Adam was the first man - don't even think about stupid claims of other humans or evolved monkeys on Earth at Creation.
Eve's seed DNA carried down into Jesus.
Just believe Jesus was GOD's son and tell everyone else it too!
Welcome to the forum.
I believed Adam was the first man for most of my life. As I said in the OP (opening post)...
"Trying to sort this out in my own mind. Stuck somewhere between science and religion."
(history and archaeology as well)
After much discussion with fine Christian folk and some reading I was faced with the fact that Christianity
recognizes mythology in ALL other religions, but not in our own. The major reason being... (imho) that mythology
is viewed as not being "true", while we consider the Bible to be true. Therefore NOT mythology.
We have no problem understanding that Jesus' parables were not true stories, but would
not view the Genesis account that way. Even though it was not written by eye-witnesses, obviously.
What was the source of the Genesis account? Christianity tells us that it was dictated to Moses by God.
As if there was no oral tradition (mythology) of our origins.
As a mythology, "Adam" (adamah) may be representative of humankind. And our sinful state reflected backward
to the creation account and "the Fall" of humankind due to "original sin". Which then becomes the source.
Genesis 2:7 NIV
Then the Lord God formed a man[
a] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
and the man became a living being.
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Genesis 2:7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah);
it is also the name Adam (see verse 20).
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