A scientist and former evangelical argues that holding onto a belief
in a literal, historical Adam has forced many Christians to reject
science and become intellectually isolated from the modern world.
The Bible's first man stands at the center of a crisis that is shaking
much of Christianity. In the evangelical world, scholars have been
ostracized and banished from their academic communities for endorsing a
modern scientific understanding of the world, even as they remained
strong Christians. Self-appointed gatekeepers of traditional theology
demand intellectual allegiance to an implausible interpretation of the
Genesis creation story, insisting that all humanity must be descended
from a single, perfect human pair, Adam and Eve. Such a view is utterly
at odds with contemporary science.
It wasn't always this way. Karl Giberson spotlights the venerable
tradition of Christian engagement with new knowledge and discoveries.
When global exploration, anthropology, geology, paleontology, biblical
studies, and even linguistics cast doubt on the historicity of Adam and
his literal fall into sin, Christians responded by creatively
reimagining the creation story, letting Adam "evolve" to accommodate his
changing context. Even conservative evangelical institutions until
recently encouraged serious engagement with evolutionary science,
unhindered by the straitjacket of young-earth creationism, intelligent
design, or other views demanding that Adam be a historical figure.
Giberson calls for a renewed conversation between science and
Christianity, and for more open engagement with new scientific
discoveries, even when they threaten central doctrines. Christians
should not be made to choose between their faith and their understanding
of the universe. Instead, as Giberson argues, they should follow in the
once robust tradition of exploring science openly within the broad
contours of Christian belief.
