The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about Human Origins

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Brazos Press, 2021 M10 19 - 272 pages
Can Christianity and evolution coexist? Traditional Christian teaching presents Jesus as reversing the effects of the fall of Adam. But an evolutionary view of human origins doesn't allow for a literal Adam, making evolution seemingly incompatible with what Genesis and the apostle Paul say about him. For Christians who both accept evolution and want to take the Bible seriously, this can present a faith-shaking tension.

Popular Old Testament scholar Peter Enns offers a way forward by explaining how this tension is caused not by the discoveries of science but by false expectations about the biblical texts. In this 10th anniversary edition, Enns updates readers on developments in the historical Adam debate, helping them reconcile Genesis and Paul with current views on evolution and human origins. This edition includes an afterword that explains Enns's own theological evolution since the first edition released.
 

Contents

Cover
An Ancient Story of Israelite SelfDefinition 17
When Was Genesis Written? 27
Stories of Origins from Israels Neighbors 60
Israel and Primordial Time 91
Pauls Adam and the Old Testament 113
Paul as an Ancient Interpreter of the Old Testament 131
Adam TodayNine Theses 185
Adam Evangelicalism and the Metanarrative of Evolution 201
Notes 213
Bibliography 231
Scripture and Ancient Sources Index 245
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About the author (2021)

Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is the Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He is a cohost of the popular podcast The Bible for Normal People (7 million downloads over four years) and has more than 50,000 social media followers. The first edition of The Evolution of Adam received a Book of the Year Award from Foreword Magazine. Enns is also the author of How the Bible Actually Works, The Bible Tells Me So, The Sin of Certainty, and Inspiration and Incarnation.

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