St. Thomas

Question:Were Adam and Eve real people?
Answer:    That’s a complicated question. If we were asking whether real historical people lived in specific location on a set date that can be verified by archeological data, the answer would be no. If we were asking whether the story is true, the answer would be yes. Let me try to explain. The Bible is not written as a historical text book trying to impart a timeline of human events. It’s a work of faith. Human beings have been inspired by God to use their language and skill to convey the truth of God’s love and activity. That story they impart is told from the period of time in which they lived with the knowledge of the day. The truth of God is spoken in this fashion. Did God make the world from nothing? Yes. Did that process of Creation take the time equivalence of 7 solar days? No. But God did create the world and all that forms it over time. That brought about the right environment for humans to live in which we respond to God’s loving action. Did a real couple actual live as the only people in a garden in the Middle East? We aren’t sure. What we do know is that the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden tells us how human being sinned in our early history and disrupted the relationship we had with God. That broken relationship led humans to act in sinful, disordered ways that impact the world in which we live. That is Original Sin. There may have been ancient people named Adam and Eve whose memory inspired the tale in Genesis. Is that historically verifiable? No, it isn’t. Is the message of their sin and the impact it has on the world true. Absolutely!