God, Adam & You

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals has a very helpful audio resource – In the Beginning:  God, Adam and You.  This is an excellent defense of the historicity of Adam.  The speakers include Joel Beeke, Kevin DeYoung, Liam Goligher, Richard Phillips and Derek Thomas.  The Lord Jesus Christ is "the last Adam" (1 Cor. 15:45) so this topic is important.  Dr. Beeke has a video describing his talk.

One speaker is confused on the toledoths (“these are the generations of”) in Genesis.  P.J. Wiseman has provided strong evidence that these appear at the end of a section.  Thus, Adam, Noah and Shem provided eyewitness accounts and Moses compiled these.  Adam is mentioned in the genealogies so he is a real historical figure (1 Chr. 1:1, Lk. 3:38 etc.). 

It is often said that Genesis tells us why God created but not how.  One presenter counters that view (Heb. 11:3, Ps. 33:6, Gen. 1:3,6,9 etc.).  One speaker misses the mark on the dinosaur and large aquatic reptile mentioned in Job 40 and 41.  The fact that Adam was prophet and priest is detailed.

The views of Tim Keller and BioLogos are confronted.  Theistic evolution goes against what we read in Psalm 8:

What is mankind that you are mindful of them,

    human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet (Ps. 8:4-6, NIV).

One of Rich Mullins' (Ragamuffin) songs is even referenced:

Well, they said, "Boy you just follow your heart"

But my heart just led me into my chest
They said, "Follow your nose"
But the direction changed every time
I went and turned my head

And they said, "Boy you just follow your dreams"
But my dreams were only misty notions
But the Father of hearts and the Maker of noses
And the Giver of dreams, He's the one I have chosen
And I will follow Him

The moral of this song is that we should not fall to the pressure from academic elites who want us to deny a real Adam.  Jesus believed in an historical Adam so should we (Mt. 19:4,5; Mk. 10:6-8).  I saw Mullins twice and was deeply moved.  Mullins was part of an event where creationist leader Paul Ackerman (It's a Young World After All) spoke at.

We can’t go back to Eden; the Flood destroyed it, but if we could would there be a sign there saying “Former Home of Adam & Eve”?