YOUNG EARTH CREATIONISM'S ACHILLES HEEL: BAD THEOLOGY
One of the things that Young Earth Creationists (YEC) trot out all the time is that Old Earth Creationism (OEC) requires death (fossils and such) happening before the Fall of Adam. This theological viewpoint is "set in stone" in scripture according to them.
Adam sinned. (FACT)
He brought the Curse and the Fall and death and corruption and
thus all sorts of nasty things came upon ALL of Creation. (NOT UP FOR DEBATE)
They base their reasoning from Genesis 3:17 Romans 5:12-21 and Romans 8:18-23
Therefore, if there was any type of death before the existence of Adam -- theologically speaking -- this asserted death in theologically and bible-based viewpoint -- is not scriptural and therefore non-Christian. Tautologically speaking, OEC beliefs are therefore not scriptural and therefore non-Christian.
This is an unfair and a very un-Christ-like way to approach this debate when YEC adherents assert such statements against OEC adherents. OEC folks, (as far as I have read to date) never charge YEC adherents with being unscriptural or threatening the whole basis of Sin, death passing to all men, our need for salvation of the Lord Jesus. We (OEC) do not pull such a stunt. To say someone doesn't believe the bible because they are not YEC is simply ridiculous. I have a very serious and transformative relationship with Jesus, (the Word of God), the God-Man, born-died-resurrected-coming again --- but hey I will never accept the ludicrous and nonscientific beliefs of YEC. I spent over 27 years in scientific research and I totally understand the scientific method. YEC is not science as much as it is theology masquerading as science. When you question the age of the earth, the age of the universe, assert the speed of light might not be constant, that radioactive decay rates might be different in the past or that God created everything with the appearance of history, of vast age and also try and explain every geological and fossil discovery as due to the Noachian Deluge -- well folks, we are talking vast leaps and bounds into psuedoscience and fantasy.
Enough of all that for now . . .
Let's talk about how death before Adam is NOT a problem. I have gleaned over the years several good papers on this subject. I have uploaded many of these interesting OEC related writngs here for free download: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/805vc2ckucbd8/OEC
Here are some main points I found interesting that I culled from just a few of these papers:
In Romans 5:12–21, and in the Bible generally, death does not have an exclusively biological meaning. In verses 12–14, thanatos
is defined as a divine judgment upon all mankind for Adam’s
transgression as the covenant head of humanity. In verse 21, death is
contrasted with eternal life – which, everyone will agree, is not really
a biological concept at all.
In addition to misinterpreting thanatos, those who appeal to Romans 5:12 to deny pre-Fall animal death, must also assume a certain preselected definition of kosmos
or world. The world into which sin and death entered is assumed to be
the creation as a whole, including the non-human realm. But this is not
the meaning that Paul seems to have in view in the context. For example,
in verse 13, Paul says, “Before the Law, sin was in the kosmos.” But sin cannot be “in the non-human realm.” It is more likely that the term kosmos
here refers to the world of humanity—a common usage of the term with
which we are already familiar in John 3:16: “For God so loved the kosmos,
that he gave his only begotten Son.” In fact, Paul uses the phrase “all
men” in the second clause of Romans 5:12 as a synonym for “world” (and
again in verse 18).
Paul’s statement that death entered the world through Adam’s sin, when
properly interpreted, does not teach that death entered the non-human
creation for the very first time after the Fall. It teaches that the
covenantal sanction of death as the wages of human sin entered the world
of humanity through the Fall of Adam.
The Bible (in the Hebrew
word choice) teaches a 'good' creation not a perfect one. The
misunderstanding this note will address is the one that claims there
was no death before the Fall. Nowhere does the Scripture state "animals were immortal" or "no living being could die".
These beliefs are inferences from one's manmade theology but are not
found in the Bible.
God created a secret code which instructs any cell
given this code to self-destruct.
Cells selected by CTLS
[cytotoxic T lymphocyte-grm] for death are not murdered; they commit
suicide. "So it turned out that all of the years spent looking for
special CTL weapons had, after all was said and done, been
wasted. CTLS are not equipped with weapons for destroying
altered cells. What they are equipped with is knowledge of a special security code. Every cell
in the body-not just a few extraneous cells in the developing
fetus-has embedded in it a self-destruct program. What CTLs
know, uniquely among all the cells in the body, is how to punch in
the security code that activates that program and ultimately causes
the selected cell to commit suicide." William R. Clarkson, Sex & the
Origins of Death, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 43-44
And as we develop from a
single cell, our cells become mortal. The death gene, designed
by God, is still active.
