Death pre-fall? Evolutionary Creationism Part 5
In my first article on the subject of EC (Evolutionary Creationism), I talk about how the appearance of death before the fall caused me to question YEC. In this article, I will articulate and defend the view that physical death before the fall was not only possible but must have transpired. My article has nothing to do with science. This article is a biblical discussion.
Death and Mortality in Genesis 1–3
This section will discuss the relevant texts of Genesis 1–3. I argue that mortality is a theme in the chapters, and death is present from the beginning. In Genesis 1:28, it is written:
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground, (NIV).
Many will be shocked to find that this is the first mention of death, implicitly, in the Bible. People come to this conclusion because of the harshness of the Hebrew terms translated as subdue and rule. The term we translate as subdue:
… occurs 13 other times in the Bible. In 6 of these cases, it’s used of war conquest… 5 other passages use it of forcing people into slavery… Micah 7:2 uses it as a reference to trampling underfoot and Esther 7:8 uses it as a locution for rape (Stanhope, 2017, 5:40–5:58).
We need to remember not to sanitize the text with any modern sensibilities. I (and you) should want to know what the original authors thought, not what we want them to think. The fact is that “the term ‘subdue’ is a potentially violent verb, referring to ‘trampling under one’s feet’ in absolute subjugation” (Dyk, 2009, P. 190). The term translated rule is also extremely harsh. Dr. Ee, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Westminster Seminary California, discusses the Hebrew term and concludes, “(it) is not used for someone ruling over his own people unless that rule involves some sort of oppression or injustice” (Ee, 2013, 210).
Essentially, God calls his image bearers to make a war-like conquest on living creatures. They dominate, subjugate, and eat meat, which the Most High blesses (Ee, 2013; Gen 9:3; Deut 12:20; 1 Cor 10:25; Rom 14). The command in Gen 1:29–30 is in addition to the blessing to eat meat. Genesis 9 restates the Genesis covenant, not adding the ability to eat meat.
In Genesis 2:16–17, it is written:
And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. (NIV)
Here is found the first explicit mention of death in the Bible. There are MANY interpretations of this passage. God lying, changing his mind, hyperbole, dying spiritually, and physically doomed to die have all been proposed by scholars and layman alike. We should first note some historical context that can help us understand the text.
We have temple garden texts from Babylon where the leader says they will die if x happens, then x happens, and they do not die (Wells, 2023). The temple was able to change their mind about what punishment they wanted to give based on the circumstances and the disobedience. The threats were conditional. It might be strange to bring up ancient temples. Yet, many scholars have noted that Genesis One is a temple inauguration. God sets up his universe as his cosmic temple (Buller, 2015), making Adam and Eve workers of God’s earthly sacred space (Drimalla et al, 2021).
We also have precedent for God changing his mind about something. God decides not to destroy Israel after Moses interceeds on their behalf (Ex 32:12–14). Chisholm (2006) discusses the Hebrew and says, “Though the NIV uses “relent”… the underlying Hebrew verb is the same one translated “change his mind” in Numbers 23:19… The Hebrew verb carries the same meaning” (Para. 3). He also concludes that God can change his mind when God announces his purpose or act conditionally.
Therefore, temple death threats are a great historical backdrop for the Genesis narrative. God is the leader of the temple and issues a threat of physical death if they take from the sacred objects. However, God changes his mind, gives different punishments, and allows the natural course of their life to play out, which leads to death (Genesis 3:8–23, Gen 5:5).
In Genesis 3:22–23, it is written:
And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. (NIV)
The historical context of this passage is epics like Gilgamesh and Etana. In these, human beings are not inherently immortal. Humans are part of the human realm, not the divine realm. In the epic of Gilgamesh, “the quest for immortality is absurd, portrayed as a kind of morbid insanity” (Walton, 2023, P. 169). Immortality is something humans seek, not have.
This passage agrees with the historical context. Humans are not inherently immortal because there would be no need for the Tree of Life in the text. Some have said that the first humans were immortal but became mortal after eating the fruit. Then, Adam and Eve are banished from the garden so they do not become immortal again. This interpretation is extra-biblical (Gen 2 says nothing about the condition of Adam and Eve in this respect) and does not fit with the historical context, which one must use to interpret the text adequately (Grasping God’s Word, 2020). Kruse (2013), who holds to the physical death interpretation of Romans 5, still states, “As far as we can tell from Scripture, Adam was created as a mortal being, with a human life-cycle which.. would have begun and ended…” (P. 243).
Romans 5:12–21
This passage has several interpretive difficulties. What does death mean in this passage? How exactly should we translate the Greek of 5:12? How are all condemned because of one man? Is that fair? Why does Paul blame Adam and not Eve or the Devil for the introduction of sin? Many answers exist to these questions. For this article, I will make a case that death is losing access to physical immortality.
Position & Defense
I arrived at this conclusion for a few reasons. A massive reason is that Paul connects his argument to the scene in Genesis 3. Kruse (2013) states, “he is alluding to Genesis 3 and Adam’s disobedience in eating forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (P. 241). Therefore, the death described here must not disagree with Genesis if we are to think that Scripture does not contradict itself. Furthermore, we have to consider Paul’s Jewish context. Second-Temple Jewish texts disagree about many issues related to sin, Adam, and more. One such text says:
O Adam, what have you done? Your sin was not your fall alone; it was ours also, the fall of all your descendants. What good is the promise of immortality to us, when we have committed mortal sins; or the hope of eternity, in the wretched and futile state to which we have come, (4 Ezra 7:118–119)
This text has the same logic Paul does, namely that Adam is at fault for sin but also for our mortal existence. How can we have immortality in this state? As it is written, “so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v21). Humans lose access to immortality. Yet it returns through a combination of Grace, Righteousness, and Christ. Paul answers the question in 4th Ezra by giving Jesus as the solution. In conclusion, the “inaccessible immortality” interpretation works because it fits perfectly with Genesis, some second-temple Jewish thought, and the logic of Paul’s argument.
