Is The Adam And Eve Story To Be Understood Literally?

Is The Adam And Eve Story To Be Understood Literally? Behold, Adam and Eve were real people. But because the best accounts of Adam and Eve are found in the Bible, many critics challenge their existence. Over the years, opponents to the historicity of Adam and Eve have challenged the Biblical records on several fronts. Even Christians, including Bible college and seminary professors, have argued against a historical Adam and Eve. Often because of scientific and evolutionary thoughts, many people claim that Adam and Eve were mythological and allegorical figures with no basis in actual history. But are they right? Is the Adam and Eve story to be understood literally? Were Adam and Eve real people? These are the questions that this piece of writing is aimed at answering.

Who were Adam and Eve? The Bible teaches us that Adam and Eve were the first human beings to be created. In the Biblical book of Genesis, we are told that God “formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2:7). However, God did not create Adam to be alone. Genesis 2:20–22, 3:20 says, “But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man . . . . The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.“

Is The Adam And Eve Story To Be Understood Literally?

Let us assume for just a moment that the Adam and Eve story is not to be understood literally. What do we think would be the results? With a non-literal understanding of the story of Adam and Eve, do we think Christianity would remain essentially the same? No. As a matter of fact, it would have serious implications for virtually every tenet and doctrine of the Christian faith. Behold, if Adam was not a real man, then sin did not enter the world through one man as Romans 5:12 states. How, then, did sin enter the world? In addition, if the New Testament is wrong about how sin entered the world, what else is it wrong about? If Romans 5:12 is wrong, how do we know that the entirety of Romans 5:8–15 is not wrong?

If the Biblical Story of Adam and Eve is not to be taken literally, meaning they did not really exist, then there was no one to rebel, and therefore there was no fall into sin. Satan, the great deceiver, and father of liars would like nothing better than for people to believe that the Bible should not be taken literally and that the story of the fall of man in the garden is a myth. Why? Because from the moment we start denying part of the Bible, we lose our trust in the Bible which is the written Word of God. Brethren, why should we believe anything that God’s word says if we cannot trust everything that it says? As a matter of fact, Jesus Christ taught that God created one man and one woman (Mark 10:6) and mentioned Abel, a son of Adam and Eve in Luke 11:51.

The Dangers Of Not Taking The Story Of Adam And Eve Literal

Truthfully speaking, not taking the story of Adam and Eve literally is denying the existence of the Almighty God. Remember that Jesus Christ Himself taught us that in the very beginning, God created one man and one woman (Mark 10:6). Was Jesus Christ wrong in His beliefs? Or did Jesus Christ know that there were no literal Adam and Eve and He was simply accommodating His teaching to the beliefs of the people (i.e., lying)? If Jesus Christ is wrong in His beliefs, He is not God. If Jesus Christ is intentionally deceiving people, He is sinning and therefore cannot be the Savior (1 Peter 1:19). That is why this is such a serious issue worth our attention.

To deny the literalness of Adam and Eve is to place oneself in opposition to Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul. If a person has the audacity to claim that he/she is right and Jesus Christ and Apostle Paul are wrong, then Jesus is a sinner, not God, and not the Savior; the Apostle Paul is a false prophet, and the Bible is not inspired, inerrant, or trustworthy. If we are really in search of the Truth, let’s not be deceived by Satan but remember the words of Jesus Christ in John 14:6 – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Likewise, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.“

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The Truth About This Story

The truth behind the story of Adam and Eve is that presented by the Bible. The Bible clearly presents Adam and Eve as literal people who existed in a literal Garden of Eden. They literally rebelled against God, they literally believed Satan’s lie, and they were literally cast out of the Garden (Genesis 3:24). Adam and Eve had literal children, all of whom inherited the sinful nature, and that sinful nature was passed down to succeeding generations to this very day. Luckily, the Almighty God promised a literal Savior to redeem us from that sinful nature (Genesis 3:15). That Savior is Jesus Christ, called the “Last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45), who died on a literal cross and literally rose again. Those who Believe in Jesus Christ will have literal salvation and spend eternity in a literal Heaven where they will enjoy God’s gift of Eternal Life.

Behold, Christians who deny the Story of Adam and Eve essentially deny their own faith. Rejecting the literal interpretation of the Bible’s historical narratives is a slippery slope. If Adam and Eve did not exist, then were Cain and Abel not real? Did Seth exist, and did he father a godly line that led all the way to Abraham and eventually to Jesus Christ Himself? Where in Luke’s genealogy (Luke 3:23–38) do the names stop referring to literal people and start referring to mythical people? Therefore, to dismiss Adam and Eve as non-literal is to deny the accuracy of Luke’s Gospel, cast aspersions on Moses’ record, and remove the foundation of the rest of the Bible. God’s Word is true (Psalm 119:160). Jesus Christ declared God’s Word to be Truth (John 17:17), and we equally do the same because all of God’s Word is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17).