"The death genes themselves
are never fully shut off. Again, as we saw earlier in a
different context, death is the default state. Tumor cells
appear to have found a way to turn some or all of the death
repressor genes back on, or to turn the death genes off, and to a
greater or lesser degree mimic germ cells." William R. Clarkson, Sex
& the Origins of Death, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996),
p.100
So the question for the
YECs who believe that there was no death before the Fall is: Why did
God Himself create special security codes, instructions and
machinery for death if there was NO death before the Fall?
One natural question
concerns whether or not Adam and Eve were immortal. Traditionally it
is believed that they were born immortal. This is also not
stated in the Bible. God gave them food to eat. If they
couldn't die from starvation, why did they need food? If they
couldn't die from starvation then the cells of their body couldn't
die either. (One can't have all the cells of Adam's body die
while Adam continues to live. That makes no sense.)
I would contend that God
intended man to live forever but they were not yet immortal.
The Tree of Life was in the Garden to impart immortality. If
they already possessed immortality, then the Tree of Life was
useless because it was giving them something they already had. But if
they were not yet immortal, they could die. God's intention
was to prevent that death via the Tree of Life but man's sin
circumvented God's intention.
So, so far we have seen scriptures not being interpreted correctly by YEC (aka Bad Theology) and evidence in our bodies that cellular death was PART OF THE ORIGINAL CREATION DESIGN. You have different types of cellular death like apoptosis which is actually a normal part of our staying alive and healthy. And you have necrosis which is due to injuries, infections or disease. Ergo death is death and God planned it to function even on a cellular level BEFORE Adam sinned.
Here is more to consider:
Who or what was offered immortality in the Scripture?
Genesis 2:17 says
Genesis 2:17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die.
What is interesting is that this verse actually does not say that
they will live forever, it merely states the opposite. It says that
in the day they eat, they will die. Does this actually imply that
Adam and Eve would live forever? Traditionally this is the way that
this verse has been interpreted, but in the day one eats a
toadstool, they will die. Their liver will fail and they will die
within 24 hours. Yet if someone tells them that the day they will
eat a toadstool, they will die, it does not imply that they
otherwise would live forever. To conclude that Genesis 2:17 implies
immortality is a non sequitur. Do these verses teach that mankind
was given eternal life? Maybe not.
The function of the Tree of Life was obviously to give eternal
life. Of this tree God says:
Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become
as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his
hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
What is clear from this verse is that the tree’s fruit could give
the eater immortality. If Adam and Eve already possessed
immortality, why was the tree there? There are three possibilities.
1. The tree was there to provide eternal life for people after the
fall. 2 The tree was there to provide a one time ‘reward’ of
immortality after a period of life on earth. 3. The tree was there
to provide continuing ‘treatments’ of immortality. The context
clearly falsifies the first option, the idea that the tree served
some purpose for life after the Fall.. God removed the Tree
specifically to avoid the fallen creatures from partaking of the
tree. So this would suggest that the only reason for the tree was to
provide immortality for the UNFALLEN Adam and Eve, either as a
single or continuing dose, options 1 and 2.. But both of these
options imply strongly that they did not originally possess
immortality. As noted above one can not give a trait like
immortality if they already have immortality. Both of these two
possibilities contradict the widespread view that Adam and Eve were
created immortal (in spite of the fact that no statement to that
effect actually occurs in the Scripture.)
What about the passage in Romans 8?
Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not
by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in
hope
21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to
decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the
pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (NIV)
The creation can groan even if it was not originally offering
immortality to the animals. Humans have an ability to destroy which
surpasses anything else in the creation. We are driving animals to
extinction; we are fouling the environment. Creation groans even
without immortality.
One final item, it is illogical to believe that animals had
immortality for several reasons.
First, if animals couldn’t die, why did God create them with
reproductive abilities? If no cow could die, then God need not have
created two cows and told them to populate the earth; He could have
created 10,567,890,002 cows and been done with it. None of them
could die, and there would be no need for replacements. Sex and
reproduction were needless. The fact that God told the animals to
reproduce strongly implies that they were going to need
replacements, implying death was part of their natural state.
