Kenneth Keathley: Why Different Views on Creation of the Earth Does Not Contradict Creation of Adam As Complete Human Being?

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There are different views in the Christian belief on the Creation of the Earth. But you do not see this as a problem – as long as one accepts that Adam is created as a complete human being by God.  Is this correct? And can we interpret this view, as opinions may differ in some details, as long as  it is not the theory of evolution? And in Christian belief – in any kind of interpretation – there  is no place that living beings are formed out of non-living things by coincidences?

Well, I am an Evangelical Christian. And so the answer I’m going to give, I’m speaking as someone who is an Evangelical Christian. Prior to the 1960’s most Evangelical Christians held to an old earth understanding of the universe. There was a book published by Henry Morris and John Witcomb called ‘The Genesis Flood’ which argued very strongly for the young earth position and as a result many Evangelical Christians today argue and hold to the young earth view.

So I do think that one can hold either to an old earth view or a young earth view; both are permitted within the Genesis text. However I think that the old earth view, not only fits the scripture it also fits with science. And I believe that the God, Who gave us the Bible is also the God, Who created the heavens and earth. And so I believe that one ought to interpret the Bible and science in a way that both agree with one another.

I do think that it is important that we hold to the historicity of Adam and Eve that they were real people created miraculously by God. I think this is important for the Gospel narrative of Creation fall redemption and restoration.  And I also think that it fits very well what science has told us about the common ancestry of humanity. When the human Genome Project was completed by Francis Collins about 15 years ago, one of the things that they determined and discovered is that all of humanity derives from a common man and a common woman. 

And they called woman mitochondrial Eve, they called the man Y-chromosome Adam. Because that refers to the methods by which they were able to arrive at the conclusion that all of humanity has this one woman who is the common ancestor of all and we have this one man who is the common ancestor of all. And I do believe that this is a scientific evidence of the historicity of Adam and of Eve. So I think that a Christian can hold to both an old earth perspective and to the historicity of the original couple.