Question:  Dear Greg,

            Could there have been homo sapiens on earth before Adam developing to the point where God finally breathed life into the one we cal Adam?  By breathing life into him (Adam) could mean that God gave him a soul—the spark of life which separates us from the animals.

            This would allow for evolution and also the fact there are only approximately 6000 years from Adam to us.

            Carl

Answer:  Dear Carl,

            Your comment is loaded with speculation (I don’t mean that negatively, but simply as a statement of fact).  Some Christians would react to your thoughts with horror, some would have no opinion, and some would think what you propose makes good sense.  I don’t offer that comment glibly, but knowingly.

            For your consideration:

1.      The Bible does not comment on “homo sapiens” before Adam (or humanoids, as they have been called).  Your guess might be as good as the next person’s.

2.      However, the Bible does comment on the creation of Adam, “from the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7).  The Bible does not indicate or give us any reason to believe that Adam, the human created, had evolved or developed, and that God simply perfected his life form, elevating it to humanity by giving it a soul and transforming it into his own image (Genesis 1:27-28).  The New Testament supports Adam as the first man,  just as Jesus, in his unique  incarnation is compared to Adam (see 1 Corinthians 15).

3.      Christians who believe what I see as undeniable evidence that life forms existed long before this current epic generally favor a view that sees this former period ending (the age of the dinosaurs) before the creation of man.

4.      Many Christians believe that the era of man, from the creation of Adam, has to far surpass 6000 years already, given documented evidence of civilization that goes back at least 10,000 years (Jericho being among them).

5.      The vast majority of Christians reject evolution as a theory for origins—for the Bible is clear that God created life from nothing.  Some Christians believe in theistic evolution—that God used evolution as a way for life forms to evolve.  But this begs the question of origins—evolution claims that life came from nothing.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht