts that are meant to help viewers dig deeper into the material being presented. Mouse over each highlighted region and a question will appear on the side. We encourage you to watch this video with your friends, your churches, your small groups and Sunday School classes, your pastors -- or anyone else for that matter – and take some time to discuss what is being said (and maybe even what isn’t). You may not all agree, but you will find yourselves engaged in fruitful and spirited conversation. And it is this kind of conversation that will help move the science and faith discussion forward.

The provided questions are just a few of the discussion questions that go with this transcript, and we'd be happy to send them to you to foster further conversation within your church or small group setting. If you’d like to see the questions, or if you have stories from your own small group discussions about the clip, we would love to hear from you at info@biologos.org.

Editor's Note: The full documentary is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. You can order the film here, and learn more about the project here.

“The Fall” Transcript

Dr. Jeff Schloss: “My friends and colleagues, who have concerns about evolutionary theory for theological reasons, are onto something, and one of them involves the Fall, the nature of the Fall, what it is. Even if it is a metaphor, it is a metaphor for something, and what is that something? And how would we make sense of that something in light of evolutionary theory? The other issue on this has been probably the most serious issue that not only Christians, but all theists who believe in a good and providential God have wrestled with, it is the problem of natural evil.”

Reverend Dr. Michael Lloyd: “The problem of evil is a real problem to religious faith. It was certainly the thing for Darwin himself. That is what made him question his faith, and I think rightly so. It does not look like the sort of system that a good and loving and benevolent God would have set up. Now, obviously that raises huge questions because we don’t see any evidence of a world that was harmonious. We only see evidence of a world that was at war with itself, and that obviously is the problem that Christian theologians face. For a long time I used to believe that the Genesis narratives paint a picture of a world completely at peace, completely harmonious until the human fall, and then something goes wrong. When I began to look at it more closely, I began to think that there is more to it than that. There is evidence from the text that things are already dislocated, already out of joint. For one thing, there is the serpent, and however you interpret the serpent, here is a bit of the created order that is actively talking against God, working against God—so there is already something that has gone wrong. Secondly, there is the command to fill the earth and subdue it. There is the suggestion that something needs to be subdued, something is not quite right that needs to be put right and humans beings are called to do that—to put it right. And thirdly, it is a garden. It is almost as if God has said, ‘Here is a little bit I have done for you, here is a little bit of order and harmony that I have done for you. Now you go and spread that order and that harmony throughout the rest of creation.’ The tragedy is, of course, that human beings don’t do that. Rather than put that right, they make it worse.”

Dr. Alister McGrath: “Clearly Scripture distinguishes humanity from the rest of creation by this idea of the image of God. And that is understood in a number of ways—one of which is relational. Human beings have this God-given capacity to be able to relate to God, which is simply not there for the rest of creation. How do we understand that phrase: the image of God? If we accept the narrative of biological evolution, we have to say that at some point humanity became sufficiently distinguished from the rest of the natural world to be able to have this relationship with God.”

Reverend Dr. Michael Lloyd: “If you have a very finely graded gas tap and you begin to turn it on, initially, there is not enough gas in the air for the gas to ignite. So, you turn it up some more, still nothing, a bit more, still nothing, and a bit more, still nothing. At a particular point, there will be enough gas to air ratio for the thing to ignite. So, you can have a completely smooth, upward development, and yet, you can have something decisive happening at a particular moment. You get an increase in that moral capacity and moral awareness; you get an increase in their relational ability, in their social ability. You get an increase in their tool-making ability. You get an increase in their language. At a particular point there is enough of all that. There is enough relational capacity; there is enough social capacity and moral awareness and spiritual awareness for God to deal with us in a new way: ‘They have enough creativity to reflect the fact that I am the creator. They have enough relational capacity to reflect the fact that I am love. This in some way reflects who I am, and I will stamp my image upon them.’”

Reverend Dr. John Polkinghorne: “As hominids evolved and became more complex, then self-consciousness, in the sense of projecting our minds into the remote future or past began to dawn in them. And that didn’t bring biological death into the world, because obviously it had been there for millions of years beforehand, but it brought into the world what you might call mortality. Because our ancestors were self-conscious, they knew they were going to die. Because they had turned away from God, they had alienated themselves to the only one who was the ground for the hope of a destiny beyond death. And so, mortality, meaning the sadness, the human sadness at transiency and decay dawned in human life. Another very subtle feature of the Genesis 3 story is that it is a fall upwards as people would sometimes say. It is the gaining of some knowledge, the knowledge of good and evil, the story says. And so, the dawning of self-consciousness is also the gaining of something that wasn’t there before. What the serpent whispers in Eve’s ear is, ‘eat this fruit, and you will be like God. You won’t need God anymore. You can do it yourself.’ That is the fundamental sin, the fundamental mistake in human life is believing that we can do it on our own, doing it my way, and spiritual death is to deliberately and persistently cut yourself off from that. It doesn’t occur as an angry God giving you a punishment for not falling into line. It is simply that you have punished yourself. You know, preachers sometimes say that the gates of hell are locked from the inside not to keep the creatures in, but to keep God out. And that, I think in the end, is what spiritual death is if you persist in it. But God is always, I am sure, at work, seeking to draw people back into the divine love. I think that is the work that is necessary to understand what Paul is getting at in Romans 5 when he says that death came into the world through one man. The cost of development is a degree of precariousness. The people need the grace of God if we truly are to live fulfilling lives.”

