just wondering, If you do believe in evolution, how is that compatible with what it says in the bible...do you think Adam and Eve really existed, and if so, at what point in evolutionary development do you think they lived? If you don't believe there was one couple who the entire human race descended from, then how do you interpret the book of Genesis?
2007-09-04 09:53:01 · 26 answers · asked by lindsey p 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I was just wondering because I've been told that there are Christians that believe in evolution...but Christians also say the bible is the literal word of God...how is that possible?
2007-09-04 09:54:18 · update #1
When I was a christian I believe in evolution. It is not unusual. In fact, belief in a literal bible is far more uncommon among christians than belief in evolution. In the presbyterian church I grew up in and in the episcopal churches I attended as an adult I would be hard pressed to think of anyone who would have asserted that the world was created in 4004 BC as can be calculated from the bible.
Most of my christian friends would say that both creation stories are allegorical. That is why they don't have a problem with the fact that Genesis 1 doesn't agree with Genesis 2. I'm not sure how you explain it to yourself but did plants and animals come before man and woman (Genesis 1 - the one without Adam and Eve) or were they created after man but before woman (Genesis 2).
They also realize that to the people writing the bible, it was reasonable to think of the Earth as being flat with a single continent surrounded by a circle of water and floating on water. They accept it as allegory. Again, I'm not sure how you rationalize the literal description with what most people would consider the facts.
2007-09-04 09:58:29 · answer #1 · answered by Dave P 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I'm a Christian and I believe in evolution. I do not believe that the Bible should be taken literally. It's the closest thing that we have to the word of God but, really, it's a compilation of a bunch of different peoples perspectives, there are a ton of Gospels that you and I will never see because they're locked away in the Vatican and will never come to light that could completely change everything, it's been interpreted a million times by a million different people and much is lost in translation and Adam and Eve were a metaphor. I mean, if we all descended from Adam and Eve, where did all the people who Cain met on his travels come from? Where did the people living around Adam and Eve once they were thrown out of the garden come from? It can't be literal. I interpret the book of Genesis for what it is, a great but, lamentably, boring story.
2007-09-04 10:06:38 · answer #2 · answered by I'm back...and this still sucks. 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No, not PURELY metaphorical.
I'm a catholic and the the Roman Catholic church has officially stated that there is not conflict in holding that evolution has occured. I really do not see one either. Even if it can be proved absolutely true that evolution happened, it does not mean that there wasn't a creation, a point in time that this universe was set in motion by a creator. I think that is the essential question and science really isn't equipped to be able to give us that answer by scientific investigation, because they are restricted to empiricism.
Point being, if evolution happened, that doesn't in any way interfere with the postulation that there is a creator and creation, or the fact that the creator in question, at some point in time, created human beings with an immaterial soul. The catholic church certainly affirms at least these two things: God created this universe and at some point a being was created with both a material body and an immaterial soul: man.
As to the fact of Adam and Eve actually existing, it could very well be. Not exactly like in the bible, necessarily, but that out of our ancestors two beings were perhaps brought forth and became Adam and Eve. Even the scientific research into Mitochondrial DNA affirms that all human beings descend from one mother. They call her mitochondrial eve. (Look it up, i'm serious, its a scientific fact). Of course, this is conjecture, but I think it a good possibility.
2007-09-04 10:12:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The story of Adam and Eve is a story told to make a point about how God's creation (humanity) relates to God.
You have to understand that under the name "Christian" are numerous different beliefs on the interpretation of the bible. Some insist the bible must be interpreted literally, despite the obvious discrepancies. For example, the first two chapters of the bible offer two entirely different stories of creation. There is no way to reconcile the two, no matter how hard you try.
Others believe that the bible tells the story of God and God's creation, and how the two are supposed to relate to each other. These are the Christians who have no problem with the theory of evolution.
