If there's one objection that people raise to evolutionary creationism that has genuine legitimacy, it is to question how the rejection of the historical reality of Adam and Eve can be reconciled with Christian philosophy concerning sin and original sin, and how the absence of Adam still leaves theological breathing room for the acceptance of the Godhood of the New Adam, Jesus Christ.

Sound heavy? It is, trust me.

Conveniently, Pope Benedict XVI just happens to have given a talk, recently, that outlines the beginnings of how we can approach forming a theologically valid response:

Addressing the 7,000 people gathered in the Paul VI Hall, he explained how the Apostle of the Gentiles, comparing the figures of Adam and Christ in his Letter to the Romans, "traces the basic outlines of the doctrine of original sin".

"The centre of the scene is occupied not so much by Adam and the consequences of sin on humanity, but by Jesus Christ and the grace which, through Him, was abundantly poured upon humanity".

"If, in the faith of the Church, an awareness arose of the dogma of original sin, this is because it is inseparably connected to another dogma, that of salvation and freedom in Christ. This means that we should never consider the sin of Adam and of humankind separately, without understanding them within the horizon of justification in Christ".

"As men and women of today we have to ask ourselves whether such a doctrine is still sustainable", said the Holy Father. "Many people think that, in the light of the history of evolution, there is no place for … an original sin which extends through the history of humankind and that, consequently, the redemption and the Redeemer lose their foundation. Does, then, original sin exist or not?"

I think the first and most important theological step in creating an evolutionary creationist apologetic that remains orthodox and true to the Bible is to begin by asking what the purpose of the Bible is. The Pope references it, above: the purpose of the Bible is Christ, who is the Word and the Logos Himself. From its opening lines to its closing sentences, all of the Bible must be understood in the context of its pointing to, and revealing, the person and divinity of Jesus.

And we must then understand that the person and divinity of Jesus is inextricably bound up with His resurrection, and (before that) His death.

This is an important insight, because a common objection thrown out by Christians against evolution is that evolution asserts that death — physical death — was in the world prior to the emergence of humanity, whereas the Bible makes it very plainly clear that physical death is the result of Adam's sinfulness. And to attempt to recast the punishment of death as being a reference to eternal/spiritual death (e.g. condemnation) doesn't work, because the text of God's condemnation of Adam is passionately physical in nature: "dust you are, and to dust you shall return!" (Genesis 3:19) The text makes it clear: the consequence of sin is to become physically unmade, is physical death.

To address this, the evolutionary creationist must first point out that, again, all of the Bible — yes, even this passage — points toward Christ, and Christ came first to die (physically), and then to rise again. Thus, even from the part of the Book of Genesis that describes what transpires before Adam and Eve's first sin, physical death is indicated in the Word of God, because all the Word points toward the Son who came to die and rise again.

And what emerges is something of a contradiction: the Son came to die, and physical death was an intended part of creation from even before the first sin of mankind (c.f. John 12:24)…but Genesis would seem to indicate that physical death only entered into creation after man first sinned.

How do we address this?

That's something for another blog post — or perhaps several blog posts. I will say, however, that to begin to approach the issue requires the separation of the message of faith contained within the Genesis text from the incidental aspects of the text itself. The text is attempting to convey a message of faith to us concerning God's authorship of, and Lordship over, all creation; it is attempting to convey a message about the "very good" nature of creation; and it is attempting to convey a message about man's fallen, sinful nature which stems from disobedience to God's laws and ordinances.

This message of faith uses, as its vehicle, an ancient origins legend that fuses an ancient retrojective scientific perspective with an ancient theodicy (an explanation for the presence of suffering and death in the world). But the incidental text — the vehicle for the message — is only of secondary importance; the message of faith is what is critical, and what we must carry forward into the modern world with its reams of evidence concerning the age and formation of the Earth.

"In the evolutionist and atheistic view of the world … it is held that human beings as such have, from the beginning, borne evil and good within themselves. … Humans are not simply good, but open to good and to evil … both of them original. Human history then, according to this view, does nothing more than follow the model present in all evolution. What Christians call original sin is only this blend of good and evil".

"This, in the final analysis, is a vision of despair. If it is true, evil is invincible, … all that counts is individual interest, any form of progress would necessarily be paid for with a river of evil, … and anyone who wishes to progress would have to pay this price. … This modern idea, in the end, can create only sadness and cynicism".

"Again we ask ourselves: what does the faith say? … St. Paul … confirms the contradiction between the two natures, … the reality of the darkness of evil weighing upon the whole of creation. Yet, in contrast to the desolation … of dualism … and monism, … the faith speaks to us of two mysteries of light and one of darkness", and the mystery of darkness is "enclosed within in the mysteries of light".

"The faith tells us that there are no two principles, one good and one evil. There is only one principle which is God the Creator and He is solely good, without shadow of evil. Hence, neither are human beings a mix of good and evil. The human being as such is good. … This is the joyful announcement of the faith: there is but one source, a source of good, the Creator, and for this reason … life too is good".

…

"Evil arises from a subordinate source; God with His light is stronger. For this reason evil can be overcome, for this reason the creature … is not only curable but is in fact cured. God introduced the cure. He personally entered history and, to counteract the permanent source of evil, placed a source of pure good: Christ crucified and risen, the New Adam Who opposes the foul river of evil with a river of light … that remains present in history".

(hat tip)