Dr. Thompson responded that while the essence of Sin is ultimately mysterious, he suggests that there are some ways to think about Sin in the language of interpersonal neurobiology.

On the other hand, Dr. Smith found the wisdom of St. Augustine in The Confessions quite helpful—The essence of Sin is loving the wrong things in the wrong ways. It’s a disordered love.

We need to have an account of Sin in terms of habit. A lot of Christians today think of “sins” and discreet choices, but historically Christians have thought of Sin as a habitual tendency and disordering. It is formed over time—that’s what a vice is. Virtue and sanctification require ongoing re-habituation, a counter-formation of our inclinations.

Dr. Thompson followed up with a reference to Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers and noted that people who are really good at what they do generally acquire it through lots of practice. Thompson then asked the audience, “How are we, in an embodied way, going to practice Christianity for 10,000 hours?”

We hope you have enjoyed this video series. If you'd like to learn more, we encourage you to read Curt Thompson's The Anatomy of the Soul and James K.A. Smith's Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. Dr. Smith also has a new book coming out this winter entitled Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works. ]]> Fri, 05 Oct 12 04:00:00 -0700 Curt Thompson, Smith, James K.A. http://biologos.org/blog/the-fall?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication http://biologos.org/blog/the-fall?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication The lyrics begin by painting a picture of the Fall as something in which each person has participated: “The fruit (of the Fall of man) is seen in every eye and every hand.”

The song entitled “The Fall” by Gungor is from the artists’ latest album Ghosts Upon the Earth. The lyrics begin by painting a picture of the Fall as something in which each person has participated as indicated by the assertion that “the fruit (of the Fall of man) is seen in every eye and every hand.” After reflecting on the words, consider the discussion questions below.

“The Fall” by Gungor

The Fall, the Fall, Oh God, the Fall of man,
The fruit is found in every eye and every hand,
Nothing, there is nothing yet in truest form,
We walk like ghosts upon the Earth,
The ground it groans.

How long? How long will you wait?
How long? How long till you save us all, save us all?

Turn your face to me; turn your face to me.
Turn your face to me; turn your face to me.

The light, the light, the morning light is gone,
And all that is left is fragile breath and failing lungs.
The night, the night, the guiding night has come,
Uniting lover with his bride more precious than the dawn.

How long? How long must we wait?

Turn your face to me; turn your face to me.
Turn your face to me; turn your face to me.

Questions

1. By focusing only on the Fall as a historical event, have we consciously or unconsciously simplified it—almost removing ourselves from the story?

2. Besides Genesis 3, what other Scripture has inspired the opening lines of this song? Does the feeling evoked by these opening lines personalize that passage for you?

3. Have you ever felt: “the light, the light, the morning light is gone?” Have you experienced night as “guiding?” Who is the lover? What Scripture informs these lines?

4. Have you ever asked, “How long? How long?” Have you heard the answer, “Turn your face to me. Turn your face to me?”

5. Do you agree that the story of Adam and Eve is your story, except for one important difference? What is that difference for you?

Michael Gungor has also served as a pastor at the Bloom Church in Denver, Colorado. Below we post an excerpt from a sermon he has given on his own personal journey and his views about science and Scripture.

(To hear the entire sermon go to this link and scroll to sermon of March 8, 2009—“What Can We Learn About Jesus from Science?”)

Today's video is courtesy of filmmaker Ryan Pettey, director/editor of Satellite Pictures.

Video transcript

I think there are sometimes a couple of biblical images we struggle to lay hold of. In the New Testament we find when we talk about life, we have the idea of living or ‘bios’. In other words, we talk about how we are alive. But Jesus talks about the fact of “coming to life “ when we know him. That doesn’t suddenly mean that our heart starts beating. It means that there is this whole side to us which was dead… which wasn’t alive and is now… that has actually sprung to life. And we run into complications maybe if we reduce all of these things into exactly the same categories. Now you can have the same issues with ‘death’ too. That word is used in many ways, and different words are used to try and signify various different things.

