We are sinners in need of a Savior. But where does our sinfulness come from? The traditional reading of the book of Genesis places that responsibility squarely on the shoulders of Adam. He was the first human being to be created and he was created perfect, but he disobeyed God and corrupted his soul. He then passed his own sinfulness to his children and the rest of humanity, dooming them all to eternal separation from the holy God. Only God's mercy as demonstrated through the cross of Christ can repair that separation.But what if Adam was not created perfect, and what if Adam was not the first person on earth? Whence then comes the universal sinfulness that plagues humanity? This is the dilemma created by evolution, that gradual process by which all life on earth is believed to have arisen through genetic mutation and natural selection over millions and billions of years. Here the reader will find answers to this critical question and several related ones, such as how a perfect God could create an imperfect world and how the Biblical depiction of the creation of Adam and of Eve fits with an evolutionary process.Like Abraham that was to follow them, Adam and Eve were the products of a polytheist culture who were chosen by God for a special task from among all who existed at that time. Their world was one in which suffering and death were common for humans and animals alike, and where disorder of every kind dominated reality. God brought them to a garden within the region of Eden to become His emissaries in revealing Himself and His purposes to all of humanity and to bring them all into a relationship with Himself. But they failed in their calling, disobeying God and interrupting His plan. Their expulsion from the garden launched a millennia-long effort by God to reach out to the children He created and make them into the true sons and daughters He had always intended them to be.
