Faith, Reason, and the Origins of Mankind

The question of human origins surely ranks high on the list of theological topics, touching on the deepest questions of who we are, where we came from, and where we are destined. In his new book, William Lane Craig has made an important contribution in the effort to combine faith and reason to shed some light on these great mysteries.

In Quest of the Historical Adam: A Biblical and Scientific Exploration, by William Lane Craig (421 pages, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2021)

Both religion and science originate in the innate desire of human beings to know the truth, to discover the deeper order and purpose in the universe. Since the growth of modern science, many thoughtful believers have inquired more deeply into the articles of their faith in an attempt to reconcile them with what scientific discoveries have taught us about material reality, in the conviction that all truths are complementary. This is a project in which thinkers as far back as Galileo were engaged, as shown in Galileo’s discussion of science and scripture. It is also a passion of the contemporary theological scholar William Lane Craig, whose new book In Quest of the Historical Adam enquires into the ways in which scientific anthropology (the biological and social study of man) may contribute to theological anthropology (the spiritual and moral study of man).

According to Craig, we must have a worldview that takes in all sources of knowledge—the mysteries of revelation as well as the fruits of scientific reason. We must “integrate the independently discovered findings of contemporary science and biblical theology into a synoptic worldview.” Craig achieves such a synthesis in his book, and masterfully too.

Among the most mysterious sides of revelation are surely the opening chapters of the book of Genesis, which touch on the very origins of the world and human beings. Theologians have debated for centuries how to understand such topics as the creation of the universe and of Adam and Eve, the Temptation, the Fall. Thinkers both secular and religious have discussed endlessly what these texts might have to say to us in modern times. With the growth of modern biology, and particular evolutionary theory, it has appeared to many that the creation of the First Man ex nihilo (or as the Bible specifies, “of dust from the ground” and in “in his own image”) can no longer be seriously held as a literal truth. Homo sapiens is now seen to have evolved over tens of thousands of years from various parent species. Now, this creates a very serious question for the believer: When did man become man? When did man, created in the image of God and endowed with a rational soul, with spiritual stature and moral responsibility, come into the picture? Was Adam a single human being, or is he a symbol of humanity? And what do we say about the primitive forerunners of man? Were they human, or merely animals, or something in between? Do the accounts of Genesis still hold any validity?

Craig explains that essential aspects of humanity, including the ability to reason, to use language and to think symbolically, were in place earlier than scientists previously believed. Cave paintings dating from as far back as 30,000 years bear witness to a being that shared our capacity for symbolic representation and, very likely, appreciation of beauty and form. Artifacts of tools and dwellings suggest that proto-man already had significant powers of rational organization and foresight.

Putting these facts together with insights of genetics, Craig argues that it is plausible to believe that humanity had a “founding couple” whom we can identify with Adam and Eve of the Bible. If Adam and Eve were endowed with self-consciousness (not merely animal instinct), reason, will, moral responsibility and creative power, then we must posit a divine intervention—a leap sort of leap of nature in which God providentially infused the founding couple with the ingredients of full humanity.

In view of these insights, Craig stakes his claim that if Adam and Eve were historical persons, then they may have belonged to homo heidelbergensis, one of a number of early hominid species, and lived anywhere from 750 thousand to a million years ago.

In Quest of the Historical Adam is a curious and fascinating book, half theological study and half scientific study. The early chapters are concerned with determining precisely what sort of book Genesis is, since Judeo-Christian beliefs about man’s origins hinge on that text. On the one hand, biblical literalists (who were around in Galileo’s day, and in St. Augustine’s) have insisted that we interpret Genesis in the plain sense of the words, almost as if its intention was to teach scientific data. But Craig comes to a different conclusion.

I would observe that—if my own childhood recollections are any guide—children are complete literalists. They take stories as they hear them in their plainest sense, and that includes the texts of the Bible. It is only later, as we make the journey toward adulthood, that we become more sophisticated and begin to see the underlying moral truth, derived from the moral imagination, which may not ultimately be tied to a literal reading of the words.

At the same time, orthodoxy requires belief in a God who is beyond nature and can, if He wills, intervene miraculously in the world. Thus, Christ’s resurrection is a literal truth and no mere symbol or metaphor. The primeval accounts of Genesis are a different matter. They are not a historical chronicle in the same sense as the Gospels. Comparing the early chapters of Genesis with ancient near-eastern myths, Craig concludes that Genesis is “mytho-history,” a unique hybrid in which Israel’s history is grounded in a primeval past. The Genesis account of the origins of the world and man is not to be taken in a naively literalistic way. Yet it is clearly historically referential, employing genealogies that situate the events in Jewish history and mentioning actual places in the area of Mesopotamia. At the same time, it includes elements of anthropomorphism—the talking serpent, God “walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”

In deciding what to make of this, it won’t do to say that “ancient people believed in fantastic things because they lacked modern science.” Ancient Israelites knew as well as we that serpents did not talk, nor did they believe that God had a literal body. Precisely how ancient people regarded their myths (and by “myths” is meant not the fabulous and imaginary but sacred narratives conveying ultimate truths) has been much discussed. In his essay “Horrid Red Things,” C.S. Lewis insists that “we must distinguish the core of belief from the attendant imaging.” Ancient peoples typically saw sacred truths as clothed in material imagery, often in such a way that the idea was hardly separable from the imagery. But whether such imagery is to be “literally” believed or not does not affect the core meaning.

Assuming then that the primeval accounts in Genesis are to be classed as mytho-history, Craig asks whether we should regard Adam as a single historical person or a collective symbol of humanity, and whether this is essential for theology. This touches on the precise meaning of Original Sin, and how Adam’s sin is transmitted to his descendants. If Adam is a symbol only, how can “he” be regarded as passing sin on to us? Passages from St. Paul suggest that he certainly regarded Adam as an individual, not merely a symbol, whose sin was canceled out by Christ, the New Adam.

Yet there is more to this than meets the eye. When a biblical author such as Paul alludes to Adam as a real individual, he may be referring to nothing but the individual in the Genesis narrative, not declaring that he, Paul, believes Adam to be a real individual. There is a distinction between “truth” and “truth-in-the story.” Craig makes a number of such interpretive distinctions that will be useful for any reader of sacred literature.

Ultimately, Craig comes down on the side of the need to preserve the idea of Adam and Eve as real individuals, not symbols only. Although scientific discoveries have made us adjust our conception of man’s origins somewhat, this central idea can still stand, and on scientific legs too. So argues Craig.

And what of the humanity of pre-humans or hominins? Were they subject to God’s grace and judgment? Will we meet them at the eschaton? These are fascinating questions that are seldom raised by believers, and Craig has the boldness and imagination to explore them, without giving definitive answers.

Craig is a keen and experienced scholar whose method is thoroughly logical and who makes careful, nuanced, and prudent judgments. I was frankly overwhelmed by the breadth of his knowledge and his ability to catch and critique logical flaws in other scholars’ arguments. A non-specialist might well get lost in the technical discussions, but Craig draws everything to significant and rounded conclusions that will be relevant to the believer. The book is clearly structured, impeccably argued and, although quite challenging, should find a wide audience of intelligent readers.

The question of human origins surely ranks high on the list of theological topics, touching on the deepest questions of who we are, where we came from, and where we are destined. Craig has made an important contribution in the effort to combine faith and reason to shed some light on these great mysteries.

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The featured image is Homo Neanderthalensis Adult Male Reconstruction. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.