Now what is interesting is that if you go back into the Genesis account, it says “now do not eat this [apple] or you will surely die”. There is a whole chain of events that happens when Adam and Eve decide they want to walk away from God. The first thing that happens is that they cover themselves up. There’s like a psychological alienation that comes. They are no longer happy with the way they are. The next thing that happens is God steps into the garden, they run and hide. There is spiritual alienation. The voice that was once welcoming where they went, they now find themselves cut off from that. Then there is a social alienation that comes as a result of turning away from God. They start blaming each other. There is a vocational alienation that comes as a result of, of course, judgment. That which was meant to be home for them, all work become labor, and we could keep going.

So when we talk about “death” the picture, to me, seems to be much bigger, much fuller. I can’t think of a more comprehensive view of possibly what it could mean. And so I think we need to again break away from a straight forward, in fact, mechanistic understanding. In no way do I think that impoverishes either or understanding of the gospel or of the cross. As a matter of fact, it enhances it. It makes the work of the cross even more incredible and it makes the idea that God is looking for redemption from us more complete. We are not talking simply about the idea of physically living forever because that’s clearly not what it means. We know that we are going to physically die. All of us. But when you think about it in terms of what that means psychologically, spiritually, emotionally, socially, vocationally and so on it becomes a huge picture. The text is teaching us something which is real, which is true, which is there. I think we just need a bigger more sophisticated handling of the text, than a reductionist one that I think actually impoverishes or understanding of The Fall, the cross, redemption, the ‘coming again’ and so on.

Though some may believe that moving the science/faith dialogue forward is best left to scientists, scholars, and theologians, we at BioLogos recognize that our pastors play an invaluable role in the conversation. Across the globe, pastors are helping their congregations work through difficult issues of science and faith with honesty, insight, and a gentle spirit. To this end we present an ongoing series recognizing sermons (and the pastors who give them) that are helping to promote the harmony of science and faith. Today's sermon comes from Rev. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Click above to hear an excerpt. Below, is a brief summary written by BioLogos editorial staff. The full sermon, which we highly recommend can be purchased from Redeemer’s sermon store. Finally, if you know a sermon or podcast related to science and faith that has especially spoken to you, please let us know.

In tracing the fluid storyline of the Bible, Dr. Keller has first focused on the early chapters of Genesis, emphasizing both the ordained purpose of creation and the great Fall of humanity. The latter addresses the pressing question: what is wrong with the world? Scripture explains that Sin is responsible for the seen destruction and chaos. Through a close reading of the story of Cain and Able in Genesis 4: 1-10, Keller draws attention to the significant aspects of Sin—its potency and subtlety—as well as to the text’s foreshadow to the coming Messiah who will conquer Sin, once and for all.

Foremost, God’s description of Sin stresses its deadly power. In this story, Cain becomes angry when the Lord is not pleased with his offering. Then, the Lord comes to him, and tells him, “But if you do not do what is right, Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is to have you, but you must master it.” This image characterizes Sin as a predatory animal lurking in the shadows, eagerly waiting to kill its prey at the opportune time. It seems from this verse that Sin is an abiding, growing presence. A person is not overcome by it in a single action, but in a series of actions through which sin gains dominance in one’s life. In a quote from Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis suggests that the “bigness or the smallness of the sin seen from the outside is not what really matters,” but it is the “twist in the central self” that dooms a man to destruction. Reflecting on this thought, Dr. Keller explains that first “you do sin, but then sin does you,” unless one turns to God in repentance. This picture of sin “crouching” also points to its hidden nature. It does not pounce on a person in plain sight, but stalks about in the darkness, in the places where vision is obscured. This is evident in the way one seeks to rationalize his or her shortcomings. When ignored, this force will overtake and kill a person; it should not be taken lightly.

Next, this narrative highlights the subtlety of Sin. The account clearly states that God looks upon Abel and his offering with favor, but does not look upon Cain and his offering with approval. This suggests that God prospers one, but not the other. Yet, no explanation is offered as to why God is displeased with Cain. Outwardly, they appear nearly identical—both present sacrifices before the Lord. Looking carefully at different verses, Dr. Keller explains that it’s a hidden issue of Cain’s heart. While Abel brought the firstborn of his flock, Cain brought forth some fruits of the soil. Since he cannot be sure of the increase of his flock without new offspring, offering a firstborn lamb demonstrated great faith on Abel’s part. However, Cain needs little faith to bring forth only a portion from his plentiful produce. In God’s eyes, Abel expresses gratitude and trust, while Cain seeks to earn his favor.

Then, when Cain murders Abel, God comes asking questions of Cain saying, “Where is your brother Abel” and “What have you done?” This is not to gain insight but to reveal to Cain his own heart. God, in his grace, has come to counsel him. However, God says in Genesis 4:10b (NASB), “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.” In other words, God, being just, cannot ignore sin. In this case, it is the shedding of innocent blood. The Lord’s response demonstrates his gracious and just character.

