Where Genesis says that Adam was created from the dust of the ground, how do we know if that means........?

Question

.....(1) created directly from some quantity of dust/soil/clay found on the ground, OR (2) created indirectly from dust/soil/clay found in the ground but in the sovereignty and plan of God having first been built up through biological processes, even by means of some or all of the processes described in the theory of evolution. [Yikes!]

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To put my question another way: Is there anything about the text that makes it clear that (1) a bunch of dust suddenly became a man, Adam, OR (2) God used inorganic materials to create organic materials and eventually an entire human being, Adam, by some long series of steps/processes? Does the text allow both possibilities? Is the primary truth here the idea that ultimately the human body is nothing but soil reconstituted into organic flesh through the wisdom of God and it simply doesn't tell us the particulars either way?


[Obviously, many of my fellow Christians will absolutely freak because of the fact that I have dared to mention the taboo word "evolution", but if we truly respect the Word of God and are willing to accept its authority, we shouldn't be afraid to read the Bible carefully and honestly in order to determine what it says and what it clearly can't be saying -- while humbly admitting at times that we don't enough about the Biblical languages of that era to know 100% what they can/can't be saying.]

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Please, when I was a young man I earned degrees in the fields of study that related to these topics so don't waste my time with amateur Strong's Concordance pontifications or simply what your dogma demands. I'm interested in what the Hebrew text of the Bible has to say on this question (and any Greek texts of the NT which you believe shed light on the passage) and so if you wish to rely on English Bible translations instead, keep in mind that translation ALWAYS involves a measure of personal interpretation and not always 100% "neutrality" and objectivity.

Answer 1

If people came from dust... Why is there still dust?

Answer 2

It is interesting the Bible agrees with the evolutionary belief that humankind came from the earth, in that we were originally constructed from the earth's elements. It is the time it took for completion which is one problem. The other being woman coming directly from the man. Since evolution depends on Uniformitarianism, evolutionists cannot believe this account. Consider cell division alone. I believe it is the skin cell that divides the fastest and even that is way too slow to construct a human within 24 hours. It would take perhaps decades to produce a full grown human, from that pint of view.



I do believe the use of the word "dust" meant to stress our physical, elemental nature rather than technical specifics. Keep in mind the Bible is not a textbook. It is primarily a spiritual book about a spiritual being and his interaction with the human race, especially humankind's sinful nature and the way out of its consequences.



As far as the text goes, consider this fact. Whenever the word rendered "day" in the OT is associated with a number, it invariably refers to a 24 hour day. In other words, it doesn't say back in the day God created man, it says God created humankind on day 6.



Just some food for thought.



Also, we are saved by repentance and faith, not whether we have the intended interpretaion of controversial passages correct or not.

Answer 3

You're wrong when u say that Christians will freak out when u mention evolution. im a catholic, but i'm not very religious or anything. my religion teacher says that he finds nothing wrong with Christians believing in evolution; he says, "Whether God decided to create us right then and there or through a long process of evolution, it doesn't matter. he still created us. How he created us isn't really important."



personally, i see lots of holes in the evolution theory. If we evolved from apes, then why is there no middle ground between apes and humans? There should be a middle species that is halfway between us and apes, but there isn't. we didn't just pop out of an ape one day looking like we did, and being 100 times smarter than any ape that exists. I didn't research anything im talking about right now, its all my opinion. But like i said, personally, evolution doesn't really work for me.



The point is, no, theres no problem in believing in evolution and being a christian. the bible and evolution don't contradict each other at all.

Answer 4

This is true. Although some will try to justify the idea of him being a singular man based on the geneologies and Paul's mentioning of him as an individual in Romans 5. But as far as Paul is concerned, it is not required that he have a specific understanding of Genesis in order to be inspired. After all, there were a variety of Jewish interpretations in the first century (midrash, pesher, etc).

Answer 5

Read the rest of the verse.

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.



Exd 20:11 For [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.



Mar 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

Answer 6

Isaiah 64:8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.



God created the body of Adam through taking a pinch of clay or dirt and working it into a mold. This is just the skin of Adam not him as a living being. Genesis doesn't go that depth into how man was formed. So one cannot add a secular idea to it just because science is more depth.

Answer 7

well you said it yourself. it doesnt particularly say either way. so now what? i dont have to know every little detail about how god made us, although it is rather intersting i know i will never fully grasp that information until i reach someones presence up there who will tell me so. i feel if we seek it we will find it. but when you are seeking and you are not really looking for an answer just and audience and a group of people to make you feel better about your confusion i think you need to reconsider you own life and beliefs and be more real about ****. but i know nothing about you and cant say for sure if your this way. but i know someone who will read this is.

Answer 8

The "dust of the ground " is an expression meaning "nothing, zilch, zero".

God formed Adam from His mind, from thought. And the God who did this, and who created you and me, was Jesus Christ, as we are told in John 1:1

Answer 9

I completely agree!

Answer 10

Uh, it says DUST.



How much more simple can it be?