The evolution of Adam - The dust of the ground

in #religion7 years ago (edited)

Last week we looked at how Jesus Christ could act in the role of the Redeemer and how he gained power over death through inheritance.

Having a mortal mother, but an immortal Father meant he inherited characteristics from both of those realms and was able to exercise power in both and between both of these realms.

He clearly states in John 10:

17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

On this basis it is then profitable to look at the way in which The Christ's body is referred to first, in its mortal state, and then in its resurrected state because there are interesting scriptural phrases that are utilized that are similarly used when making reference to the body of Adam.

But first lets start off with Adam being formed of the dust.

Most would be familiar with the statement that Adam was made from the dust of the ground from:

Gen 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Based on this some conjure up mental images of God molding clay into man and animals.


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But yet, If we read later scriptures we find that all people and animals are considered to be formed from dust:

Palms 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Palms 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Ecclesiastes 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

It is very clear from these verses that not only Adam is considered to be formed of the dust of the ground but that all people and animals were too. It is clear that the biblical authors considered that upon death all returns to dust, which is the same dust from which it was made.

In more modern terminology we would simply say that the human body if formed or comprised of atoms and molecules that are common to all life and the earth as a whole.

The fact that we are born of a mother and that we now know our physical body is assembled from physical elements via biological processes make our birth and bodies no less miraculous and wonderful.

What sets us apart from the rocks, which are made from these same elements, is the breath of life... as Ecclesiastes states:

the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth

It is this spirit or breath of life that animates our physical bodies and connects us to the divine.

Without this spirit we are no different from the dust of the earth... as becomes very clear when we die and our bodies decompose and decay to be recycled into the circle of life.

Previous parts of this Series.

Were the seven days of creation in Genesis seven twenty four hour periods? - Where do these notions originate?

Were the seven days of creation in Genesis seven twenty four hour periods? - Delving a little deeper

Were the seven days of creation in Genesis seven twenty four hour periods? - Into the detail

Were the seven days of creation in Genesis seven twenty four hour periods? - Some conclusions

Were the seven days of creation in Genesis seven twenty four hour periods? - Some more conclusions

Were the seven days of creation in Genesis seven twenty four hour periods? - The implications.

The evolution of Adam - a conundrum

The evolution of Adam - Who is Adam

The evolution of Adam - Two trees and choice

The evolution of Adam - Partaking of the fruit and feeling naked

The evolution of Adam - Was there death before Adam

The evolution of Adam - The biological purpose of death.

The evolution of Adam - The need for a Redeemer

The evolution of Adam - Inheritance and Redemption

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It's interesting to know that dust formed everything in the bible, as for when we move on a soul or similar leaves the vessel, the body - as today some believe we are energy / vibration that continues its journey infinitely, I suppose it's what you want to believe, thank you


Traditional Christian teaching presents Jesus as reversing the effects of the Fall of Adam. However, an evolutionary view of beginnings doesn't allow for a historical Adam, making evolution seemingly incompatible with what Genesis and the apostle Paul say about him. For Christians who accept evolution and want to take the Bible seriously, this presents a faith-shaking tension.

Peter Enns, an expert in biblical interpretation, offers a way forward by explaining how this tension is caused not by the discoveries of science but by false expectations about the biblical texts. Focusing on key biblical passages in the discussion, Enns demonstrates that the author of Genesis and the apostle Paul wrote to ask and answer ancient questions for ancient people; the fact that they both speak of Adam does not determine whether Christians can accept evolution. This thought-provoking book helps readers reconcile the teachings of the Bible with the widely held evolutionary view of beginnings and will appeal to anyone interested in the Christianity-evolution debate.

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There is room for a historic Adam even in an evolutionary view. On simply needs to update the understanding of Adam. This does not come from a cursory reading or interpretation of biblical texts.

The perceived difficulties are not only brought about from false expectations but also from shallow, narrow and erroneous interpretations of the biblical texts in their current forms.

Now this is indeed the aspect of the bible i didnt think about.

I woukd readily say that all things were created by the words of his more, then man was moulded through dust.

Wow, i will need further studies of this. It is indeed an eye opener.

God created Adam from the dust indeed, the dust that was containing portions from all its varieties on his earlier created Earth.

Good post, at least we know that we came on earth without anything. When we leave; we sure have learned many wise lessons.
This is at least one of them.

nice perspective

dust and fire and the angels what energy do they occupy? spirit? The body, spirit and soul are they not different parts of man?