Finally, triumph over Sin comes through Jesus Christ, the ultimate Abel figure. Jesus appears to a people filled with Cain hearts. They outwardly follow religious practices in the name of God, offering sacrifices and observing the Law, but inwardly breed corruption. They see Jesus’ loving spirit, and they despise him. They condemn Jesus to death, but he goes willingly for the sake of destroying all sin and death in the world. According to the book of Hebrews, it is now his sprinkled blood that “speaks better than the blood of Able” over humanity. Since Jesus paid the full price for every sin committed, God can no longer condemn those who have received the blood of his Son. His justice is now offering grace and love and life everlasting to all.

Though some may believe that moving the science/faith dialogue forward is best left to scientists, scholars, and theologians, we at BioLogos recognize that our pastors play an invaluable role in the conversation. Across the globe, pastors are helping their congregations work through difficult issues of science and faith with honesty, insight, and a gentle spirit. To this end we present an ongoing series recognizing sermons (and the pastors who give them) that are helping to promote the harmony of science and faith. Today's sermon comes from Rev. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Click above to hear an excerpt. Below, is a brief summary written by BioLogos editorial staff. The full sermon, which we highly recommend can be purchased from Redeemer’s sermon store. Finally, if you know a sermon or podcast related to science and faith that has especially spoken to you, please let us know.

In order to understand the very nature of humanity, one needs a firm grasp on the doctrine of original Sin. Dr. Keller makes several important points concerning Genesis 3: 8-24 as he looks at the response of God as well as Adam and Eve to the great act of disobedience. The aftermath of the Fall reveals sin’s heart, breadth, depth, and end.

Getting to the heart of sin, Dr. Keller defines it as a willingness to justify oneself at the expense of others. This is clearly demonstrated by Adam and Eve. When God walks into the Garden and asks whether they have eaten from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they both shift the blame to another—the man to the woman and the woman to the serpent. Thus, because sin has entered the human heart, people will “throw anyone else under the bus” to detract from their own “nakedness.”

He next examines the breadth of sin according to the Genesis account. One finds that neither Adam nor Eve is more sinful; just as one does, the other does as well. This indicates that they both are equally ashamed, equally guilty. Furthermore, God banishes both humans from the Garden. This, Dr. Keller believes, shows that all humans are innately sinful and selfish. Looking at the implications of this truth on one’s societal views, he logically concludes that no specific group can be demonized or blamed. Whether the elite or the common, sin is in all, and all are responsible for the problems in society.

Then, Dr. Keller sheds light on the depth of sin: every relationship a human has—with God, with oneself, with another person, and with the environment—is now broken and tarnished by sin. The creation account shows that people are meant to be relational beings. In verse 8, God comes “walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” This word walking is an idiom in the ancient Hebrew language that indicates friendship; the Lord was seeking companionship in spite of their sin. Unfortunately, humanity continues to hide, rather than confess and return to God’s grace. A person’s relationship to oneself is tainted as well. When God calls out to Adam, the man says that he hid because of his nakedness. Humans have the desire to cover themselves because of the shame of their sin. This obscures their identity, and they no longer see themselves correctly. Similarly, it damaged the bonds between people. Adam and Eve immediately conceal themselves from each other after trespassing God’s commandment. Dr. Keller explains it like this: “We cannot really bear to have other people really know who we are—we have to control what other people see about us….” Humanity even clashes with the physical world as seen in the struggle against death, disease, and natural disasters. Overall, sin is a “malignant tumor that destroys a person’s ability to conduct relationships” properly.

Finally, the end of sin lies in the mercy of God. The Lord does not come to Adam and Eve declaring their sin. Rather, he questions them, inviting them to admit their wrongdoing. He desires to discuss the problem, and restore the friendship. This shows his love for the sinner. Furthermore, God fashions suitable garments for them from animal hide to conceal their nakedness. This is an amazing foreshadow that indicates humanity’s need for the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to cover its shame. Last of all, Dr. Keller highlights the flaming sword that guards the Garden of Eden, explaining that Jesus allowed this very sword to slay him. Going before all people, Jesus provided a way into the presence and friendship of God once again. In receiving this merciful love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, one’s nakedness is clothed forever.

Each Saturday, we present an ongoing series recognizing sermons (and the pastors who give them) that are helping to promote the harmony of science and faith. Today's sermon comes from Kevin Kim, campus minister of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church's Open Door Church San Mateo. The full sermon can be found on Menlo Park Presbyterian Church's website.

In his sermon “The Great Invitation”, Kevin Kim raises a question that all Christians should address: what’s so great about the gospel anyway? In Philippians chapter 3, Paul hints at an answer, saying, “but our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” But why are we eagerly waiting? And why do we need a savior at all? To expand, Kim delves into an explanation of three “chapters” of human history: our initial brokenness, our need for a savior, and the redemption provided by Jesus Christ.

