Question:  Dear Greg,

            I’m a big history buff and I just now became interested in the Bible.  Lots of people say Adam and Eve were the first humans and they were put here around 4004 BC.  This doesn’t make any sense to me.  There is hard proof that there were civilizations before then.

            Thanks,

            Rob

Answer:  Dear Rob,

            Your disagreement with “lots of people” regarding Adam and Eve being the first humans, as the Bible claims, is easily solved.  Yes, there are people who believe that the creation of Adam and Eve should be dated about 4004, but those same people also believe that all of human history is concluded in 6000 years.  Elementary math would say that the early 21^st century AD puts a severe crimp in the plans of the idea of restricting human history to 6000 years if the date of creation is any time before 4000 BC.  Therefore your problem with these “lots of people” is far more than their date for creation.

            Yes, there is evidence that human life on this earth—human civilization—extends back to at least 10,000 BC, with Jericho being a prime example.  Such a fact does not invalidate the Bible but it does cause a small problem for those who try to force the Bible into their narrow view of history.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht