Adam and Paul

This post on Jesus Creed is mind blowing, although it is really just a summary discussion of some of Peter Enns book, The Evolution of Adam.

The basic points are:

1. Nothing in the OT gives Adam the importance protestant theology does
2. Nothing in the OT suggests that Adam's sin is imparted to his offspring
3. Paul's emphasis on Adam is an innovation in terms of the OT resulting from his encounter with Christ

I would add to those points that Adam is mentioned in only 3 of Paul's letter (Rom, 1 Cor, 1 Tim) and only twice in the NT outside of Paul.  Both those occurences are in terms of genealogy rather than assertions of hereditary sin (Luke 3:38, Jude 14) . He gets a total of 9 mentions in the NT. By contrast Abraham is mentioned over 70 times in the NT, in all four gospels and across both Pauline and catholic epistles.

Now I think those points are more or less irrefutable, but of course the implications are not so clear.  I know Enns' thesis is really about whether or not Christians need to understand Gen 2-3 as literal history or something else.  But long before we get to that topic I'd say this suggests our protestant emphasis on hereditary sin is at the very least an overemphasis and most likely a misreading of Paul.  Which send me scurrying to look at Rom 5:12-21 and 1 Cor 15 again, and I think to myself, this is possible . . .

Action points: I'm going to have to read Enns' book myself (I thought Inspiration and Incarnation was overrated, so wasn't going to bother) and I'm going to have to do some exegesis on these Pauline Adam passages.

So, what do you think? :-)

brick-a-brack 12/01/11

• Think you are being persecuted? (From Alex)

• Sufi comics have launched their free ebook of 40 sufi comics, as I mentioned before, this is a good introduction to a different side of Islam
• An essay on Gerhard von Rad, OT scholarship, Jesus, and resistance to the Nazis, HT John Byron
• Bruce Winter lectures on the Pastoral Epistles and Hebrews, HT Ali
• Steve Douglas and friends launch a new podcast "Ad Hoc Christianity" with a dicsussion of doubt and faith
• This guy thinks he is a manly preacher and the rest of us are sissys, but he can't even bring himself to say toilet:  HT Loren Rosson

• This is more than a little whimsical, which of course makes it true art.  HT Doug Chaplin

• And finally, thanks to Calum for sharing this but not sharing that,

Here's one for the Calvinists

Lest I be accused of allowing Xenos to be a little one sided,

HT