In the very beginning, Adam and Eve, created to be stewards of God’s good creation, lived in a paradise free of death, shame and unhappiness. God “walked” and “talked” with Adam and Eve in this perfect garden, but he gave them a single command: do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When Adam and Eve disobey this command, Kim explains, there is a massive reversal: Adam and Eve take on the role of God and brokenness enters the world. This, the pastor says, is the first chapter in this gospel narrative. Adam and Eve, rather than walking in harmony with God, now hide from him in shame because of their rebellion. Their relationships with God, with each other and with creation have been broken by sin. For this reason, all of creation is “groaning”—it is broken and is in desperate need of healing.

The next chapter of the story is that story of hope and healing that comes when God answers the groaning of creation. According to the book of John, the same “Word” that created the world in Genesis 1, “became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Sin and brokenness came into the world when humankind adopted God’s unique role. To save the world from its brokenness, then, God took on the role of man and came to live on earth. Jesus’ miracles reflect his role as savior of mankind and healer of brokenness. As Kim explains, his miracles are “the only natural things in a world that is unnatural, demonized and wounded.” This is because Jesus’ miraculous acts provide sight to the blind, health to the sick, and food to the hungry. In other words, they restore creation to its intended unbroken state.

The final chapter in the gospel story, Kim says, describes the redemption provided by Christ. In Genesis, sin came into the world when Adam and Eve “took” and “ate” of the forbidden fruit. To redeem the world of its sin, Jesus broke the bread, his body, and commanded that his disciples “take” and “eat” for the forgiveness of their sins. While Adam and Eve disobeyed God, Jesus accepted his Father’s command to die on the Christ. Through this death, crucifixion on a cross, He took our shame, alienation and brokenness on himself; through the resurrection, He defeated sin. Kim explains, “Sin came when man took the place of God…but sin was defeated when God took the place of man.”

Though some may believe that moving the science/faith dialogue forward is best left to scientists, scholars, and theologians, we at BioLogos recognize that our pastors play an invaluable role in the conversation. Across the globe, pastors are helping their congregations work through difficult issues of science and faith with honesty, insight, and a gentle spirit. To this end we present an ongoing series recognizing sermons (and the pastors who give them) that are helping to promote the harmony of science and faith. Today's sermon comes from Rev. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Click above to hear an excerpt. Below, is a brief summary written by BioLogos editorial staff. The full sermon, which we highly recommend can be purchased from Redeemer’s sermon store. Finally, if you know a sermon or podcast related to science and faith that has especially spoken to you, please let us know.

Selfishness and violence, corruption and greed, wars and atrocities—for all time, this one question has been pondered: what went wrong in humanity? Through his sermon on Genesis 3:1-7, Dr. Keller sheds light on this mystery. With careful examination, four critical points concerning the Fall are uncovered in this text. In this event, there was a sneer, a lie, a tree, and a call.

The problem begins in this passage the moment that the serpent (Satan) sneers at God’s commandment given to Adam and Eve. In the Garden, the snake says to Eve, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” This question is not asked for the sake of information, but rather, the snake is openly mocking the words of God in order to alter her attitude toward the command. So often, Dr. Keller points out, “we lose God not through an argument, but through an atmosphere” that hardens one’s heart toward him. The serpentine attitude is expressed in the particular humor that seeks to discredit and crush another.

Next, the serpent puts forth this lie: “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” In this statement, Satan convinces Adam and Eve that God is holding them back, and it causes them to doubt his goodness. Indeed, this is the lie that entered the very heart of humanity: one cannot trust God and his love because he does not have one’s best interest in mind. Consequently, humans have constantly struggled throughout history to obey God for fear that they will lack the goodness of life.

Then, from this place of mistrust and deception, Eve takes the fruit and eats of it. Likewise, Adam takes and eats. Now, God gave them the command to not eat of the fruit, but why didn’t he provide an explanation? According to Dr. Keller, it is because an explanation would allow them to make a cost/benefit analysis. Then, their decision would be made out of love for themselves, rather than obedience to God. However, the Lord’s desire is for children who trust and obey him as God. Everything that is wrong in the world, Keller explains, results because people are constantly mistrusting God, and choosing to take the place of their very Creator. Whether murder or anxiety, both are symptoms of a people who have taken the position of God. So, how does one truly allow God to be God in one’s life? Well, Keller offers a moving story as an example. It is of a bright Yale graduate named William Borden, a wealthy man with a great inheritance. When he felt the call of God to enter the mission field, however, he freely gave away all his inheritance, and moved to Cairo to learn Arabic. He quickly contracted spinal meningitis and died. Written on a piece of paper that was found with him were these words: “No reserve, no retreat, no regrets.” This narrative calls Christians to have this same attitude of absolute surrender and whole-hearted trust of God’s will in their lives.

