The Origin of Humanity and Evolution: Science and Scripture in Conversation

Abstract

THE ORIGIN OF HUMANITY AND EVOLUTION: Science and Scripture in Conversation by Andrew Loke. New York: Bloomsbury, 2022. viii + 200 pages. Paperback; $39.95. ISBN: 9780567706409. *On the cover of its June 2011 issue, readers of Christianity Today were greeted by the portrait of a distinctly ancient yet still remarkably human figure. Hovering nearby stands the intriguing title, "The Search for the Historical Adam." What had been a mostly academic debate had burst onto the popular scene. This article, arguably more than anything else, revealed the state of the scholarly debate, which, in a word, was not looking promising for traditionalists. A litany of high-profile figures, such as Peter Enns, Dennis Venema, and Scot McKnight, had struck successive blows to the long-cherished view of an original couple. *Just over a decade later, it seems a crisis may have been averted. Biologists and theologians have since offered not just one but multiple competing models that preserve both the genetic data and a doctrine of inerrancy. The debate has now shifted from "if Adam and Eve can be squared with contemporary science" to "how we ought to pair the two." The two most prominent attempts have been the recent pair of books by Joshua Swamidass and William Lane Craig, yet with the publication of The Origin of Humanity and Evolution by the accomplished philosopher Andrew Loke, a third major model has entered the discussion. *However, it would be a mistake to assume that Loke's work focuses solely or even chiefly on the question of the historical Adam. Rather, his more ambitious project is to provide a comprehensive interpretation of Genesis 1-9 in conversation with contemporary science. In chapter 1, Loke distinguishes between three different projects that are often conflated: (A) interpreting the Bible, (B) showing the Bible to be true, and (C) showing there is no incompatibility between science and the Bible. Loke's project primarily undertakes Task C; as such, he is not suggesting the model he proposes is conveyed by scripture or would have even been known by the authors of the Genesis text. Rather, his more modest proposal is that the truths communicated by the early chapters of the Bible can be shown to accord with current biological data. Consequently, the much-exaggerated claims of conflict between science and scripture have yet to be justified. *Yet before Loke ventures to substantiate this claim, chapter 2 outlines his hermeneutical strategy. Loke affirms the reality of divine accommodation: God's revelations in the scriptural texts were communicated in a fashion his listeners would understand. However, Loke resists a strong view of accommodation that would deny a doctrine of inerrancy concerning scripture's statements regarding the physical world, defending the place of the latter doctrine in church history. What scripture says about both God and the natural world, he claims, is wholly accurate if interpreted correctly. How, then, does one square the creation account with the reality of an ancient cosmos? The task of the third chapter is to accomplish this reconciliation. Loke posits the interesting proposal that God ensured that the Genesis account was left intentionally vague to interpretation so that it might accommodate the cosmological understandings of people from different eras. Nevertheless, the core historical facts are still discernable, and Loke provides two possible interpretations for the creation account. While John Walton's functional view consumes the bulk of the discussion (though not without some minor disagreements by Loke), Loke offers C. John Collins's analogical interpretation as a possible alternative. *Chapter 4 then defends the compatibility of Loke's view with an evolutionary account, and the Garden as a localized area safeguarded from an imperfect outer world. Adam and his descendants were tasked with subduing the whole of creation by extending the boundaries of the Edenic paradise; they failed due to their sinful acts. This leads to the climactic fifth chapter that outlines Loke's model for the historical Adam. Loke notes the similarity between his model and the Homo divinus model offered by John Stott. According to this model, other anatomically modern Homo sapiens were present during Adam's time; however, only Adam and Eve were truly human since they alone possessed the image of God with all its substantial, relational, functional, and eschatological properties. In other words, only Adam and his descendants bore all the necessary traits, including a special election by God, that would qualify one as fully human. However, Loke grants that it is virtually certain other hominids contributed to the genetic diversity through intermarriage with Image-Bearers. Nevertheless, it is wholly possible for Adam to be a genealogical ancestor to all modern humans as Joshua Swamidass's research has shown. Thus, Loke's model preserves the much-valued claim that all humans today are, in fact, truly human. *When, exactly, did this original couple live? Loke takes no strong stance on the timing, and in his final chapter, he addresses these possibilities in conversation with the Flood narrative. Like Swamidass's model, it is entirely possible to place Adam and Eve in the near past (around 6,000 years ago). However, the presence of cave art--a remarkably human talent--predating this period moves Loke to opt for an earlier, far more ancient date. The Flood account poses no problem for either option if one accepts that a literal interpretation of the account does not demand a global interpretation. *Thus, Loke provides a model that, in his own words, escapes the Charybdis of young earth creationism without sailing headlong into the Scylla of biblical minimalism. Similar efforts have always risked a Procrustean amputation of either the theology or the science, cleaving off whatever is necessary to arrive at some violent and unnatural fit, yet Loke cautiously guards the most precious doctrines central to the theology of humanity's primordial progenitor without sacrificing solid scientific evidence. It is an impressive task, to say the least, and it is one that can confidently stand next to celebrated competing models. However, many might be offended by the assertion that pre-Adamite hominids were not truly human, and even Loke's suggestion of universal salvation for such beings may not soften the blow. The idea that God would deny full humanity to such beings will still seem like an unjust (or, at the very least, unfair) divine act. While Loke does an admirable job defending his stance from this difficult theological objection, one minor critique is that, while Loke's view seems motivated by a commitment to scriptural truth, his position lacks a sufficient defense of its biblical foundation. Why assume Adam must be the first human? Other models have argued differently, and the scriptural reasoning for Loke's position is relatively short and somewhat undeveloped. In fact, Loke spends significant time only on Acts 17:26, and, even here, he does not address many other proposed interpretations. Thus, the most controversial claim of the book lacks what Loke undoubtedly would regard as its most robust support: the biblical justification for Adam as the first human. Unquestionably, Loke has proven himself more than worthy of this hermeneutical task with his other publications, yet the interested reader will have to search elsewhere for an answer on this topic. *But perhaps the most generous critique is one that asks for more. Brimming with Loke's customary brilliance and eloquence, it is difficult to deny this title's place among the best to emerge from the debate about Eden's infamous couple. By no means has the dispute ended, but contributions by Loke and others have helped to stabilize the ground so fiercely shaken just a few years ago. *Reviewed by Seth Hart, a PhD candidate in science and theology in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University, Durham, UK DH1 3LE.