Reaching out through Adam

[Jonathan_Burke (Jon)]

@Swamidass

But I am aiming to change their views so that we all might adopt a more Christ centered faith. With Jesus as the foundation, we adopt a more orthodox faith and these questions are not so concerning.

Well that’s great, I look forward to seeing how you’re going to do that.

@Swamidass

My biggest problem with scientific YEC creationism is not its scientific problems but its theological emphases.

I agree.

@Swamidass

As for Adam? There are reasons why the common solutions offered by TE / EC Christians are unsatisfying to many Christians. My point is just that we should be empathetic to the questions of the Church, and not force conflict where it need not be. Instead, lets be honest about how the theological values we bring to the table could work in light of mainstream science.

I agree with that as well. I am actually one of the people for whom the common solutions offered by TE / EC Christians are unsatisfying. Remember, I’m someone who believes in a historical Adam and Eve who really did live in the last 10,000 years (though I don’t believe they were the first humans who ever existed, or that they were the universal ancestors of every human who has ever lived). I’m far more conservative in my understanding of Genesis 3 than a lot of people here. I don’t believe it’s Genesis 3 is a non-historical allegory, metaphor, parable, myth (in the common non-technical sense), or spiritual tale.

@Swamidass

However. that is not what @agauger and @RichardBuggs has argued, nor is it what John Sanford or most knowledgeable YECs I know have argued. If one model of Adam is falsified by the data, does not mean the other is falsified too.

Of course it doesn’t. That wasn’t in dispute.

@Swamidass

If we are going to make strong claims about what the evidence rules out, it behooves us to take seriously the all the alternate hypotheses we can.

I agree. We can do that by first requesting the evidence for the hypothesis. When that arrives, we can test it. To date, it has not arrived.

@Swamidass

To the point, for at least 5 years now, most YECs in this area have been trying to work out a model of created diversity. We cannot claim to rule this model out, unless we actually examine it in light of the evidence.

This isn’t in dispute either.

@Swamidass

Of course, as should be clear from my prior posts, baring miracles this seems to be ruled out in the recent past. However, in the more distant past, maybe not.

But once you start moving to the distant past, you have abandoned the proposed model.