Finally, the Lord God comes into the Garden after their disobedient act, and they hide from his presence. He knows of their rebellion, yet he desires to seek them. He calls to them, “Where are you?” He knows of their rebellion, yet he desires to seek them. Since then, people have continued to hide from God, but he has never ceased to chase after humanity in love. His pursuit of us finds its ultimate expression in Jesus, who took on the form of a man and dealt with the consequences of our sin. Adam and Eve disobeyed, but Christ obeyed. They believed a lie that God was not trustworthy, but Christ trusted until the end. By becoming obedient to God in dying on the Cross, Jesus transformed the tree that brought humanity death into a tree of life by his blood.

Whether figurative or historical, the opening chapters of Genesis reveal a world marked by God’s shalom, or wholeness. Humanity was intended to spread and maintain this peace on earth by first receiving the fullness of God’s love and then pouring this love onto God’s creation. By this, God’s perfect order would prevail. Sadly, there is only evidence throughout history of a chaotic world full of hatred, war, mistrust, bloodshed, and animosity. Despite their best efforts to bring harmony, people have failed to achieve shalom in the world. Why is this so? It is the brokenness of the human heart that causes the fragmentation of the world. In this sermon, Dr. Boyd demonstrates this point as he reflects on the Fall and his own personal experience.

He first explains that God has created humans with a deep longing in their heart that only he can satisfy. It is a hunger for unfailing love, unconditional security, and unsurpassable worth. This is so because God desires to pour himself—his nature and life—into each person. As he overflows in each heart, that heart in turn will overflow God’s love into the created world. At the Fall, however, the serpent’s lie concerning God entered and infected the world: that the fullest life is not found in God. Therefore, people are convinced that life can be obtained on their own, that they can somehow generate their own significance apart from God. Yet, the undeniable need in a person’s inmost being to be filled by God remains. In turning away from God, one must look to the world to quench their thirst for him. A person may turn to their idols, but the temporal things cannot satisfy, and this leaves the soul restless. It replaces shalom with brokenness. The earth then receives the brokenness that the soul inflicts on it, and in turn becomes utterly fragmented.

Greg Boyd goes on to relate a powerful, personal testimony of his introduction to this perpetual shattered state of the world. He explains that at age 2, his mother died. Shortly after, his father remarried. It was not a marriage marked by true love, but only convenience. The household was in a constant state of war and unrest, in which his step-mother was very unpredictable and abusive. He recalls a specific memory from one winter as a child. As she was giving him a bath, he angrily told her that he didn’t like her, and was going to run away from home. She immediately yanked him out of the tub by one arm and carried him to the front door. There she threw him, wet and naked, onto the snowy front steps and slammed the door shut. Within a minute, he was quaking from the cold. Terrified at the thought of dying in the icy snow, he begged for the door to be opened. He remembers the humiliation he felt at his nakedness as cars drove past. Eventually, he was pulled back into the house. This is a pattern he grew up with. From it, he learned that the world was a cruel place, that there was no one worthy to trust. He believed he had to fend for himself and make his own life. In this mindset, he drew false conclusions about God, and thus, about himself. Like Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, he too internalized the lie that he must survive and live on his own.

As Boyd concludes the sermon, he describes how the Fall and the lie have been forever reversed in the world and his own heart. By his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has unveiled God to the world and destroyed every false conception about his nature. In fact, the Bible identifies him as the very image and form of God. It is Jesus’ willing death on Calvary that shows every person who they are and who God is. The cross speaks to the depth of humanity’s depravity, but also to the great love of God. Despite the sinfulness of man and woman, God shows us our unsurpassable worth to him by sending his righteous Son to the cross to endure our death, and give us eternal life. To the degree that one internalizes the truth of God’s love, one will receive his love, overflow with his love, and bring shalom, the wholeness that all creation desires.

Full sermon

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:23

Today Christians everywhere observe Good Friday. While it is indeed the darkest moment of the Holy Week celebration, a somber reflection of Christ’s death upon the cross, it is also a moment filled with anticipation, for we know how the story ends: with his triumphant resurrection on the third day.

Yet, as we dwell upon Christ’s death and the sorrow that comes with it, we should also take time to consider the beauty and importance behind the sacrifice. The above video, produced by Highway Media, offers a striking visual metaphor for the spiritual death of sin, the same death that Christ conquered through his crucifixion. The unsettling music and vivid depictions of decay remind us of what was at stake as Christ hung high on Calvary.

Through his death and resurrection, Christ has given us the chance to play this film in reverse, to undo the death that sin can bring. Even as he suffered, in this darkest of hours, Christ knew that through his actions the wages of sin could be overcome, and it that hope that carries us through the sorrow of Good Friday to the holiest of celebrations: Christ’s glorious resurrection which we will celebrate this Sunday.

For further reflection on Christ’s death and resurrection, we invite you to read Mark Sprinkle’s pieces “With What Kind of Body” and “Down by the Riverside”.

