The notion of whether or not there is a historical Adam and Eve has been an ongoing debate within the Christian world. Many scholars are finding that their beliefs are costing them their jobs.

More and more conservative scholars are concluding that due to overwhelming scientific evidence, they no longer subscribe to the Genesis 2:7 tale of God creating Adam from dust, breathing life into him, and extracting from him a rib in order to create Eve. They feel that religious doctrine must be updated in order to accommodate what are being called facts that can no longer be avoided.

“Evolution makes it pretty clear that in nature, and in the moral experience of human beings, there never was any such paradise to be lost,” Professor John Schneider told NPR. “So Christians, I think, have a challenge, have a job on their hands to reformulate some of their tradition about human beginnings.”

Schneider taught theology at Christian Reformed School Calvin College for 25 years until he was forced to resign after writing a paper that questioned the historical Adam.

Scholars who continue to believe that the creation story is not only religious doctrine but also historical fact say that supporting evolution unravels the confines of religion and deems it unnecessary.

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary states that Genesis taken literally explains the need for religion, the need for a savior, and the need for Jesus to die on the cross.

Referencing Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15, Mohler notes that the Apostle Paul explained that Jesus’ death atones for Adam’s original sin.

“Without Adam, the work of Christ makes no sense whatsoever in Paul’s description of the Gospel, which is the classic description of the Gospel we have in the New Testament,” he said.

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