The GAE theory helpfully exposed the anachronism of expecting biblical statements about descent to have something to say about genes. It shifted the discussion from genetics to genealogies. However, as @dga471 recently pointed out, it seems to get stuck in a new anachronism by conflating the genealogies of the Bible with modern “genealogical science”:
Modern genealogies are family trees showing mothers and fathers. The Bible’s genealogies are chains of males. Even in Matthew’s genealogy that mentions some women, the descent always follows the men (e.g. “Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse”). The Bible’s genealogies are straight arrows to the past, not tangled trees with expanding branches that soon encompass everyone. So, the GAE theory depends on viewing genealogies in modern terms instead of in biblical terms. It corrects the anachronism of genes but substitutes the anachronism of family trees.
This matters quite a lot, because both biblical genealogies and Augustine’s version of original sin are highly dependent on an ancient, male-seed understanding of procreation. In other threads I’ve written some about what this could mean for how we read the genealogies and how we read Augustine. But it took Daniel’s thread for me to see the connection to the GAE theory.
Paul doesn’t refer to Adam as a historical figure in Romans 5, and much of his language there and in 1 Corinthians 15 makes more sense if Adam is a symbol of humanity rather than an individual. Acts 17:26 doesn’t mention Adam or even one man. It only mentions “one,” so the answer to “One what?” has to be supplied by context. Both “from one nation he made all nations” (letting the end of the expression clarify its beginning) or “from one blood he made all nations” (following the reading of some manuscripts) seems more justified than suggesting “one man.”
Regardless, the problem isn’t that Jesus and Paul speak of a historical Adam. The problem is that a historical Adam is a longstanding theological tradition that many hold tightly and read into the text wherever possible. And certainly, the GAE is one of several ways to maintain that tradition while accepting mainstream science. There are also alternatives and tweaks to that tradition, some of which can also make good sense of the biblical texts. I think we also need to keep those options on the table, and the best way to do so is not to overstate what the Bible claims.
I think having evolved and imperfect humanity portrayed as communing with God in the garden would only be problematic for those who would doubt Jesus’ divinity due to his closeness to sinners. Sin is not God’s kryptonite, so I don’t see any such problem to be solved in Eden.