Dr Paul Allen

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553): Adam and Eve. Beech wood, 1533. Bode-Museum, Berlin (Erworben 1830, Königliche Schlösser, Gemäldegalerie Kat. 567) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Few questions are more pressing among Evangelicals today than the time and the manner in which God created the world and all life within it. Did he create the world in six literal days or did he create the world over millions of years? Was human life a spontaneous creation of God or did it evolve from a primordial ancestor? The controversy is raging today with no clear end in sight. Following closely in the wake of the discussion about creation is the controversy over whether or not Adam was a historical figure. Was Adam a real man who actually existed? Or is it possible that he is merely a figure or an archetype meant to teach us about God and about ourselves? Zondervan’s “Counterpoints: Bible and Theology” series has taken on this issue by inviting four scholars to defend their own view while interac...

T he first view in Four Views on The Historical Adam is that of Denis Lamoureux . We start with a view that has no room for a historical Adam, and end with a view that has no room for the majority position of modern science. In the middle are two mediating positions. Of the contributors, 2 of them (Collins and Lamoureux) have backgrounds in science. 3 of them (Walton, Collins, and Barrick) are Old Testament scholars. Interestingly, it is the three Old Testament scholars that still hold to a historical Adam, while it is the contributor with a Ph.D in biology who doesn’t believe in a historical Adam. By his own account, Lamoureux was originally a young earth creationist (40-41). But, after he first got a Ph.D in theology (41), and then in evolutionary biology (42), he is now an evolutionary creationist . You could probably interpret his pathway as one where the seminary study made young earth creationism untenable, and then his study in evolutionary biology completely shifted his ...

As a part of the Counterpoints series, Four Views on the Historical Adam clearly outlines four primary views on Adam held by evangelicals, featuring top-notch proponents of each view presenting their positions in their own words and critiquing the positions with which they disagree. You will come away with a better understanding of the key biblical and theological issues at stake and of the implications of Adam for contemporary Christian witness and church life. Contributors include Denis O. Lamoureux , John H. Walton , C. John Collins , and William Barrick. Each focuses his essay on answering the following questions: What is the biblical case for your viewpoint, and how do you reconcile it both with modern science and with passages and potential interpretations that seem to counter it? In what ways is your view more theologically consistent and coherent than other views? What are the implications of your view for the spiritual life and public witness of the church and individual...

We start with a view that has no room for a historical Adam, and end with a view that has no room for the majority position of modern science. In the middle are two mediating positions. Of the contributors, 2 of them (Collins and Lamoureux) have backgrounds in science. 3 of them (Walton, Collins, and Barrick) are Old Testament scholars. Interestingly, it is the three Old Testament scholars that still hold to a historical Adam, while it is the contributor with a Ph.D in biology who doesn’t believe in a historical Adam. By his own account, Lamoureux was originally a young earth creationist (40-41). But, after he first got a Ph.D in theology (41), and then in evolutionary biology (42), he is now an evolutionary creationist. You could probably interpret his pathway as one where the seminary study made young earth creationism untenable, and then his study in evolutionary biology completely shifted his paradigm so that he can now say “I have yet to see evidence that falsifies biological...