What do you think?
Rate this book
Searching for Adam: Genesis & the Truth About Man's Origin
You can believe with great intellectual integrity what the Bible says about Adam and the origin and history of man!
Though there are a growing number of books out on Adam, this one is unique with its multi-author combination of biblical, historical, theological, scientific, archaeological, and ethical arguments in support of believing in a literal Adam and the Fall. A growing number of professing evangelical leaders and scholars are doubting or denying a literal Adam and a literal Fall, which thereby undermines the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Last Adam, who came to undo the damaging consequences of Adam's sin and restore us to a right relationship with our Creator. This book will increase your confidence in the truth of Genesis 1-11 and the gospel!
Though there are a growing number of books out on Adam, this one is unique with its multi-author combination of biblical, historical, theological, scientific, archaeological, and ethical arguments in support of believing in a literal Adam and the Fall. A growing number of professing evangelical leaders and scholars are doubting or denying a literal Adam and a literal Fall, which thereby undermines the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Last Adam, who came to undo the damaging consequences of Adam's sin and restore us to a right relationship with our Creator. This book will increase your confidence in the truth of Genesis 1-11 and the gospel!
530 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 2, 2016
84 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 12, 2018
A long and difficult, but excellent book on the case for a historical Adam. It begins with Scripture, moves through some various theological and philosophical arguments, and then moves on to science. The exegetical part was interesting, though I find any exegetical argument against a historical Adam similar to the Cleveland Browns. They keep trying but always come up short. The Bible does not allow you to get rid of historical Adam. And by that I mean a man specially created as the first human to be the federal head of the entire human race.
But the sections most fascinating to me were the scientific sections where DNA, Neanderthals, human over design, comparison of humans to apes, and several other things were discussed.
As I continue to read young earth creationists as well as the old-earth guys and theistic evolutionists here is what I am noticing. For a long time YEC men have had a leg up in theology, Scripture/exegesis, philosophy, and church history. In other words, in each of these areas the YEC interpretation was more probable than the OEC interpretation or theistic evolution. The one area where OEC and theistic evolutionists had a leg up was science. This has led to some embarrassing YEC scientific conclusions, especially early on. (Though in fairness it is not as if evolution has been one long string of uninterrupted successes. They are constantly modifying as well.) But YEC is catching up. Men are getting advanced degrees in key areas from schools with secular pedigree and are using their knowledge to prove YEC instead of OEC/TE. The other thing I notice is that many YEC scientists interact regularly not just with Christian OEC men, but with secular evolutionists. They read their papers and books. This makes them sharper, clearer, and more precise in what they are arguing.
I do not see this same effort from secular evolutionists and even many Christian OEC men dismiss YEC scientists. This is a mistake. In the long run, taking your opponents seriously is a sign of respect and will help you grow. YECers do this better than OECers, though of course they are not perfect.
But the sections most fascinating to me were the scientific sections where DNA, Neanderthals, human over design, comparison of humans to apes, and several other things were discussed.
As I continue to read young earth creationists as well as the old-earth guys and theistic evolutionists here is what I am noticing. For a long time YEC men have had a leg up in theology, Scripture/exegesis, philosophy, and church history. In other words, in each of these areas the YEC interpretation was more probable than the OEC interpretation or theistic evolution. The one area where OEC and theistic evolutionists had a leg up was science. This has led to some embarrassing YEC scientific conclusions, especially early on. (Though in fairness it is not as if evolution has been one long string of uninterrupted successes. They are constantly modifying as well.) But YEC is catching up. Men are getting advanced degrees in key areas from schools with secular pedigree and are using their knowledge to prove YEC instead of OEC/TE. The other thing I notice is that many YEC scientists interact regularly not just with Christian OEC men, but with secular evolutionists. They read their papers and books. This makes them sharper, clearer, and more precise in what they are arguing.