In this video Conversation, BioLogos Senior Biblical Fellow Peter Enns discusses why Adam and Eve seem to be at the center of the Culture Wars. In particular, he considers why questioning the historicity of this particular origins narrative is so threatening to evangelicals.

Enns notes that challenging the literal interpretation of Genesis and its “first parents” frightens people. He suggests that much of this fear is a factor of the time in which we live—where there has now been 100-150 years of battle and conflict behind us. Consequently, we have been taught that the only way to protect the Bible is to protect its literalistic reading and interpretation. Enns notes that the ongoing debates are primarily motivated by fear—not flawed theology.

One way to get over the fear—which will take time—is to help people become more self-conscious or self-aware, says Enns, about the assumptions that we carry. Instead of believing that the Christian worldview and faith hinges on our interpretation of Adam and Eve, we should instead view their narrative in its proper context as one biblical passage.

“A central component is the centrality of Jesus and what he did for understanding of the Gospel and of the Bible itself,” Enns explains. “That is our epicenter—that is our beginning point as Christians and I think we work out from that.”

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In this video Conversation, senior biblical fellow Peter Enns asks Rev. N.T. Wright to respond to a common question of readers concerning the historicity of Adam. Specifically, Enns asks Wright to respond to the question of how Adam functions theologically in the Old Testament and whether a historical Adam is central or important for that “Adam theology” that is brought up later in Paul’s letter to the Romans, where he describes Christ as the “new Adam.”

Wright describes the first half of the letter to the Romans as offering a big-picture summary in that it returns to the project of Genesis 1 and 2 and announces that the original plan is back on track. In the Old Testament, redemption was to come through Israel—the people of Abraham—but Israel let God down.

In Romans, Paul says that Israel remains the solution. For Paul the significance of Abraham’s family is not who is this family, but what was this family supposed to do. Israel’s mission or promise will be fulfilled through the Messiah, Christ Jesus, and will be offered to all those who believe. Thus, the historicity of Adam is not central to the theology, it what Adam represents—which ultimately is revealed through Christ, who shows his faithfulness by keeping the original covenant between Israel and God the Father.

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In my previous post, I indicated that there is a lot of figurative language in Genesis 1. The same may be said for Genesis 2, the second creation account in which there is a focus on Adam and Eve. Also, as we saw in Genesis 1, there is an implicit polemic against ancient Near Eastern mythological ideas. Listen to the description of human beings in the Babylonian Atrahasis. The background to this passage is a strike on the part of the lesser gods who are tired of doing heavy labor on behalf of the major gods. They insist that they be replaced. Belet-ili, the mother god, takes clay and mixes it with the blood of the instigator of the strike, then the text says:

After she had mixed the clay,
She summoned the Anunna, the great gods,
The Igigi, the great gods, spat upon the clay.

From this mixture of clay from the earth and the spit of the gods Belit-ili creates human beings in order to do the heavy labor of the gods.

We should read the description of the creation of Adam with this as a background because the original audience certainly did. Adam too is created from the ground (dust) and a divine component (God’s breath). Is this a literal description of how God actually created the first human being? Hardly. Even without recourse to knowledge of ancient Near Eastern literature, this description is clearly not literal. God does not have a body with lungs so that he would literally breathe into dust. God is a spiritual being. The description has other purposes than telling us how God created human beings. It is, in the first place, saying God, and not any other god, created human beings. Second, it is, in contrast to the Atrahasis, presenting a picture of humanity’s creation which indicates that we are creatures with great dignity (created from God’s breath, not the spit of the gods).

Again, the point is that Genesis 1 and 2 are not interested in the question of how God ordered creation and human beings in particular. It is proclaiming that God is the creator of both.

The description of how Adam was created is certainly figurative. The question is open as to whether there was an actual person named Adam who was the first human being or not. Perhaps there was a first man, Adam, and a first woman, Eve, designated as such by God at the right time in his development of human beings. Or perhaps Adam, whose name after all means “Human,” is himself figurative of humanity in general. I have not resolved this issue in my own mind except to say that there is nothing that insists on a literal understanding of Adam in a passage so filled with obvious figurative description. The New Testament’s use of Adam (Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15) does not resolve the issue as some suggest because it is possible, even natural, to make an analogy between a literary figure and a historical one.

This issue is an important one. It is wrong to challenge people to choose between the Bible and the science of evolution as if you can only believe that one or the other is true. They are not in conflict. It is particularly damaging to insist that our young people make this kind of false choice as they are studying biology in secondary school or college. If we do so, we will force some to choose against the Bible and others to check their intelligence at the classroom door. This is a false dilemma created by a misuse of the biblical text.