I will make two additional comments about Romans 5. Firstly, this has nothing to do with animal death. The focus of the passage is humans (Heiser, 2011). Reading this as the origin of the death of animals is an overreading of the text that does not fit the historical or literary context. Secondly, this is not a theodicy (an explanation of evil and suffering in the world). As Walton points out, “The discourse also does not offer a defence for the justice of God… the emphasis of the discourse of Romans 5 is on typology rather than on theodicy” (P. 116–117).
Additional comments
This section will taper off the article and make general comments before concluding. Some of us may wonder why God would call a world “very good” after telling humans to go to war with creation. Many have deliberated about God, animal suffering, and evil in general. For this article, it is enough to say that we have misunderstood what “very good” means in the cultural and literary context (More on this in a future article).
I want to make a quick comment on atonement. Far too often, YEC (Young Earth Creationists) portray other creationists as making Jesus into a liar and his redemptive work bunk. That caricature is untrue and honestly distresses me. As I have been studying this, I have come face to face with the beautiful message that Christ restores in us all that Adam ruined. The contrast and the rhetoric are beautiful. Understanding this passage has deepened my faith and relationship with my father and brother in heaven. To tell us that we reject his righteous redemptive work is folly. Evolutionary Creationists, like all believers, proclaim with Anselm
… For what is Jesus except to say Saviour?… You have redeemed me, do not condemn me. You created me by your goodness, do not let the work of your hands perish by my wickedness, (Meditation 1)
Conclusion
In summary, Adam and Eve are created human and mortal (Gen 3:22). Humans can eat meat and vegetation (Gen 1:28–30). They have a choice between the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:9). They choose the Tree of Knowledge, defying God’s command and bringing about sin (Gen 3:6–7, Rom 5:12). God decides not to kill them physically. Instead, he pronounces curses and banishes the humans from Eden, making it impossible to gain physical immortality (Gen 3:8–22). Many moons later, God becomes incarnate, dies, and resurrects (1 Cor 15). Why? To give us back what we lost, physical immortality (Rom 6:23). By His grace, we will become perfect and eternal (1 Cor 15:35–58; Eph 4:24), not only restoring the Edenic paradise but making something better (Rev 22:1–5). Truly we sing with the victorious, “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty” (Rev 15:3).
I tried my best to submit myself to the scriptures and how they understand this topic, not how I understand this. I know numerous possible interpretations exist of these texts. I humbly submit my essay to you, the reader, for your consideration, knowing this is not the first nor best discussion on this topic. That said, what is next? The next article in this series will discuss what the phrase very good means in Genesis 1. Many will argue that what I have proposed is not very good initial creation which contradicts Genesis, so it makes sense to tackle that issue next.
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Originally published at https://www.followersoftheshepherd.org.
Buller, D. (2015). Creation is the temple where god rests. BioLogos. Retrieved from https://biologos.org/articles/creation-is-the-temple-where-god-rests
Chisholm, B. R. (2006). Does god change his mind — DTS voice. Retrieved from https://voice.dts.edu/article/does-god-change-his-mind-robert-b-chisholm-jr/
Drimalla et al. (2021). Were Adam and Eve priests in Eden? BibleProject. Retrieved from https://bibleproject.com/articles/were-adam-and-eve-priests-eden/
Duval and Hays. (2020). Grasping God’s Word, Fourth Edition: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible. Zondervan Academic.
Dyk, V. P. (2009). Challenges in the Search for an Ecotheology. Old Testament Essays, 22(1):186–204. https://scielo.org.za/pdf/ote/v22n1/10.pdf
Heiser, M. (2011). Romans 5:12. Dr. Michael Heiser. https://drmsh.com/romans-512/
Intertextual. Bible | biblical intertextuality | romans 5:12 | 4 ezra 7:118. (n.d.). Retrieved July 2, 2024, from https://intertextual.bible/text/romans-5.12-4-ezra-7.48
Kruse, G. C. (2012). Pillar New Testament Commentary: Romans. Eerdmans
Stanhope, B. (2017). Animals Died Before the Fall — Where the Creation Museum Gets the Bible Wrong. Ben S. From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsK1gcCI618
The prayers and meditations of St Anselm — The prayers and meditations of St. Anselm & the proslogion. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://erenow.org/common/the-prayers-and-meditations-of-st-anselm-the-proslogion/5.php
Van Ee, J. (2013). Death and the Garden: An Examination of Original Immortality, Vegetarianism, and Animal Peace in the Hebrew Bible and Mesopotamia. UC San Diego. ProQuest ID: VanEe_ucsd_0033D_13256. Merritt ID: ark:/20775/bb96943002. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0qm3n0mt
Walton, H. J. (2023). KNOWING GOOD AND EVIL: VALUES AND PRESENTATION IN GENESIS 2–4. St Andrews University. Retrieved from https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/27738/Thesis-Jonathan-Walton-complete-version.pdf?sequence=4
Wells, B. (2023). What Babylonian Gardens Tell Us About Adam And Eve ft. Dr. Bruce Wells. What Your Pastor Didn’t Tell You. From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylDgS8GpSjQ&t=0s