I do not see this same effort from secular evolutionists and even many Christian OEC men dismiss YEC scientists. This is a mistake. In the long run, taking your opponents seriously is a sign of respect and will help you grow. YECers do this better than OECers, though of course they are not perfect.
February 4, 2017
At times this was a hard read, nonetheless a very important read. I love the start of this book.....did the authors of the Old Testament and new, view Adam as allegory, myth, archetypal or historical. The evidence absolutely suggest historical. That should be enough right there, but this book, a collection of essays by some brilliant Godly men dive into the realms of genetics, fossils, and evolutionary claims. My very favorite chapter was what the observable human mutation rates really show us about which is correct....the evolutionary or biblical timeline. Simply amazing. We Christians can stand confident that Gods word offers the best account for our origins. We desperately need to affirm this in our churches. This book is long, but it's a worthy read.
September 17, 2023
Another excellent resource on why it is important for Christians to correctly understand Genesis 1-11. I will let the author summarize the points he expounds upon in the book:
“We have a crisis in the evangelical world today, a crisis of authority. Scientists (and the scholars of ANE [Ancient Near East] literature who follow the scientific majority) have usurped the authority of Scripture. Many Christian leaders and scholars are claiming to defend the Bible while at the same time undermining both its clarity and its authority.
Many old-earth creationists have protested, "The issue is NOT the authority of Scripture! The issue is the interpretation of Scripture." But I must firmly disagree. The only reason people are coming up with all these diverse reinterpretations of Genesis that were never heard of in the Church before the 19th century is precisely because those interpreters have made what the scientific majority says about the origin and history of the creation their final authority in their interpretation of the biblical text. Rather than interpreting Scripture by Scripture (which is the biblically derived and historic ally orthodox hermeneutic and would never lead a reader to belief in evolution and millions of years) old-earth creationists and theistic evolutionists are interpreting Scripture, not by "science," but by what the secular, anti-biblical, scientific authorities claim is true.”
…
“The inerrancy, perspicuity, and authority of Scripture are all under assault by the theory of cosmological, geological, biological, and anthropological evolution. This 200-year attack is driven by an atheistic, naturalistic worldview that is antithetical to everything the Bible teaches. And all old-earth creationist and theistic evolutionist views are compromising to a greater or lesser extent with that anti-biblical worldview.”
…
“We cannot with consistency believe the gospel and yet not believe the Genesis 1-11 foundation of the gospel that explains why we need the Savior — that the first Adam sinned resulting in death and a Curse on the whole creation. The gospel collapses into myth, if Adam and Eve are not historical or if millions of years of history truly occurred before Adam. It all stands or falls together.”
“We have a crisis in the evangelical world today, a crisis of authority. Scientists (and the scholars of ANE [Ancient Near East] literature who follow the scientific majority) have usurped the authority of Scripture. Many Christian leaders and scholars are claiming to defend the Bible while at the same time undermining both its clarity and its authority.
Many old-earth creationists have protested, "The issue is NOT the authority of Scripture! The issue is the interpretation of Scripture." But I must firmly disagree. The only reason people are coming up with all these diverse reinterpretations of Genesis that were never heard of in the Church before the 19th century is precisely because those interpreters have made what the scientific majority says about the origin and history of the creation their final authority in their interpretation of the biblical text. Rather than interpreting Scripture by Scripture (which is the biblically derived and historic ally orthodox hermeneutic and would never lead a reader to belief in evolution and millions of years) old-earth creationists and theistic evolutionists are interpreting Scripture, not by "science," but by what the secular, anti-biblical, scientific authorities claim is true.”
…
“The inerrancy, perspicuity, and authority of Scripture are all under assault by the theory of cosmological, geological, biological, and anthropological evolution. This 200-year attack is driven by an atheistic, naturalistic worldview that is antithetical to everything the Bible teaches. And all old-earth creationist and theistic evolutionist views are compromising to a greater or lesser extent with that anti-biblical worldview.”
