Adam Didn't Do His Job

[Babel Fish]

So it is said "The man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field." Genesis 2:20

There is somewhere between 10 and 50 million species on this earth. Of these 10-50 million, we have named and described 2 million. Now, assuming that Genesis is to be taken literally, I would have to assume that the first man was a bit lazy. I was sitting in biology today and was thinking about this and thought it sounded rather silly; so I thought I would post it. This wasn't meant to be taken seriously so before anyone desides to go off on me, take a deep breath, untwist your panties, and say, in a slow, melodic tone, gus-fra-bah.

 

[Dannager]

Guuuuuus-fra-bah

 

[Mallon]

"Adam only had to name the various kinds."
(Don't ask what those were, though.)

 

[armothe]

There is somewhere between 10 and 50 million species on this earth. Of these 10-50 million, we have named and described 2 million.

That doesn't necessarily mean that ancient cultures didn't have names for them in their own dialect/s.

-A

 

[Dannager]

That doesn't necessarily mean that ancient cultures didn't have names for them in their own dialect/s.

-A

They certainly didn't have names for the ones that only live thousands of feet underwater near thermal vents.

 

[Mallon]

I have often wondered why penguins, kangaroos, or polar bears aren't mentioned in the Bible. They're at least as wonderous as the animals listed in Job.

 

[Assyrian]

Platypuses have got to be a seperate kind.

 

[Assyrian]

Oh dear, I was googling for plurals of platypus,

Platypus is difficult to separate from the singular use but there were 21,500 hits for: platypus-are OR platypus-were
platypi was popular with 73,100 but is an unfortunate bit of pseudo Latin
platypoda, accurate but a tad pretentious, got 20,100
Platypuses was the most popular at 90,500

But what I really liked were
Platypuseses 56
Platypuseseses 24
Platypuseseseses 10

All together now:
No platypi or silly platypoda. I only like platypuseseses And platypuseseses like me too!

 

[armothe]

They certainly didn't have names for the ones that only live thousands of feet underwater near thermal vents.

Then you must think God gave Adam a command he couldn't possibly have fulfilled.

-A

 

[vossler]

Then you must think God gave Adam a command he couldn't possibly have fulfilled.

Nah, it's all a myth and therefore easily explained.

 

[Assyrian]

Adam is still naming all the animals.

 

[billwald]

If Adam's sin was transferrable then so were his intellectual instructions.

 

[Dannager]

Then you must think God gave Adam a command he couldn't possibly have fulfilled.

-A

Yeah, maybe.

 

[Assyrian]

If Adam's sin was transferrable then so were his intellectual instructions.

Or, we are Adam.

 

[Brennan]

"Adam only had to name the various kinds."
(Don't ask what those were, though.)

"Beetle... can I do the other half after lunch?"

 

[localz]

So it is said "The man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field." Genesis 2:20

There is somewhere between 10 and 50 million species on this earth. Of these 10-50 million, we have named and described 2 million. Now, assuming that Genesis is to be taken literally, I would have to assume that the first man was a bit lazy. I was sitting in biology today and was thinking about this and thought it sounded rather silly; so I thought I would post it. This wasn't meant to be taken seriously so before anyone desides to go off on me, take a deep breath, untwist your panties, and say, in a slow, melodic tone, gus-fra-bah.

Adam could well have named all of the animals, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all of those names would still be preserved today.

 

[DailyBlessings]

Adam could well have named all of the animals, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all of those names would still be preserved today.

It would still be an impossible feat, I think- with more than 10 million living species on earth, even if he did nothing but name animals all day, it would be a job of more than a lifetime.

 

[Mallon]

It would still be an impossible feat, I think- with more than 10 million living species on earth, even if he did nothing but name animals all day, it would be a job of more than a lifetime.

And that's just living species. If we count fossil species, then the number jumps into the hundreds of millions (if not billions).
One man didn't stand a chance.

 

[localz]

If God can still the sun in the sky, could He not also have aided Adam in his naming the animals so that the process wouldn't be drawn out over so many years? I'm not necessarily suggesting that He put time on pause as Adam gave names to all of His creatures, but He is, after all, God. He can do some pretty crazy stuff.

But let's assume that the Lord did not do such a thing; Adam named the animals without any miraculous aid. Does it not say that God "brought" the animals "unto Adam to see what he would call them?" It's not as if He forced him to run around and search for them himself. He brought them. Now, that's got to save just a little bit of time.

Take note, also, that it is explicitly stated that Adam gave names "to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field." It does not say anything about the creatures of the sea. Nor does it seem to indicate any sorts of insects, arachnids, or even amphibians. This reduces Adam's load significantly.

Finally, remember that this was when we were only working with "kinds"; the word "kind" is most likely the equivalent to our "genus." Since most genera contain just a few hundred species, and these kinds had yet to further divide into such species, it is most probable that Adam had as few as a couple thousand animals to name. Not bad. That's do-able, right?

 

[Mallon]

Finally, remember that this was when we were only working with "kinds"; the word "kind" is most likely the equivalent to our "genus." Since most genera contain just a few hundred species, and these kinds had yet to further divide into such species, it is most probable that Adam had as few as a couple thousand animals to name. Not bad. That's do-able, right?

No. If this earth has seen hundreds of millions of species, then it has seen likely on the order of tens of millions of genera. Still out of the question for any one man to name.
That said, I've heard anti-evolutionists equate "kinds" with species, genera, even families, depending on their agenda. The fact is that no one has yet defined what a "kind" is or how we can determine what constitutes affiliation with a "kind."
I fear playing literalist apologetics forces us to defend some oddball positions.