Could it be that God planned for man to sin?* If this were so,
then traditional views of God’s causation of evil would not be
correct. God would have created a world in which man was doomed to
sin regardless of man’s own decision. This violates the theology of
most of the young-earth creationists yet they don’t notice this
contradiction.
*Generic Christian Mystic says: In fact God did plan for Adam to sin. He knew Adam would sin even before the earth was created!
Read these verses:
Revelation 13: 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
Ephesians 1: 3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
First Peter 1: 18-20 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you
Along with the fact that God is outside of time, seeing the beginning and the end as an eternal now -- God had already set in place a Savior for mankind. He knew Eve would be tempted. He knew she would be deceived. He knew Adam would sin. Nothing ever surprises the God of the Universe. The Son of God, referred to as the Lamb, volunteered to be the Savior, agreeing to come to the Earth as the God-Man Jesus. IT WAS ALL PART OF A VAST AND ETERNAL PLAN. He was known in eternity past as the Lamb, the Savior, the Obedient Son before the foundation (creation of) the world. He called and chose His believers, writing their names in His book of Life before we were ever born, before the rocks and trees, before the first fossil was formed, before the solar system was born -- we were loved, in spite of our sin.
Sometimes, when read the scriptures, it seems that God is surprised and even reactionary -- but that is due to our limited understanding of the bigger picture -- a God outside of time. (Read more on this concept here: https://genericchristianmystic--returns.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-blessing-of-eternal-timeless-things.html )
I cease my commnetary on that subject . . .
Secondly, if animals were not able to die, it would imply things
like the following. If a twenty-ton meteor, moving at 20 kilometers
per second were to smash onto the head of a fox in the field, then
in a cartoon-like manner, the fox would get up and run away after
this event. An ant, crawling on grass which was eaten by a cow,
would have had to have been able to withstand the crushing of the
cow’s teeth, and a passage through the ruminant’s four stomachs. It
would be able to resume its life after elimination from the cow no
matter how far from home the cow had taken it.
Thirdly, eating would not be necessary. If animals were unable to
die, then, they would also be unable to die from starvation. So God
giving the various animals food would have been pointless. They
really didn’t need to eat at all because they couldn’t die.
Finally, there is a strange dichotomy between what YECs say about
death and what they themselves actually admit as being the case.
When an animal in the prefall world ate a plant, hundreds of
thousands of plant cells would DIE. These cells, and the plant
itself would be digested and incorporated into the structure of the
animal. So, plant death was a reality no matter what the theology
says. Death, plant death and cell death, existed prior to the fall.
Those denying death before the fall are only interested in denying
animal death.
Yet this raises an interesting question. Could animal cells die
before the Fall? There is really little fundamental difference
between plant and animal cells in relation to their fundamental
structure. Both have DNA, both have cell membranes etc. Why is it
that only cells with chloroplasts were believed to be subject to
death prior to the fall? Were chloroplasts an Achilles heel for
survival? It would be doubtful. Along these lines, skin is partly
composed of a tough layer of dead skin cells which help protect
humans. Adam had skin and thus presumably DEAD skin cells. This
would mean that there was death before the fall.
Could it be that plants don't have the breath of life and this is
why plant death is not important? Obviously the plant has no breath
of life. Plant cells have no breath of life. But then neither again
do animal cells, at least not in the sense that the term 'breath of
life' is generally understood. So was it possible for an animal to
eat the leg of another animal prior to the fall, as long as the
animal itself is not killed? Such a possibility sounds preposterous,
yet animal cells no more have the breath of life than do plant
cells. If the differentiation between plant and animal death is
solely based upon the criterion of the breath of life, that
preposterous case can not be ruled out.
To conclude, it seems highly likely that there was death before
the Fall. There was most certainly plant death and cellular death,
and the existence of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden suggests
that it was there to give Adam and Eve something that the did not
originally possess – immortality. And if they were not immortal,
then they were mortal. Adam and Eve were offered immortality
originally through the Tree of Life in some fashion. And this
involved giving them a quality they didn’t originally
possess--immortality.
And now this other viewpoint:
(But first I have something to say as a preface. Some YEC folks assert that even the physical Laws of Thermodynamics were altered after the Fall! Entropy was first introduced due to Adam!)
