Chesterton, Adam and Eve, and the Fall

[Nita]

Krane, Kenneth S., Introductory Nuclear Physics, Wiley, 1987.

It might just as easily be suggested that the past of carbon dating is not reliable, since at the time that the “fountains of the deep” sprung up during the flood, that so-called fossil-fuels also could have spurted up and even been burned since there was so much volcanic activity around as well.

Beside, no one knows what proportion of radio isotopes were available in the air, or under ground at the time of creation.

Yep. Takes faith to believe in carbon dating.

I’ve only just started to read about the Carbon 14 (since last night!). But already I’ve come across something similar to what you mention – that the ratio of Carbon 14 to Carbon 12 is not known to be constant. One theory holding that originally there was only C12.

 

[rcjones]

I’ve only just started to read about the Carbon 14 (since last night!). But already I’ve come across something similar to what you mention – that the ratio of Carbon 14 to Carbon 12 is not known to be constant. One theory holding that originally there was only C12.

It is really humorous to read articles about how they have created a correction factor to C-14 calculations by calibrating them against a tree that is 6000 years old. How do they know it is 6000 years old? hahahaha. They prop up one guess with another guess. It is better to believe God.

And what is to gain in believing Carbon dating? They can never prove it. Science doesn’t prove anything. Science falsifies one theory in relation to another. Science can only provide excuses not to believe God.

Did God really say?.. Where have I heard that before?

 

[CntrySngr72]

I felt it necessary to reply to this thread as we have a big debate going on within our deanery, and truly within our diocese about this notion that ‘Adam and Eve’ as a myth. We have a sister in our Diocese who is in charge of Adult Faith Formation. Our deanery decided to ask her to run a series of ‘classes’ for our chatechists on a monthly basis.

These 'first Wednesday’s" of the month were held in my parish where I teach Apologetics to Juniors and Seniors. The book that this sister had the catechists read was “And God Said What?” by Margeret Nutting Ralph. Now recently I had heard the ‘rumors’ fly that “Adam and Eve is a myth” so I started researching it where I could. I read Humani Generis from Pope Pius XII and felt that he made it clear that we have to see Adam and Eve as our first parents - not as representatives of a group of people - which is what this book teaches.

When I approached the sister about this, she couldn’t answer me. So I asked her to review it and get back to me on it in a few days. Gave her my number and email addresses - and I never heard back from her. And, needless to say, many of the Catechists tried to teach this to their young students, and in return they told their parents that Adam and Eve is a myth. So now our deanery has invited her this Thursday night to try to clarify this.

Her comment to our DRE is that “if people are not ready to learn try theology they will not understand it. This is college level theology…” - I really dislike this woman. Come to find out she’s one of the ones pushing for women to be allowed to be priests - but that is a different story. She is basically saying that we aren’t smart enough to grasp this ‘modern theology’. Anyway, parents are in an uproar about this, so she is coming to ‘clarify’…I feel if the Holy Spirit is with us, He will help us to find truth…that is all I’m searching for.

So - the question remains: Is the story of Adam and Eve a myth?

The book tries to explain that ‘myth’ is a literary form and doesn’t mean that there isn’t truth to the story - just that it didn’t happen exactly the way it is written in the bible. Now, I can understand this and see it as a valid explination - however that is not what I have read in papal documents or magestarial materials…so I ask you: What is truth? Is the Story of Adam and Eve a myth? And if so, what does this mean to our belief in Original Sin?

Thanks for your help in clearing this up…I hope to be prepared for our meeting Thursday evening.

 

[William9999]

Dear CntrySngr72:
Start from Romans 7, 18.Everyone who has ever looked inside himself, or herself, knows
that we are are creatures with a big problem. If there is any doubt about this, look
at a newspaper: it confirms that we all have the problem.
Verse 25 shows us the way out. It is vastly more important to know the way out
of our troubles rather than to know exactly how we got into them.
Nevertheless, people have always tried to find an explanation and the authors
of Genesis composed the story of Adam and Eve to understand our estrangement
from God. But there is fairly strong scientific evidence that human beings existed
before Genesis was written.We are estranged and we don’t know why: it is simply
a fact about us.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

Chesterton, in “The Everlasting Man” affirmed the humanity of the pre-historic European cave artists. Art, wrote Chesterton, is the signiture of Man.
If he was right, the artists must have been descendents of Adam and Eve. Chesterton did not know that the cave art was painted 35,000 years ago; we know this by C14 dating.
I can see only three possible conclusions:

1. Chesterton was wrong. The cave painters were not humans, but hominids with extraordinary skill in art. The story of Adam and Eve occurred much later.
2. Chesterton was right. The story of Adam and Eve occurred before the cave
   paintings, and was passed along by oral tradition for about 30,000 years.
3. The story of Adam and Eve is a myth. It points to a very important truth about human nature, never more powerfully expressed than by St. Paul in Romans 7, 14-24. We don’t
   know how we got into our predicament. Verse 25 tells us how to get out.

I pick number 3. It’s the only one that makes sense.