Wonderful post @gavvet

We are made from dust and to dust we shall return, from dust to dust.

Good post :)

great post thank you. Man was not only formed from the dust of the earth, God also breathed the breath of life into him. This is what separates humankind from all other creatures. Man became a living being only after he had been formed from the dust of the ground and God breathed life into him.

that was totally different views in the past time
but what about now, people believe that everything is in the world is energy.
Whereas, the things in the bible talked about the dust.
what exactly mean- dust to dust ..........
someone please guide me a little bit. i am confused

yes, its quite true that from dust we were made and unto dust we will return, but don't forget the fact that not all things created by god was made from dust by God himself like he created man(Adam). some of these things came into existence by the word of God "let there be" and "there was" God only created man in a very different way like you have rightly said God got into work when he said come let us create man in our own image and into our own likeness . take note of the word "let us" meaning God was not alone during the creation. Man was created differently from every other things GOD created the creation got the heavenly bodies into serious work and the breath of life made us special, made us higher from every other things GOD created, the breath came from a supreme being, a higher being so we are bound to carry a tiny bit of this supremacy in us. From dust man was made and unto dust we will all return except for the breath of life which now represents our soul,some call it spirit, that will go back up where it came from,probably to make account of all its deeds on earth. @gavvet its a great write up you have there, a very great one,keep it up

AMEN! Jesus made as from the dust and give us breath of life by blowing our nostrils,after we died we go back to the dust from where we come from..

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Our spirit returns to God when we die and the body returns to the earth @gavvet

One question I always wondered was since we all came from Adam and Eve, why werent nobody born mentally challenged?

Very well said. Thank you

jesus was a great......a pioneer of the way of peace.....he was blessed with.............

thanks for this post very spiritual.
this pos inspire me as a cristian.

@gavvet,
Yeah friend, SPIRIT is the key of dividend! It's the key divided ourselves from rocks and other animals as well! I don't know what is the shape of it! When we die we will understand and our body will dust to the earth! Great post and thank you very much for sharing this with us!

Cheers~

god be the glory..

Thanks for your post @gavvet. Thanks for reminding us the importance of the Holy Spirit. You are reminding me to connect with the Spirit of God in order to have guidance. God bless you.

GOOD BLOG....

Good interpretation!

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These series are really worth reading

nice post with good article and content...I wish you success ....thanks for share with us....

I am interested to know if you have heard of The Law of One? If so, what is your feeling about it?

Thank you for your post.

Followed & Upvoted this Beautiful post.

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While reading these post, i am reminded to read the bible especially Genesis, about more stories of God in His first created man ADAM AND EVE. This post is very informative, which inspires me to read about God in relation to God and know the reason why God created us.

Great post!!! thanx for share

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I upvoted and comment for you. Please upvote and comment for helping me grow @mdfoysal

If Adam and Eve was the person and all of us is there decendant. Then all of us have a connection to one another, er are

omg,.......

nice information good post keep posting good things..thank you man..

Good points thanks

Nostalgic. Thank you for sharing.

I think of creation, not of evolution. In writing God is compared to the potter, the one who shapes us, the one who shapes us. A clear example of who gives us life is the spirit, in Ezekiel 37, The Valley of Dry Bones, he sends the prophet to declare in a valley of bones that were dry, the bible says dry very greatly, and told Ezequiel, who prophesied about them, that they should be joined together, but there was no spirit in them, and the Prophet told him, and tell the spirit to blow from the four winds, and so he did, and when he uttered the word a great army arose and they lived.
The breath of the spirit is what makes us live, so anything that is dead in our lives we can invite the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, come and blow and make those areas that we believe can no longer live .

It is really amicable your surgical dissection of the Scriptures, but from my Sunday School classes i was told that without the Adamic Nature/History there wouldn't have been the New Testament not to talk of the comparing the Being of Christ Jesus with that of Adam.

That being said, using evolutionary and scientific measures to dichotomize How Adam was formed and how Christ was formed could be confusing in the Christian Realm!

Truly great post! Thank you for sharing! God bless you all! :)

Thanks for sharing!!

This is great. We all know that we are made from dust, and we will eventually return into dust.. the earth is just our temporary home, God has promised us to prepare a place for us in heaven which is our permanent home.. thanks for sharing, God Bless!!

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