Scholarly reactions:
Several problems arise from this
radical view. First, from a biblical perspective such a dramatic change because
of the curse is neither explicit nor clearly implied. God's statement of the
curse in Genesis 3:14-19 taken in the literal sense applies only to the serpent,
pain in childbirth, sweat, toil, thistles in tilling the ground, and death. The
rest of the world does not appear to have been touched in a direct sense. Romans
8:22 does speak of the whole creation groaning and travailing in pain, but it is
not helpful in explaining which aspects of creation are groaning. The Bible
implies that the world before Adam and Eve was similar to ours; and the language
of Genesis 1 and 2 very clearly describes a world with stars, oceans, plants,
and animals, just as we see them today. Because the Scriptures do not teach a
radical physical change as a result of the Fall, they are difficult to reconcile
with such a change.
From a scientific perspective, a change
in the laws of physics is obviously difficult to accept. Scientific methodology
assumes the invariance of the laws of physics. The specific notion that the
Second Law of Thermodynamics didn't hold before the Fall fails to allow for the
comprehensiveness of the laws of thermodynamics. Not only does the law of
increasing entropy imply a tendency toward more disorder but it also describes
nearly all physical phenomena. The temperatures at which water freezes and
boils, the behavior of gases in the atmosphere, the biochemical processes in
living cells, and the solubility of alloys are but a few examples of how the
Second Law of Thermodynamics affects everything around us. Phase transitions are
characterized by a change in entropy. Water molecules could not exist in a
liquid state without the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The creation of water
prior to the Fall implies the existence of the Second Law. Therefore, to say
that the law did not hold before the Fall is to maintain that the world before
the Fall bears virtually no physical resemblance to the modern world. Even if a
continuous supernatural extraction of entropy is invoked to compensate for the
effects of the law before the Fall, the result would be a world totally alien to
us. Neither can a selective application of the Second Law be granted for there
is no basis on which to judge that an entropy increase is evil in one case and
good in another. The simplest interpretation of Genesis 1 is that a world like
ours was created and existed before the Fall. It may have been possible for God
to create a universe with significantly different laws of nature but that does
not seem consistent with a basic literal interpretation of Genesis 1.
A less radical view maintains that the scope of the Fall is essentially
physiological. The central notion is that God's statement "Ye shall surely die"
implies that death was introduced into the world by sin. This is also based on
Romans 5:12a "...sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin..."
The laws of physics are left untouched but biology is not. All living creatures
lost their immortality. Carnivores appeared among the herbivores. Serpents began
to crawl on the ground and thistles and weeds grew with the wheat. Men faced a
life of toil, women the pain of childbirth, and together they faced death.
The major difficulty for the
physiological view is the fossil record. Independent of any theory of evolution,
there is strong scientific evidence that animals (both carnivores and
herbivores) were fossilized long before any hominid lived on the earth. Fossil
dating techniques have been refined considerably during the last few decades and
the record shows that animals lived and died before any human lived to eat of
the forbidden fruit. The "young earth" creationists respond by refusing to
believe the dating methods and by trying to show that all geologic strata and
all fossils were formed during the flood in the days of Noah. Evangelical
scientists point out in response that diluvial fossilization cannot be
reconciled with the scientific evidence.
There is also the difficulty of the
discontinuity of biological processes. Although our understanding of the factors
causing aging and death is still at an early stage, the aging process that leads
to death appears to be a universal and inherent characteristic of living
organisms. Life spans vary widely among animal populations, but death seems
inevitable. If death did not occur before the Fall, biological processes such as
cell replacement, digestive systems, etc., must have been dramatically altered
after the Fall to the extent that we would not recognize pre-Fall creatures. The
biblical teaching seems clear, however, that the animals created before the Fall
are the same as those we see today.
Finally, there is the philosophical question of whether animal death can really
be considered as natural evil. The assumption that death in all its forms is
evil is nebulous at best in a world where the life of many animals such as
carnivores and the existence of nearly all ecosystems depend on the death of
other organisms. Thus death, or at least animal death, may be part of the good
created world and not a result of moral evil. The difficulty may be in our
perception of evil rather than the reality of evil.
(And now here follows the current viewpoint held by the Generic Christian Mystic.)
