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How can the theory of Evolution be reconciled with passages in the New Testament that seem to refer to Adam and Eve as historical figures?

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1 Timothy 2:11-14 >**11** Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. **12** I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. **13** **For Adam was formed first, then Eve**; **14** **and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor**. Jude 14 >It was also about these that **Enoch, the seventh from Adam**, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones Luke 3:23-38 >**23** Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, **24** the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, **25** the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, **26** the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, **27** the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, **28** the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, **29** the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, **30** the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, **31** the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, **32** the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, **33** the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, **34** the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, **35** the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, **36** the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, **37** the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, **38** the son of Enos, the son of Seth, **the son of Adam, the son of God**. Acts 17:26-27 >**26** **And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth**, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, **27** that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, Romans 5:12-14 >**12** Therefore, **just as sin came into the world through one man**, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— **13** for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. **14** Yet death reigned **from Adam to Moses**, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 1 Corinthians 11:7-12 >**7** For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. **8** **For man was not made from woman, but woman from man**. **9** **Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man**. **10** That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. **11** Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; **12** for **as woman was made from man**, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 >**21** For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. **22** **For as in Adam all die**, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:45 >Thus it is written, “**The first man Adam** became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 2 Corinthians 11:3 >But I am afraid that **as the serpent deceived Eve** by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Matthew 19:4-6 >**4** He answered, “Have you not read that **he who created them from the beginning made them male and female**, **5** and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? **6** So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” These passages appear to depict Adam and Eve as historical figures. For Christians embracing the theory of Evolution, how might these verses be interpreted to align with a [theistic evolutionary](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_evolution) account of the origin of the human species? --- A few subquestions to consider when seeking to reconcile theistic evolution with these passages: 1. How can the genealogy outlined in Luke 3:23-28, corroborated by Jude 14, be harmonized with an evolutionary timeline? It's noteworthy that this genealogy is often cited in support of [Young Earth Creationism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism) . 2. Within a theistic evolutionary framework, what interpretations exist for the sequence of creation, particularly with Eve's creation occurring from/after Adam, as indicated by 1 Timothy 2:11-14 and 1 Corinthians 11:7-12? 3. Concerning Romans 5:12-14 and 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, how is the idea of death entering the world through one man understood in the context of theistic evolution? How is the absence of death before Adam and Eve's fall reconciled with the mechanism of natural selection that relies on the death of the unfit to work? 4. How is the deception of Eve by the serpent, referenced in 2 Corinthians 11:3, reconciled with an evolutionary perspective on human origins?
Asked by user61679
Dec 21, 2023, 11:17 PM
Last activity: Dec 23, 2023, 05:41 PM