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2007-09-04 10:04:05 · answer #4 · answered by Stranger In The Night 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it's "purely metaphorical", (though we could just be splitting hairs). I think it's mostly mythical, meaning that there is spiritual truth encapsulated in narrative form. I think it is possible that all humanity descended from one couple - the first homo-sapiens; there is some evidence that this is the case since we seem to share common mitochondrial dna, but I don't think the case has been proven/disproven one way or the other. But whether there was or wasn't an actual "Adam & Eve" doesn't affect the mythical truths of Genesis. These stories have to do with a humanity in transition from nomadism to agriculturalism (and which are then applicable to a humanity in transition from agriculturalism to industrialism, industialism to post-industrial society etc). Any time there is societal change, Genesis is relevant, if properly interpreted.
Peace to you.
2007-09-04 15:00:59 · answer #5 · answered by dreamed1 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
SOME christians believe that the bible is the literal word of God. Some christians grew up in households that read greek and hebrew and think that the King James Version is a joke in many places.
Adam and eve are one of many many creation stories. Almost every native american tribe has a different story. Cultures that are close in geographic proximity tend to have similar creation stories. Many cultures have one original couple. Some have one original tribe (usually the direct descendents of the group tellign the story...go figure).
The book of genesis is the creation story used by the hebrew people to explain why things were the way they were. Just as the cherokee have a story explaining how their lives came to be. Social anthropology is FILLED with a vast diversity of wonderful stories that help others understand a lot about that particular culture.
Besides, if you just want to be petty and literal about it, men and women have the same number of ribs. hehe
2007-09-04 10:14:04 · answer #6 · answered by pippinstar 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Actually, not all Christians take the Bible literally. In my opinion, it doesn't matter so much if the story is literal or figurative. The important part is what the story is telling you. Do you learn anything from the story?
I don't lose a bit of sleep worrying if someone agrees with my interpretation of something. There's so many differant interpretations for things, one would have to be puny minded to expect everyone on the planet to buy one box of opinion across the board.
Any opinion you take on any subject, there will always be a few people who get a twisted up faces about it. Hell with them. You can either live with that or never have an opinion.
2007-09-04 10:01:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
If you ask me, lindsey p, the whole bible is an allegory. And I am a follower of Yeshua. Can't pick and choose, if the Adam/Eve story is allegorical then what makes the rest of it literal? Especially considering that much of the doctrine in many sects is based off of original sin doctrine created by Saint Augustine. What makes the creation and Adam/Eve story allegorical, but the whole story of Moses, Job, and every other variety of literature in the bible literal? The whole bibe and all scripture for that manner is allegorical...
G.R.S. Mead entitled Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, this explanation is put forth: “…what the Gnostics projected onto the screen… [in the form of a ] picture of the universe was in reality a picture of their own minds. Its mythology is a symbolic portrayal, almost a deliberate one, of the forces which operate in the structuring and evolution of the human personality”.
Gnostics were mystics, and those who wrote the scriptures were mystic and wrote it in the language of the soul. Not a history book.
2007-09-04 11:19:39 · answer #8 · answered by Automaton 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
See my question of "is Jesus God?"
If we can't agree on that, how are we gonna agree on evolution!
Evolution does happen, I can't deny that. But did a planet size meteor hit the earth, which got it spinning, creating the oceans, and allowed for an atmosphere which was perfect for life to develop in the oceans, which turned into humans over billions of years? I don't know, sure, but regardless, I believe that God created us.
So..to answer the question, for the most part I do think it is metaphorical, however, I can not deny the fact that through God all things are possible, and it just may have been that way...
2007-09-04 10:02:51 · answer #9 · answered by ♫O Praise Him♫ 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Here's an interesting idea: it is thought that at one point the human race (or human-like ancestors) would have had to make the initial plunge out of the rich forested habitats of other primates. There are many theories of why this happened, but no dominant theory (I don't think). The forests and jungles of prehistoric times would make an excellent replacement for the Garden of Eden...and primates are primarily fruit pickers...and this leap is thought to be caused (or accompanied) by a new kind of rational cognizance (like the knowledge of Good and Evil). I'm not saying that you should mold all evolutionary history to fit the Bible, but it's an interesting parallel, don't you think? If you believe in God, believe in God. The stories are secondary.
2016-05-21 04:05:52 · answer #10 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