Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?: Who they were and why you should care, by C. John Collins
One of the larger questions that has raised its head in Christian circles today is whether Adam and Eve were actual historical figures. This is not a benign discussion among theologians with no importance to our understanding of the gospel. If we are to take the Apostle Paul’s teaching that Jesus is the second Adam seriously (Romans 5:12ff), the Church needs to be able to defend the biblical teaching on the origin and fall of humanity as found in Genesis 1-11. In his work, “Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?” Professor C. John Collins (Old Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary) does a thorough job of examining how various scholars throughout the centuries have attempted to answer that question. Throughout the text the author never compromises on the authority, veracity, and historic reality of creation, human origin, and the fall as described in Scripture, but neither does he shy away from questions of posed by science and academic study.
I came across this book while teaching a mid-week study on the first 11 chapters of Genesis, and was encouraged by Collins’ belief that “ the traditional understanding of Adam and Eve as our first parents who brought sin into human experience is worthy of our confidence and adherence.” It is that traditional viewpoint that connects the entire history of redemption, making sense of the world in which we live and the coming of Christ as our Savior.
As always in a work of this nature, there are things the reader may find questionable. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book for anyone wishing to understand more fully the current debate on Adam and Eve and the reason why the traditional viewpoint is still worth embracing. This is not light reading, but I found it both intellectually beneficial and spiritually rewarding.
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