In Quest of the Historical Adam: A Biblical and Scientific Exploration

by William Lane Craig

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2021

Overview

Was Adam a real historical person? And if so, who was he and when did he live?

William Lane Craig sets out to answer these questions through a biblical and scientific investigation. He begins with an inquiry into the genre of Genesis 1–11, determining that it can most plausibly be classified as mytho-history—a narrative with both literary and historical value. He then moves into the New Testament, where he examines references to Adam in the words of Jesus and the writings of Paul, ultimately concluding that the entire Bible considers Adam the historical progenitor of the human race—a position that must therefore be accepted as a premise for Christians who take seriously the inspired truth of Scripture.

Working from that foundation of biblical truth, Craig embarks upon an interdisciplinary survey of scientific evidence to determine where Adam could be most plausibly located in the evolutionary history of humankind, ultimately determining that Adam lived between 750,000 and 1,000,000 years ago as a member of the archaic human species Homo heidelbergensis. He concludes by reflecting theologically on his findings and asking what all this might mean for us as human beings created in the image of God, literally descended from a common ancestor—albeit one who lived in the remote past.

Key Features

• Provides a biblical and scientific investigation
• Examines references to Adam in the words of Jesus and the writings of Paul
• Surveys scientific evidence to determine where Adam could be most plausibly located in the evolutionary history of humankind

Contents

• Preface
• What Is at Stake

Part One: Biblical Data Concerning the Historical Adam

• The Nature of Myth
• Are the Primaeval Narratives of Genesis 1–11 Myth? (Part 1)
• Are the Primaeval Narratives of Genesis 1–11 Myth? (Part 2)
• Are Genesis 1–11 Mytho-History?
• Are Myths Believed to Be True?
• Adam in the New Testament

Part Two: Scientific Evidence and the Historical Adam

• Scientific and Philosophical Preliminaries
• The Evidence of Palaeoneurology
• The Evidence of Archaeology (Part 1)
• The Evidence of Archaeology (Part 2)
• Locating the Historical Adam

Part Three: Reflections on the Historical Adam

• Putting It All Together

Top Highlights

“For beliefs are held by a person, not by a nature, and the only person in Christ is a divine person, who therefore could not hold false beliefs, period.¹⁰ The person Christ is is divine and therefore is omniscient and therefore believes every truth and no falsehoods. Thus, as crazy as it sounds, denial of the historical Adam threatens to undo the deity of Christ and thus to destroy orthodox Christian faith.” (Page 8)

“The conclusion to be drawn from these examples is not that the expansions of the canonical text are historical (or unhistorical) but rather that we are not committed to their historicity simply in virtue of an NT author’s relating them. For the use of these incidents is illustrative, and the aptness of the illustration with respect to the point being made does not depend on the illustration’s historicity.” (Page 214)

“Adam, then, may be plausibly identified as a member of Homo heidelbergensis, living perhaps >750 kya. He could even have lived in the Near East in the biblical site of the Garden of Eden—though vastly earlier than usually thought, of course. His descendants migrated southward into Africa, where they gave rise to Homo sapiens, and westward into Europe, where they evolved into Neanderthals/Denisovans. Once Homo sapiens began to migrate out of Africa >130 kya, these separate lines of his descendants began to interbreed.” (Page 336)

“The stubborn fact is that Genesis leaves the image and likeness of God undefined.” (Page 367)

“Numberless commentators, including young earth creationists, have pointed out quite plausibly that the biblical authors’ statements are phenomenal in character, just as ours are when we, despite our knowledge of modern astronomy, speak unreflectively of the sunrise and sunset.” (Page 17)

Product Details

• Title: In Quest of the Historical Adam: A Biblical and Scientific Exploration
• Author: William Lane Craig
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Pages: 421
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Adam (Biblical figure); Bible. Genesis, I-XI › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Theological anthropology; Paleoanthropology
• ISBNs: 9780802879110, 080287911X
• Resource ID: LLS:QSTHSTRCLXPLRTN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:33:04Z

About William Lane Craig

William Lane Craig (PhD, University of Birmingham, England) is Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University and lives in Marietta, GA.