Cold Case Christianity: The Biblical Case for Adam and Eve

This is my reply to an article by J. Warner Wallace entitled 

Cold Case Christianity: The Biblical Case for Adam and Eve

Posted: 16 Feb 2018 01:42 AM PST

I’ve been investigating murders for over 20 years, and along the way, I’ve learned to appreciate the importance of language selection. Consider the following three statements:
 “The Nuggets killed the Lakers last night. They beat ‘em by 25 points.”
“I love this comic; he always kills me!”
“I deeply regret killing my wife, and I wish I could turn back time.”
 All three declarations acknowledge the proper definition of the word “kill,” yet only one of these statements is likely to be of interest to a jury in a murder trial.

And given that most Christian scholars deny the existence of literal conscious eternal suffering, Christianity could never be as serious as a murder trial.

Every time we assess someone’s use of language, we must first examine the context in which the words were spoken. As a 35-year-old skeptic, reading the Bible thoroughly for the first time, I found myself examining the words of Scripture in an attempt to understand Moses’ meaning related to the first two characters in the Biblical narrative: Adam and Eve. Were they real human beings? Were they allegorical figures described by Moses in an attempt to illustrate the plight of early man? Were they written figuratively to represent all of humankind? I knew from my professional work as a detective that the surest way to understand a statement was simply to examine its context and to compare it to other proclamations made by the suspect.

Trouble is, bible scholars are in wide disagreement about to what extent the alleged writings of Moses reflect his actual words.  You don't have the first clue whether the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis was authored by the same person responsible for the canonnical version of Leviticus.

As a skeptical seeker, I took the same approach with Adam and Eve. After examining every passage of Scripture, I found the following:
 Adam and Eve Were Regarded As Real People
In the earliest accounts of Adam and Eve, Moses described them singularly (in contrast to his plural descriptions of other animal groups). The waters were teeming with swarms of living creatures and the skies were filled with birds (Genesis 1:20); the earth was bringing forth living creatures after their kind (v.24), filling with beasts and cattle. God created with great plurality in every category of creature except humans. Adam and Eve were described as singular individuals. It’s difficult to consider them allegorically or representatively, given that Moses failed to use language that could assist us to do so.

Ok, so Moses was speaking just as plainly here about humanity's first two people as did the Sumerian god Enki.

Adam and Eve Responded As Real People
Moses also described Adam and Eve’s behavior in a manner consistent with the behavior of real people.

Except for Eve's lack of surprise in conversing with a talking snake.  Genesis 3:2

And some would argue that an Adam searching through a zoo of animals to see if any could be his life-partner, is not the typical behavior of real people.  Genesis 2:20...why does the text specify Adam found among the zoo no suitable helper, if he wasn't looking for a suitable helper at the time?

Moses put specific words on their lips as they interacted in the Garden, and like other real people, Adam and Eve responded to one another (and to God).

The same could be said for any number of ancient stories about man's origin.  But since you don't infer their truth from their literal intent, you shouldn't be inferring the truth of the biblical accounts merely because Moses intended them to be taken literally.

Adam and Eve gave birth to specific individuals, and Moses intentionally noted the age of Adam when some of his children were born (Genesis 5:3-4).

Ancient Jews were crazy in love with genealogies.

Adam’s offspring (Cain, Abel, and Seth, for example) were identified by name and had a personal history of their own, just as we would expect if they, too, were real people.

People described in the Epic of Gilgamesh also had their own personalized stories.

Adam and Eve Were Recorded As Real People
Moses placed Adam in genealogies alongside other specific individuals who we acknowledge as real, historic human beings. Moses repeatedly recorded the historic lineage of important people (like Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, and Terah) with the expression, “These are the generations of….” Adam was no exception. Moses used this same expression when recording the generations of Adam in Genesis 5:1. Other authors of Scripture repeated this inclusion in the lineage of real humans. Adam appeared in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles 1:1, in Luke’s genealogy of Jesus (Luke 3:38), and in Jude’s reference to Enoch (Jude 1:14). These genealogies and references recorded the names of specific, real individuals, and Adam was included in their ranks.

Paul took the wives of Abraham as allegory:

22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman.
 23 But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.
 24 This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar.
 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
 26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.   (Gal. 4:22-26 NAU)

Notice, in v. 24, the "this" which he says is "allegorically speaking", is the scriptural statement referenced in the prior verse, which comes on the heels of Paul's specification "it is written" (v. 22), which makes it certain that Paul isn't just applying an allegorical exegeical method to literal people, he is saying allegory is the meaning of the scriptural text, and he could not be clearer than in saying "these two women are two covenants..."

