A Pastor Deals with Adam and Eve with Daniel Harrell

In this video, the Rev. Daniel Harrell discusses how there may be some “middle ground” in the way that Christians understand Adam and Eve.

Transcript:

I guess I appreciate how, for many conservative Christians, a historical Adam and Eve is very, very important. I think one of the things that have been discussed here is how, in Corinthians and Romans, Paul’s referent back to Adam and Eve is almost necessary as a historical figure given the way that he is describing them.

Something that has been helpful to me is that I don’t think that a historical Adam and Eve is problematic from a Biblical historical context. I think Adam and Eve as the first humans is what the problem is. You could say, and I think we’ve had some pastors say, that God does this special creation thing of Adam and Eve in the context of the evolutionary epic. God could do that, and that’s fine.

I don’t think you have to say that. I think you could also say that God specially selects Adam and Eve for this covenant relationship, much as he did with Abraham, say, in the Biblical epic, and so Adam and Eve become representative of the kind of relationship that God intends to have with all people.

That is a point of possible convergence that allows those who are very worried about a historical Adam and Eve to breathe easier, and those who are very concerned about integrity with DNA findings and evolutionary science to also breathe a bit easier because at least there’s a possibility of hermeneutics. The Bible doesn’t give us much more, but that is one way to look at it.