…
“We cannot with consistency believe the gospel and yet not believe the Genesis 1-11 foundation of the gospel that explains why we need the Savior — that the first Adam sinned resulting in death and a Curse on the whole creation. The gospel collapses into myth, if Adam and Eve are not historical or if millions of years of history truly occurred before Adam. It all stands or falls together.”
October 1, 2024
This is a long, technical, and excellent presentation of Biblical creationism from a scientific and educated position. I highly recommend pastors read this book as it will help them engage with some who would dismiss the Bible in favor of an evolutionary model. The loss of Creationism does great harm to the legitimacy of the Gospel.
August 26, 2022
Outside of chapter 9, this book is basically all about bashing Science, by…using Science. Chapter 9 did a great balance, I felt, and wish the entire book was like it. Other than that, the tone of the book was lets see how badly we can say that science is an idiot, and the Bible is the only thing right. I have always said they are not exclusive. The Bible tells who created the universe, and that science attempts to tell us how. Let there be light is in my opinion, the Big Bang. There are some nice tables, and illustrations, and some good information, but the premise of each essay is bent, and biased. Not a bad read, but I am glad I checked it out of the library as this is not a book I would want to own.
May 9, 2018
This book is jam packed! For anyone looking for an apologetic to the historical account of Scripture and the existence of Adam, this is it. Experts in many different fields show the biblical account can be trusted. The book covers exegesis of Scripture, genetic studies, biology, and history. In true apologetic fashion, it also shows the irrationality of the evolutionary perspective and where it ultimately leads.
August 31, 2020
So far I have only read a few chapters, including the final chapter. These are available online at answersingenesis.org. But now I want to buy a copy, and read the rest!
November 8, 2022
A thorough book on the search for Adam. I would not agree with all of the author's conclusions, but the book is worth reading.
February 28, 2024
A helpful book for anyone seeking to understand Young Earth Creation's arguments as well as a rebuttal to the false narritives and assumptions of evolution (theistic and atheistic).
July 16, 2020
This book is a collection of essays about man's origins from a young earth creationist position. It is sometimes fairly technical and dry in places. However, I learned a lot. It was absolutely worth the work to read it. I found the last chapter, about the moral and religious implications of evolution vs creationism, the least interesting chapter, but that may be because I was familiar with all the arguments being made.
April 28, 2017
This book explores a hot-button topic that should be a lot hotter than it is in some circles. The question is:
Was Adam an actual historical person? Was he indeed the first human, as Genesis indicates?
This is not a peripheral issue and much theology, perhaps most of theology, hinges upon the answer. The book documents—with names and clear-as-a-bell quotes—the fact that when you turn loose of a historical Adam, some scholars will begin to turn loose of substitutionary atonement. Why? No Adam, no fall, no original sin, hence no sin nature, no need for atonement.
Mortenson employs an impressive array of fifteen legitimate scholars to bring a mighty challenge against any flavor of evolution, theistic evolution, or old-earth creationism. Heavily documented and using their opponents own statements and findings, Mortenson and colleagues demonstrate that there is a good case to be made, from science no less, that Adam was specially created, fully human, and having no ancestors. The case for an “evolved Adam” which Biologos builds largely upon genetics, is in fact both faulty and even shoddy when the actual data is examined. One of the great contributions of Mortenson's book is puncturing the illusion that the science is settled. Searching for Adam exposes the fact that a good deal of the science is considered to be controversial (and not settled) even among evolutionists themselves.
Beginning with an examination of the text of the opening chapters of Genesis, the book makes a solid case for the traditional, orthodox interpretation of the creation story. The New Testament is also mined for its perspective regarding the historical Adam. The authors then review how Adam has been regarded across the history of theology, including the recent departures from belief. A chapter is devoted to discussing when Adam was created.
Another chapter examines John Walton’s popular book, The Lost World of Adam and Eve and gives it a devastating critique. A chapter is devoted to examining the implications of Adam being made in the image of God if there was no historical Adam.