For many Christians, the biblical characters Adam and Eve can present a significant challenge to accepting evolutionary theory—that is, when they are cast as historical figures who are also the biological progenitors of the human race. In this video, the Rev. Daniel Harrell discusses how there may be some “middle ground” in the way that Christians understand Adam and Eve. Harrell points out that the historicity of Adam and Eve does not necessarily conflict with science.  Rather, the claim that conflicts with science is the idea that Adam and Eve were the first humans, the only original biological ancestors of all humans today.

Instead, another way to view them is as the first two people with whom God chose to enter into a covenant relationship, like He did with Abraham, for example.  In this view, Adam and Eve become representative of the kind of relationship that God intends to have with all people. This may be a point of possible convergence, says Harrell, “for those who are worried about a historical Adam and Eve to breathe easier, and those who are concerned about integrity with DNA and evolutionary science to also breathe easier.”

In this video conversation, Old Testament scholar Peter Enns discusses the Apostle Paul and his understanding of Adam as the progenitor of the human race.

Enns writes about this issue in a recent blog post, and in today’s format, he reemphasizes a few key points—but namely that we must consider Paul within his first century context, and not in our contemporary one. What this means is that Paul wouldn’t have had 21st century scientific discovery and knowledge available to him at his point in time. He wouldn’t have understood the theory of common descent, so he would have seen Adam as a historical figure. “There is really little doubt that Paul understood Adam to be a real person, the first created human from whom all humans descended,” Enns says.

One might wonder: does that violate the theological point Paul is trying to make of connecting Adam to Jesus? More importantly, does the “non-literalness” of Adam affect the validity of Jesus?

Not so, says Enns. And as you watch this video, pay close attention to Enns' emphasis at 1:22.

While in Paul’s mind, there may be a more “organic” connection, Enns points out that for most Christians, this has no bearing on the “literalness” of Jesus.

“How Paul handles Adam does not determine modern scientific discoveries about the origin of humanity. Paul does not determine that for us. Paul is a first century man, and what he says about Jesus and Adam has to be understood in that context,” says Enns.

In this video clip, Denis Alexander, Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, discusses the description of the Fall found in Genesis. Alexander suggests that the picture we might have of the story owes more to the imaginative expansion of the narrative as found in Milton’s Paradise Lost than what is actually present in the biblical text itself. He notes that within the actual text the details are spare and do not fully answer all of the questions a reader might have.

But Genesis does have a clear storyline we can follow: humankind was in fellowship with God until humankind disobeyed, eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In doing so, they tried to put themselves in the place of God. For this, they were cast out of the Garden of Eden.

God warned Adam that on the day that he ate of the tree then he would surely die. Alexander points out that the Hebrew text is pretty clear in this reference, using the word “yom”, though physical death does not occur immediately. In fact, Adam and Eve go on to have a large family and live long lives.

In their moment of disobedience, however, spiritual death comes into being.

Alienation from God comes into being.

This story may be told in figurative language, Alexander comments, but it is a real story. Adam and Eve’s exclusion from the Garden illustrates that as human beings we cannot find our way back to God through our own works, efforts, and strengths. God’s grace is the key.

After watching this clip, consider going back to the N.T. Wright video we posted a couple of weeks ago. If they are correct, how do you think their view would enrich and enliven the first three chapters of Genesis? We would love to see your thoughts, but remember the question is not whether they are right. The question is if they are right, how would that enrich and enliven… ?

Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles for evangelical Christians who are resistant to the idea of evolution is a literalist reading of scripture –– in particular, the text of Genesis 1-3, which details the creation of the earth and its inhabitants.

While most biblical scholars would likely advocate a literary reading of Genesis, as opposed to a literal one, the characterization of Genesis 1-3 as a “mythic” text can make some people uneasy. This is largely due to the fact that in our American culture, “myth” has become synonymous with “not true”. From its Greek origin, however, myth is simply defined as a story or legend that has cultural significance in explaining the hows and whys of human existence, using metaphorical language to express ideas beyond the realm of our five senses.

But to suggest that Genesis is both a mythic text as well as the “inerrant Word of God” may require a leap of faith for some.

British author, pastor, and theologian Rev. Dr. N.T. Wright suggests that the mythological part has been misunderstood and discarded by many evangelicals in favor of a reading based entirely on questions of historicity.

He argues that “to flatten that [the text of Genesis] out is to almost perversely avoid the real thrust of the narrative … we have to read Genesis for all its worth and to say either history or myth is a way of saying 'I’m not going to read this text for all its worth, I am just going to flatten it out so that it conforms to the cultural questions that my culture today is telling me to ask'.”

Many might wonder—but isn’t this pursuit of contemporary context a good thing? Not so, Wright replies, “I think that’s actually a form of being unfaithful to the text itself.”

In this video clip, Wright suggests that questions concerning the historicity of Genesis and the historicity of Adam and Eve get caught up in contemporary cultural issues and miss the larger story.

For more conversations about science and religion, be sure to visit our new "Conversations" section, accessible through our Audio/Video page or on our YouTube channel.