The Double
Time Scale
Another approach to the introduction of evil into the world is to consider two
separate instances of sin and consequent evil. The first occasion is Lucifer`s
rebellion against God. His fall is described in Is. 14:12 as the fall of the
morning star. Gen. 1:2 is considered the physical effect of the action of
Lucifer and the angels who joined him. The chaos and darkness represent radical
upheaval and catastrophic changes in what was once a world free of evil. The six
days of creation describe God's recreation of the heavens and the earth.
Creation of man in the image of God presented the hope of a new creation living
in the midst of natural evil. With the sin of Adam, a second curse came upon all
humankind. Human beings in their sinful state began to struggle in their
recreated world. Natural evil was the result of Lucifer's rebellion; moral evil
was introduced through Adam's sin.
Such an approach is appealing because
it neatly resolves the problem of natural evil occurring before Adam and Eve
sinned. The world is the theater upon which the battle between Lucifer and God
is fought. Lucifer is given a much larger role in the fallen world than merely
the deceiver who suggested that Eve should disobey. Such a prominent role in the
Fall correlates with the focus given in Scripture on Satan as the crucial enemy
in redemption of both mankind and the heavens and the earth.
And now yet another take on this death before the Fall debate:
When we carefully examine Genesis 3, we see our problem, with human sin causing
human death. Later in the Bible, we see God's solution — for converting sin & death into salvation
& life — that will work whether the earth is young or old, despite erroneous young-earth claims that "if [animal] death existed before Adam... the Christian faith is all in vain" and "the whole foundations of the message of the Cross and the Atonement have been destroyed."
In Genesis 3 the fall into sin, with Adam breaking his part of a conditional if-then covenant with God,* produced three results: an inherent decrease
in relationship with God to produce spiritual death, due to a human response; a decrease
in quality of life, due to a divine judicial penalty; and another divine judicial penalty, causing physical death due to the loss of supernaturally sustained everlasting life. Through God's grace
and power, the initial gift of full life (with relationship, quality, and immortality)
was offered to Adam, but was lost by his sinful disobedience. {* Basically, the covenant was that IF humans didn't eat from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" and thus become disobedient sinners, THEN they could eat from "the tree of life" and "live forever." }
Later,
this gift of full life (with relationship, quality, and immortality) was won back
for us by
our savior. Jesus Christ accepted the penalty of death that each of us
earns by our sinful disobedience, and (by living in sinless obedience
to the Father)
Jesus earned the right to make His own everlasting life available, as a gift of
grace, to all humans who will accept.
The "tree
of [everlasting] life" was (and will be) a supernatural gift from
God, who
gave the tree of life to humans (in Gen 2:9), temporarily removed it (Gen 3:22)
due to the disobedient sin of humans, and will give it back to humans (Rev
2:7,
22:1-2,14) through the salvation that Jesus earned for humans and offers to
us (John 3:16, Romans 6:23). At that time, after our physical resurrection in heaven, God's goal
of "no sin and no death" will be permanently actualized.
Could animal death occur before
human sin? Yes. This is possible because God's gift of eternal
life through His supernatural "tree of life" (in Genesis
2-3) was available for humans in Eden, but not for animals
before Eden. Although a claim that “death is the result of sin” is correct, a young-earth claim that “all death
is the result of human sin” is incorrect. Instead, the Bible teaches us that “human death (not all death) is the result of human sin,” and this biblically-justifiable claim is
compatible with a young earth or old earth.
Animal
Death before Human Sin
Could animal death precede
human sin? In a process of old-earth creation, many animals would
live and die. Young-earth critics of old-earth theology claim that
a loving God would not use this cruel process, and that "death before
sin" is incompatible with the central Biblical doctrine (firmly established
in Genesis 3, Romans 5,...)
that death is the result of sin.
Initially this argument seems impressive. But
when we look more closely, we see very little in the Bible about sin and animal
death. Instead,
the focus is on people, with sin and death being enemies of humans, to be overcome
by the sinless life and the death and resurrection
of
Jesus
Christ. Animal death before human sin is not a theological problem
if God's gift of eternal
life through the supernatural "tree of life" (in Genesis
2-3) was available for humans in Eden, but not for animals
before Eden. Although a claim that "death is the result of sin" is correct,
a claim that "human death is the result of human sin" (which is
an old-earth view and also a young-earth view) is more justifiable than "all death
is the result of human sin" (which
is only a young-earth view).
