Episode Details

Were Adam and Eve real historical people, and how should Christians evaluate scientific arguments about human origins? Host Luke Betzner welcomes Dr. Casey Luskin and Dr. Michael Keas to examine the biblical case for a historical Adam and Eve, the fossil and genetic evidence discussed in debates over human ancestry, and proposals for reconciling Christianity with evolutionary accounts of human origins.

Drawing on The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith, the conversation explores Jesus’ and Paul’s references to Adam and Eve, four alternative models of human origins, questions surrounding biblical genealogies and the dating of humanity, and population-genetics modeling. Luskin and Keas explain their arguments for the traditional view and discuss how evidence and coherence shape their evaluation of competing models. Their interpretations and critiques are presented as the guests’ positions in an ongoing debate.

In this episode

• The biblical case for a historical Adam and Eve
• Fossil evidence and human genetic diversity
• Evolutionary creationism, Homo divinus, genealogical Adam and Eve, and Homo heidelbergensis proposals
• Genesis genealogies and the question of when Adam and Eve lived
• Population-genetics models and the possibility of an original pair
• Recommended books and further reading

Chapters
00:27 Introduction and guests
03:47 The biblical case for a historical Adam and Eve
12:16 Two scientific challenges: fossils and genetics
18:53 Four alternative models of human origins
27:53 Evaluating the models against Scripture
36:15 Do biblical genealogies establish a date?
40:18 Genetic diversity and a primordial pair
47:45 Final thoughts
50:50 Recommended reading
53:41 Support Paratus and closing

Resources mentioned

• The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith, edited by Joseph M. Holden, William A. Dembski, and Casey Luskin
• C. John Collins, Did Adam and Eve Really Exist? and Reading Genesis Well
• Casey Luskin, “Comparing Contemporary Evangelical Models Regarding Human Origins,” Religions
• Discovery Institute: discovery.org

About Paratus
Paratus is the podcast of Veritas International University, helping Christians develop a biblical worldview and think scripturally and soundly about faith and culture. Learn more at ves.edu.

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