Assyrian said:
Not sure about the idea of sin spreading backwards from Adam. If Adam was an individual, was he the first with a God given spiritual nature? Without that could earlier men actually sin?
I guess this is where TEs may disagree. There are 2 possible points of view:
A. The "Simple"Option
Adam represents a real, historical individual (or group of individuals). He and his contemporaries were the first generation who were endowed with a spiritual nature, and as a consequence, with real moral choice and the ability to know God. If he chose righteousness, he would have had eternal life.
Pre-Adamite humanity, on the other hand, were spiritual animals despite being anatomical humans. So they did not have moral capability or any consciousness of God. They died just like animals, and will not face judgment by God for their moral actions. They will not be resurrected or end up in heaven or hell -- no different from my pet cat.
When Adam chose to disobey God, sin came into the world, bringing death with it (Rom 5). In actual fact, of course, physical death was already a natural part of existence for Adam's ancestors -- so the meaning of "death" is really "spiritual death". Humanity (in Adam) had the choice to transcend spiritual death by choosing righteousness, but he didn't.
B. The "complex" option
This second option rejects the idea that there was some kind of sudden, miraculous transition from pre-Adamite humanity to post-Adamite humanity. Humanity was not given a "spiritual nature" suddenly. Spirituality, moral awareness, God-consciousness etc. developed gradually as part of the evolutionary process.
So now we have the problem: was pre-Adamite humanity sinful? This is what my previous post seeks to address. I believe that the answer can be "yes", because all that is needed for "sin" is some awareness of God's existence.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:18-21
Paul says here that God's presence has
always been recognisable, and men have
always rejected it. A homo erectus may not have perceived much of God, but if he rejected what little he could perceive, then he is a sinner.
So this is where I get the idea of Adam's sin spreading backwards in time. Pre-Adamite humanity did not have the same knowledge of God that Adam did -- yet they rejected what they did have. So they were also partakers in Adam's sin, and counted as sinners.
This is exactly parallel to Christ's righteousness (as in Rom 5). Pre-Christ believers (Abraham, David, etc.) only had a small glimpse of God's righteousness -- yet they had faith in what little they could understand, and were therefore counted as righteous. Thus we say that Christ's righteousness has spread backwards in time to them.
Which option is correct?
Personally I currently lean towards option B, because the scientific evidence appears to suggest that spirituality evolved gradually in humanity. There is good evidence that 100,000 year old humans practiced religious rites. So I don't think it makes sense to say that pre-Adamite humanity was non-spiritual, and post-Adamite humanity was spiritual.
I'm interested in hearing what other TEs think...
I am still thinking through all this, but that is where I am at present...
Thanks for your input. I think we are all on a proverbial "journey" of understanding. I hope that other TEs can share their opinions about this too.