A theology of "human death being
allowed by God due to human sin" is consistent
with the history of salvation: a supernaturally enabled
life without death (symbolized by the tree of life)
was offered by God to humans (Genesis 2:9), was lost by Adam (Genesis 3:22),
was regained for us by Jesus (I
Corinthians 15:12-57), and will be actualized
in the future (Revelation
2:7 & 22:2,14).
1. Yes, I (Craig Rusbult Ph. D) agree that "death
is the penalty for sin" because in a Christian worldview (either
young-earth or old-earth) our current experiencing of human death is due to
God's decision (Genesis
3:22) to remove some of His protective power because a human "must
not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and
eat, and live forever."
2. . . . "God
has enough imagination and power to create a wonderful paradise... 'that never
existed' but will exist in the future." And as an old-earth
Christian, I believe in God's "full protective power" that prevented
human death and suffering in Eden, and "FULL protective power" that
in heaven will prevent human death and suffering and will also (by contrast
with Eden) prevent our fall into sin.
3. For all Christians, whether
we think the earth is young or old, the essential Gospel is the same: We
acknowledge the realities of personal sin and human death, and thus our need
for a savior; we
believe that Jesus (through His sinless life, substitutionary atonement on
the cross,
and victory over death in resurrection) is our Savior; and we accept
the gift of grace (John
3:16 and Romans
6:20-23) offered by God. The "whole
message of the Gospel" does not "fall
apart" with "this view of history" because the full gospel of Jesus — including His deity, virgin birth, teachings
and miracles, sinless obedience to the Father in life, substitutionary
atonement in death, victorious resurrection, ascension into heaven, and
second coming — is fully compatible with a young earth or old earth.
4. In either Christian
view, young earth or old earth, the current cause of human death — which
occurs because, in a judicial response to human sin, God decided to temporarily
remove some
of His protective power (Genesis 3:22) and allow human death — is the
same. And in both views, eventually God will restore His full protective
power in Heaven, and there will be no sin, suffering, or death.
And now the opinion offered from one last article:
(I couldn't find this material online anymore so I offer annotated scans of a document in my collection.)
So that's a lot to digest for the present. You can by now, surely see from this post and from the other posts of mine in this blog I referred to earlier -- that Death was a natural thing existing for and naturally operating by design in all living things in the Creation. Nothing was eternal. Adam and Eve were not inherently immortal while they were in Paradise. They needed to eat. They were told at some point in their future that they could eat of The Tree of Life. Then -- they could live forever. I believe that first, they needed to exercise free will and learn obedience and resist the Evil One. If they had passed that test or other tests -- then they would have shown maturity and God would have told them, "It is time you ate now of The Tree of Life." Then and only then, would they have the life of God, eternal life. The Tree of Life is a symbol of Jesus Christ and fortunately we may now, "eat" of His life, by faith and obedience.
When Adam sinned he was denied eternal life, denied access to The Tree of Life. Instead, he earned being cast out of Eden and passed the curse of his willful sin on to all his descendants. They would all be born alienated from the life of knowing God. Instead, they would all be selfish rebels. He earned isolation from his former relationship with God. He earned his new place in a hostile world outside of the recreated Paradise of Eden. That island, that land of bliss, existing in world he did not know of beyond the Garden of Eden was now his new home. He would curse the ground, revile it and detest it as it brought forth thorns and thistles instead of the beauty he had known in Eden.
There are so many, many examples above in the articles I shared of why this scenario I described is true. Read many more such discussions in the free documents I offered earlier.
The war between Satan and God is very, very, very old and its violence nearly decimated this world eons ago. But God decided to recreate it, to prepare a place, Eden, and bring into being a special creature called Man. He would walk with Man, talk to Him and via Man -- He was going to defeat His ancient enemy. Adam failed after how many years of existence in Eden -- we do not know. Then another Man came, sinless, born of a Virgin. He was a man that could suffer pain and die, the Second Adam.
Just like Adam was a man that could die -- so was Jesus. Think carefully about that.
Adam died with the Enemy a victor.
Jesus was victorious over the Enemy in death. And His resurrection changed everything. His sacrifice as the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world was accepted!
Now that truth stands fast whether or not you are a YEC or an OEC adherent.
Now that truth stands fast whether or not you are a Creationist or an Evolutionist.
Now that truth stands fast whether or not you are an agnostic, atheist, or any other religion of your choice.
Our opinions and theories mean nothing to God really. They only matter to us.
Only our faith relationship to Jesus Christ matters.
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