Adam and Eve

We need go no further than the Bible to find two stories about how the world was created. One creation story begins with a pre-existing earth and the ocean already present and a wind moving across the surface. The seas rested on the dry land, which appeared later, when God gathered the waters together. The first thing that God created was light, even though there was not yet a source for that light. God proceeded to create everything in the universe, although not necessarily in the same order that science tells us. The very last creations were man, both male and female, telling them to procreate and subdue the earth, with dominion over every living thing. As God proceeded, he saw that everything was good. This creation story is to be found in Genesis 1:1-2:4a.

A second creation story also begins with a pre-existing earth, but no plants grew because God had not yet made it rain. In this story, a man called Adam was the first creation, but a woman was not created until all the other living creatures had been created and each one named by Adam. This creation story is to be found in Genesis 2:4b-20.

The two stories are quite different and even contradictory. Leon R. Kass (The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis) says that when we recognise the independence of the two creation stories we must scrupulously avoid reading into the second story any facts or notions taken from the first, and vice versa.

For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

The Hebrew Bible or "Old Testament" was not written as a single unit; rather a number of scrolls were written, some of which were regarded as sacred or inspired. The Council of Jamnia, in 96 CE, selected those books considered to be worthy of inclusion in a Jewish sacred canon, thus creating what is now known as the Old Testament.

The very first book to be written in a form much as we know it today is Deuteronomy, believed to be written during the seventh-century-BCE reign of King Josiah. Other books of the Pentateuch and the Deuteronomic History (Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings) followed.

Adam is the Hebrew word for man, and so could easily have been intended as a metaphor for all humanity, at least in some passages. Presumably those passages that specifically deal with Adam's children were not intended as covering all humanity. However, even those passages dealing with Adam's relationship with Eve could be metaphorical, as the word Eve means 'life'.

We can never know exactly what the biblical author had in mind, but it seems likely that Adam was used at different times in different senses - for a single, named person, a man in general and for all mankind.

According to the Bible, God created All things. (Angels sometime before Man on the sixth day)

Additional thoughts:

Adam and Eve were not God's 'first creation'. They were his first HUMAN creation on earth. His spirit son in heaven was his very FIRST creation (Colossians 1:15), and the Bible at Job 38:4+7 tells us that the angels were already in existence before the earth was formed, and were, infact, 'shouting in applause' as God created it.

(well perhaps yes....a recent book, "The Jesus Christ Code" exposes the newly discovered dimension to truth, a dark side that may verify that indeed mankind as represented by Adam and eve were deceived about truth...)

NO Adam and Eve are mythical figures ( myth has a truth in it)

The answer to this question is categorically no. The problem with the Bible is that it is a very complex set of books which include history (eg Chronicles, Kings, the Gospels, Acts etc), poems (eg psalms, song of songs) prophesies (eg Isaiah), allegorical stories (eg Job) and many other genres. The problem arises when some Christians (often American creationists) try to interpret the Bible as irrefutable history throughout. There are some who hold the Bible with so much esteem that they worship 'it' as God rather than God. Whilst there are areas that I deem 'historical' much of the Bible is simply not of that genre, and was never intended as such. Yet some - especially JWs - take verses out of context, and use them as ammunition to castigate and even harm others - the ban on blood transfusions is a classic example.

With regard to Genesis, the book was never ever written either as a scientific explanation of the formation of the Universe, nor was it meant to be taken literally. That does not mean, however, it isn't true! Let me explain:

The story of Cinderella it tells of a downtrodden youngster who eventually makes good and lives happily ever after. The story can fit many people in history - Princess Diana, Barack Obama and many others. The story is a true one, but of course Cinderella never existed, nor did the prince.

Similarly, the story of Adam and Eve is very true but allegorical. The name 'Adam' means in Hebrew 'man' and Eve 'from man' or 'opposite to man'. So in this allegory, Adam and Eve represent humanity. Those that take Genesis literally will then have us believe that the devil tempts Eve. However, if you look at the story, you will see that nowhere is the serpent equated with Satan. The 'devil's temptation' does not exist. Another myth is that Eve gives Adam an apple. However, the number of apples mentioned in the story is precisely zero. Nor is the story about sex between Adam and Eve ( sex is mentioned the same number of times as apples!); nor is the story about evil coming into the world through Eve's disobedience to God, for if that is the case, then what is the serpent doing there? He was in the garden before Eve's disobedience and therefore evil was there before Eve.

Despite all these silly myths, the essence of the story is very real. Humans are created 'in the image of God' ie they have a spiritual side as opposed to other creatures, but because humans think themselves a bit clever (they eat from the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil' - another allegory), they reject God because they think they know better - and make a mess of things ever since.

So whilst Adam and Eve as people most probably never actually existed, nor did the 'serpent' nor did the 'tree', the underlying message is still very true. We think we know best, because we're clever and reject God and God's way of doing things, preferring to go our own way, thank you very much. The result is a world of corruption, war and greed, and a world that has, I believe seen just 300 years of peace in the last 2000 years. And I have to hold my hands up and say that even the Church has played its part in this over the years. I say the 'Church' meaning the Church as an organisation with human failings and traits, but the vast majority of Christians in the world, as simple cogs in the great wheel, do try to uphold Christian principles of a rich love for God and a sacrificial selfless love for our neighbours.

The problems that arise from creationists, for example, who take the Bible as their 'god' literally and infallibly, and as a result concoct a whole new 'science' to back up, like the six-day Creation, do Christianity no favours. Because their unwavering beliefs about their simple and mythological belief in Genesis as 'absolute fact' can be seen by many as crackpot and very superficial, any critic would be excused for saying that all Christianity and Christians are therefore crackpot. And so the Dawkins's of this world thrive because there are those who blindly follow words in a book literally which were nevermeant to be taken in that way in the first place. They forget about the main message of Christ - that we should love God and love each other - preferring to argue the toss over whether or not Adam and Eve were real.

So, to answer your question - no, the literal story of Adam and Eve cannot be 'proved' and rightly so. But the true underlying message of Adam and Eve has proved itself time and time again. Just look around you at the world we live in to see just what I mean.