Adam and Eve Were Referenced As Real People
Throughout the Old and New Testament, writers of Scripture referred to Adam as though he was a real person and not an allegory or representative of mankind. Job offered Adam as an example of someone who attempted to hide his sin (Job 31:33). Hosea offered Adam as a specific example of someone who broke his covenant with God (Hosea 6:7). In the New Testament, Paul repeatedly referenced Adam as a real person, calling him the “first man” (1 Corinthians 15:45), and describing both Adam and Eve as specific individuals (1 Timothy 2:13,14).

I don't see the point.  Christians also think Jesus is a real person and currently invisible.  Portraying a person as literal apparently doesn't have much of a restraining effect on absurd embellishment.  Consider St. Nicholas.

Adam and Eve Were Held Responsible As Real People
The historic Christian doctrines of sin and salvation hinge on the real existence of Adam as an individual human being, responsible for the introduction of sin into the world.

Despite the fact that Judaism, Church of Christ and other Christian groups deny original sin despite their agreement with you that Adam was a literal person.

In Romans 5, Paul wrote that sin entered the world “through the one man (Adam)” (verse 12) and that life was (and is) given “through the one man, Jesus Christ” (verse 17). Jesus, as a real man, serves as the remedy for sin; the responsibility for this sin was another real man, Adam. In the context of Paul’s divinely inspired teaching, Adam was every bit as real as Jesus.

I should have guessed:  you are not writing to convince skeptics, but only to help those who already believe, feel better about it.  The easier of the two jobs.  I get it.

Recent genetic research is challenging the notion that all humanity emerged from a single pair of humans, and some Christians are starting to rethink their interpretation of Adam and Eve in response to this challenge. The number of unanswered questions continues to grow. How reliable are the scientific conclusions? How can Adam and Eve be the source of all humanity if genetic research seems to indicate a much larger original group? Is there an interpretation of Scripture that can reconcile this apparent contradiction?

Other questions might be "Is Christianity's in-house debate on the historicity of Adam one of those "word-wrangling" discussions that Paul prohibited J. Warner Wallace from being part of in 2nd Timothy 2:14?"

I’ve learned an important truth over the years as a detective: Every case has unanswered questions, and we successfully prosecute suspects in spite of this reality.

The justice system also produces a fair number of false convictions, indicating that unanswered questions can be serious problems inhibiting the quest for truth.  Sometimes its wrong to press forward.

We first acknowledge what is evidentially clear, and then search for reasonable explanations in the areas that are less certain.

With the caveat that in your criminal investigations, if you seriously set forth some supernatural explanation for a suspect's guilt, you lose your job.  Another reason why your "cold-case Christianity" is nothing but a marketing gimmick.

As Christians work to reconcile the nature of scientific evidence with the claims of the Bible,

...despite the fact that bible inerrancy is hotly contested by most Christian scholars, suggesting one is wrong to even be motivated to reconcile the bible with science...

one thing is evidentially clear: The writers of Scripture describe Adam and Eve as real, historic individuals. We must begin here and then search for reasonable explanations in the areas that are less certain.

For example, the Talmud reference that says before Eve was created, Adam had sex with the animals, when in fact Jewish abhorrence of bestiality would cause us to expect the ancient Jews would never interpret Genesis 2:20 that way, therefore, they are likely interpreting it that way by feeling constrained by the evidence, not because they are trying to be funny or stupid:

Talmud - Mas. Yevamoth 63a
R. Eleazar further stated: What is the meaning of the Scriptural text, I will make him a help meet
for him? If he was worthy she is a help to him; if he was not worthy she is against him. Others
say: R. Eleazar pointed out a contradiction: It is written kenegedo but we read kenegedo! — If he was worthy she is meet for him; if he was not worthy she chastises him. 

R. Jose met Elijah and asked him: It is written, I will make him a help;11 how does a woman help a man? The other replied: If a man brings wheat, does he chew the wheat? If flax, does he put on the flax?12 Does she not, then, bring light to his eyes and put him on his feet! 

R. Eleazar further stated: What is meant by the Scriptural text, This is now bone of my bones, andflesh of my flesh?13 This teaches that Adam had intercourse with every beast and animal but found no satisfaction until he cohabited with Eve.