In this forum we are considering the question, “Were humans mortal before the fall?” I am going to argue that the answer to the question is of no theological consequence. My reasons have to do with, first, the reticence of the biblical material on the subject; second, with the kind of description we have in…

It has been a common (though not universal) assumption in the history of Christian thought that humans were created immortal, and only lost their immortality with the entrance of death as the consequence for sin. This is, however, a misreading of the biblical data, which suggests that humans were created mortal with the possibility of…

We were once immortal. Not that we possessed the independent or self-generated ability to live forever. Only the triune God enjoys that honor. As human creatures, we are always dependent on God—in him we live and move and have our being. If not for his providential hand, our lives would be snuffed out in a…

“Fruit” and “Genesis” is a juxtaposition with a long and infamous history. It recalls a story passed on from generation to generation, connecting us to our ancestors, for good and for ill. Fruit, in the first instance, is about fruitfulness. Originally, we are told, the earth was luscious and vivacious, teeming with flora and fauna….

Writing also on behalf of Peter Rasor, I want to thank Hans Madueme and the editors of Sapientia for hosting this symposium on Controversy of the Ages: Why Christians Should Not Divide over the Age of the Earth (henceforth, Controversy). I especially want to thank the reviewers for helping me see ways a revised Controversy…

I’m thankful for the opportunity to participate in this series about the Cabal and Rasor book, Controversy of the Ages. I agreed to the assignment having had no previous knowledge of the book. But I had met Ted Cabal at one of the private meetings with BioLogos, Reasons to Believe, and Southern Baptist seminary professors…

In the debate about “beginnings” where we start is important. In several areas, my starting point seems to differ from that of Cabal and Rasor in Controversy of the Ages. For example, I sense that I’m commenting on their book as something of a cultural outsider. Here in Britain, BioLogos has its counterpart in the Faraday Institute of…

I benefited from reading Cabal and Rasor’s book in a variety of ways. It is written in a clear and accessible style and covers a lot of ground in an admirably concise fashion. Its particular strengths in my view are: 1) its attention to the history of these discussions in the church, 2) its focus…

As someone who has seen and felt the damage from the battle over Earth’s age, I welcome Ted Cabal and Peter Rasor’s appeal in Controversy of the Ages. This book calls believers to tone down the inflammatory rhetoric over what most would consider a nonessential doctrinal issue for the sake of our effectiveness as “salt” and…

Different views on creation in the church today are often summarized in terms of whether one takes the biblical creation story “literally.” Similarly, Augustine’s crowning achievement on the doctrine of creation was, as we have noted, the production of a “literal” commentary on Genesis 1-3. Yet what Augustine means by “literal” is quite different from…

Sometimes Christians treat Genesis 1-3 as a kind of prolegomenon to the biblical narrative. These chapters are important, it is thought, primarily to set the stage for the real business of Christian theology—those issues involved in the doctrine of redemption. Moreover, when we do engage the theology of creation more directly, our interest tends to…

Imagine a young man in his late teen years. He has recently moved to the city to go to school. In the course of his study, he becomes convinced that Genesis 1 is no longer consistent with the most sophisticated intellectual trends of the day. He rejects the Christian faith in which he was raised,…