Except for the last chapter, the remaining chapters move from the textual and theological issues to the scientific ones, dealing with the fossil record, genetics, anatomy, and anthropology. A particularly fascinating chapter deals with ten skeletal issues that all have to be in place to support walking upright. The author makes the point that unless all ten changes happen simultaneously, their net effect on the creature would hurt not help survivability. Another great chapter considers the fact that for ancient man to have built the structures he did would require immense intelligence rather than a primitive mind.
The authors carefully document the role that Darwinism has played in eugenics and man’s brutal quest to selectively eliminate what were considered “inferior” human specimens. Some of the worst totalitarian societies in history are shown to have built their fundamental principles on Darwinian evolution. This is all carefully documented from original sources. The point is that there are wide-ranging societal implications when a Darwinian viewpoint reigns in a society.
In the final chapter, Mortenson exposes the obvious effect Darwinism is having on modern evangelical scholars. He makes a tight case for the assertion that many modern scholars are not being governed by the text in their interpretation of Genesis, but by the questionable claims of scientists that often have more to do with the scientists’ own philosophical commitments than with science itself.
Bottom line: this is an excellent book, highly recommended. If you have been wrestling with the early chapters of Genesis and how to understand them, read Searching for Adam before you make up your mind.
This is not a peripheral issue and much theology, perhaps most of theology, hinges upon the answer. The book documents—with names and clear-as-a-bell quotes—the fact that when you turn loose of a historical Adam, some scholars will begin to turn loose of substitutionary atonement. Why? No Adam, no fall, no original sin, hence no sin nature, no need for atonement.
Mortenson employs an impressive array of fifteen legitimate scholars to bring a mighty challenge against any flavor of evolution, theistic evolution, or old-earth creationism. Heavily documented and using their opponents own statements and findings, Mortenson and colleagues demonstrate that there is a good case to be made, from science no less, that Adam was specially created, fully human, and having no ancestors. The case for an “evolved Adam” which Biologos builds largely upon genetics, is in fact both faulty and even shoddy when the actual data is examined. One of the great contributions of Mortenson's book is puncturing the illusion that the science is settled. Searching for Adam exposes the fact that a good deal of the science is considered to be controversial (and not settled) even among evolutionists themselves.
Beginning with an examination of the text of the opening chapters of Genesis, the book makes a solid case for the traditional, orthodox interpretation of the creation story. The New Testament is also mined for its perspective regarding the historical Adam. The authors then review how Adam has been regarded across the history of theology, including the recent departures from belief. A chapter is devoted to discussing when Adam was created.
Another chapter examines John Walton’s popular book, The Lost World of Adam and Eve and gives it a devastating critique. A chapter is devoted to examining the implications of Adam being made in the image of God if there was no historical Adam.
Except for the last chapter, the remaining chapters move from the textual and theological issues to the scientific ones, dealing with the fossil record, genetics, anatomy, and anthropology. A particularly fascinating chapter deals with ten skeletal issues that all have to be in place to support walking upright. The author makes the point that unless all ten changes happen simultaneously, their net effect on the creature would hurt not help survivability. Another great chapter considers the fact that for ancient man to have built the structures he did would require immense intelligence rather than a primitive mind.
The authors carefully document the role that Darwinism has played in eugenics and man’s brutal quest to selectively eliminate what were considered “inferior” human specimens. Some of the worst totalitarian societies in history are shown to have built their fundamental principles on Darwinian evolution. This is all carefully documented from original sources. The point is that there are wide-ranging societal implications when a Darwinian viewpoint reigns in a society.
In the final chapter, Mortenson exposes the obvious effect Darwinism is having on modern evangelical scholars. He makes a tight case for the assertion that many modern scholars are not being governed by the text in their interpretation of Genesis, but by the questionable claims of scientists that often have more to do with the scientists’ own philosophical commitments than with science itself.
Bottom line: this is an excellent book, highly recommended. If you have been wrestling with the early chapters of Genesis and how to understand them, read Searching for Adam before you make up your mind.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews