The Evolution of Adam

by Peter Enns

Overview

Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award

Can Christianity and evolution coexist? Traditional Christian teaching presents Jesus as reversing the effects of the Fall of Adam. However, an evolutionary view of beginnings doesn't allow for a historical Adam, making evolution seemingly incompatible with what Genesis and the apostle Paul say about him. For Christians who accept evolution and want to take the Bible seriously, this presents a faith-shaking tension.

Peter Enns, an expert in biblical interpretation, offers a way forward by explaining how this tension is caused not by the discoveries of science but by false expectations about the biblical texts. Focusing on key biblical passages in the discussion, Enns demonstrates that the author of Genesis and the apostle Paul wrote to ask and answer ancient questions for ancient people; the fact that they both speak of Adam does not determine whether Christians can accept evolution. This thought-provoking book helps readers reconcile the teachings of the Bible with the widely held evolutionary view of beginnings and will appeal to anyone interested in the Christianity-evolution debate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781587435409
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/19/2021
Edition description:	10th Anniversary ed.
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is the Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He was formerly senior fellow of biblical studies for the BioLogos Foundation, an organization that explores the integration of science and Christian faith, where he wrote a regular column for their Science and the Sacred blog. He has taught at several schools, including Princeton Theological Seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary, Temple University, and Westminster Theological Seminary. Enns has authored or edited numerous books, including Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament.

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction
Part 1: Genesis: An Ancient Story of Israelite Self-Definition
1. Genesis and the Challenges of the Nineteenth Century: Science, Biblical Criticism, and Biblical Archaeology
2. When Was Genesis Written?
3. Stories of Origins from Israel's Neighbors
4. Israel and Primordial Time
Part 2: Understanding Paul's Adam
5. Paul's Adam and the Old Testament
6. Paul as an Ancient Interpreter of the Old Testament
7. Paul's Adam
Conclusion: Adam Today—Nine
Theses
Afterword: Adam, Evangelicalism, and the Metanarrative of Evolution
Indexes