10andBOUNCE said:
FTACo88-FDT24dad said:
Champion of Fireball said:
Boy if I could go back in time over 30 years I'd be able to address some of this. There are the different traditions in the writing. Priestly, Yahwist and Elohists. I wrote a paper about the beauty of the flood story. That it wasn't 2 unique stories but one combined in the literary tradition of the time.
But y'all continue. 
- Adam, the first human being in terms of theological poetry
Thinking what it would mean for Christ to be the second and perfect Adam, if Adam was not really a factual person, in the literal sense.
I think that's a good question. I never said there is no real Adam. There could be a literal, singular man into whose nostrils God breathed life and who became our first father and who fell. I am not saying that is necessarily false. I am inclined to believe that there were hominids like us already walking the planet when God decided that time came to complete our "evolution" as being created in his image and likeness and breathed his life into Adam's nostrils. Did God actually blow into Adam's nose? I don't know. That could be allegory for our ensoulment as a species. Or, it could be that the Holy Spirit moves air molecules and physically blows them into Adam's literal proboscis. I don't know if it matters as long as we believe that it is all by, through and under God's creative power and that when Jesus Christ becomes the "New Adam" he is correcting what Adam got wrong.
But even if I was saying that, I don't think that changes the idea of Jesus as the New Adam. Whether there was a singular Adam who fell or if it was just allegory, Jesus as the New Adam just builds on the allegory.
What is allegory in this context? It's a literary device where characters, events, and details within a story symbolize deeper truths or concepts, often providing moral, theological, or philosophical insights. In Genesis, particularly in the early chapters, there are allegorical elements that communicate significant theological truths and lessons.
Creation Narratives: The creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 use symbolic language and structure to convey fundamental truths about God as Creator, the intentionality and goodness of creation, and humanity's unique role and dignity having been created in the image and likeness of God. Since God is not corporeal at the time of Genesis, this must be, among other things, a reference to being created with free will and the ability to think rationally. These narratives aren't intended as scientific descriptions but as profound theological reflections on existence and purpose.
The Fall: The story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 is rich with allegorical elements. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the serpent, and the act of eating the forbidden fruit symbolize human temptation, freedom, choice, and the consequences of sin. This narrative allegorically depicts the rupture between humanity and God, illustrating the origin of sin and its effects on human nature.
Cain and Abel, Noah, and Babel: These subsequent stories also contain allegorical dimensions. They explore themes like sibling rivalry, the destructiveness of sin (as seen in the flood narrative), and human pride and its limitations (as seen in the Tower of Babel), each serving to highlight moral and theological lessons about human nature and divine justice.
Yes, there can also be historical elements, especially in the third item as well as the stories about Abram/Abraham and eventually Joseph/Israel and Moses.
So Genesis is not some monolithic document that we must read in a specific way or else we fail to understand it. I think it is exactly the opposite. We have to be able to wrestle with it on multiple levels simultaneously.
