The Quest for the Historical Adam: Genesis, Hermeneutics, and Human Origins

Was Adam really a historical person, and can we trust the biblical story of human origins? Or is the story of Eden simply a metaphor, leaving scientists the job to correctly reconstruct the truth of how humanity began? Although the church currently faces these pressing questions exacerbated as they are by scientific and philosophical developments of our age we must not think that they are completely new. In The Quest for the Historical Adam, William VanDoodewaard recovers and assesses the teaching of those who have gone before us, providing a historical survey of Genesis commentary on human origins from the patristic era to the present. Reacquainting the reader with a long line of theologians, exegetes, and thinkers, VanDoodewaard traces the roots, development, and, at times, disappearance of hermeneutical approaches and exegetical insights relevant to discussions on human origins. This survey not only informs us of how we came to this point in the conversation but also equips us to recognize the significance of the various alternatives on human origins.

Table of Contents:
Finding Adam and His Origin in Scripture
The Patristic and Medieval Quest for Adam
Adam in the Reformation and Post-Reformation Eras
Adam in the Enlightenment Era
Adam in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
The Quest for Adam: From the 1950s to the Present
What Difference Does It Make?
Epilogue: Literal Genesis and Science?