(November 17, 2017 at 7:35 pm)possibletarian Wrote: Okay here's my question,
These days there are many Christians who will support evolution and a very old earth 4.5 billions years old, with a universe that's along the lines of 14 billion years.
Somewhere in this period they throw humanity into the mix some believe Adam and Eve could still have existed, or be created especially during the time that humans were also evolving, others believe that Adam and Eve were just a story of man's fall from grace. Given that most biblical characters can be dated back by linage to Adam and Eve's children that gives us a period of around 6,000~7,000 years since those people existed. When does what the bible says become real history ?
Where does it place original sin in this context ?
Personally I think the bible becomes real history with the story of Jesus. We have historical evidence of His existence, His death by crucifixion, His 12 disciples and their deaths, and the rapid spread of very early Christianity.
I'm not opposed to believing in some Old Testament people as having been real people (like Abraham for example), but don't believe things played out literally as they are written.
I don't think original sin = Adam and Eve eating a forbidden apple. I think that's allegory for the first opportunity we had to sin, which was taken. I think this "opportunity" happened somewhere along the evolutionary process of homo sapiens. At some point, enough "clicked" in the brain of an early human to where they became aware of morality in their actions. That's original sin. It's the fact that we can and will commit sins, given the opportunity.
That's my own opinion of how it played out, anyway. The Church leaves the story of Genesis open to interpretation, so long as we come away from it believing that God is the creator and that human beings have original sin.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
-walsh