Today's question is: If the story of Adam and Eve is not “true” (factual), what happens to the truth of the Bible and Christianity as a whole? Two key questions: Why did Israel tell these stories? And why did they tell them this way?
Asking what happens to the rest of the Bible's validity if the Adam and Eve story isn't true presupposes that we believe the whole Bible to be factual. If this is our starting place, asking such a question is like pulling a brick out of the foundation of a building. The whole house will collapse because the foundation has been compromised. However, if we begin with a different understanding, then we avoid the whole house crumbling down around us.
Some portions of the Bible were meant to be matters of historical record, others were not. Others, like the Adam and Eve story were always intended to be mythic tales. Other portions of the Bible were meant to be poetry, others oracles, and others were letters written to specific communities.
The key questions, above, are important ones to ask. Why would the Israelites tell this story and why would they tell it in this way. Since we know that the story was told during exile, we might imagine that the Israelites needed to remind themselves that they were deeply, intimately connected to God.
Why do you think they told these stories in this way?
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I attend a different church locally and consider myself to be a liberal in terms of both my politics and how I interpret things. That being said, I don't agree with the suggestion that the story of Adam and Eve is a myth. This is because Adam does appear in other parts of the bible that address genealogy and other topics. As such, it seems to be more logical to suggest that this story was part of an oral history/tradition that got passed down, and was eventually put into writing by Moses.
ReplyDeleteAnother brick in the Apostate Church..."Away from me evildoers! I never knew you!"
ReplyDeleteIt's simply absurd to say that Adam and Eve are just mythical beings in a mythical story. I consider it down right blasphemy to even consider such. Moreover; like Marti said, we have other accounts of Adam and Eve throughout the bible, even in the New Testament we can read how sin entered the world through Adam. How dare you consider yourself christian oriented and yet speak such blasphemy. I guess this is why the bible also declares; Let God be true and every man a liar. Apostasy is sickening!
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