This is an interesting blog post by the author CJ Werleman - write of the books God Hates You, Hate Him Back and Jesus Lied - He Was Only Human. He writes with a good dose of humor which usually helps get his point across.
The blog post dissects the latest Gallup poll results regarding 40% of Americans believe in biblical creationism. But the point I found interesting in it was that if you don't believe the Genesis account is literal....then Jesus atoned for the sin of a fictitious character, Adam.
Here is a quote from the blog...but please give the whole thing a read, makes more sense that way:
"Well, Jesus gave himself to atone for the original sin, Adam’s sin. It’s there in the Bible. In fact, it’s unambiguously declared in Romans 5:12-21.To paraphrase those 9 verses: Adam’s sin brought death to mankind, and his sin was passed on ancestrally to all generations that followed, ending the possibility of eternal life for all. But then our cape crusader Jesus arrives on the scene, and because of his sacrifice or atonement for Adam’s sin, believers are rewarded eternal life in the hereafter. Amen.
In summary, it is theologically irreconcilable to disbelieve in the creation story of Adam, while retaining your belief in Christianity. To do so is to believe Jesus sacrificed himself to atone for a sin made by a fictitious person, somewhat akin of me jumping off a cliff so as to redeem Maverick’s illegal fly-by of the tower in Top Gun. It doesn’t fly. (I’m so sorry)"
It seems less and less believers take Genesis literally, particularly the Intelligent Design crowd. So how does one take the Genesis account as allegory, but also truly believe Jesus died to atone for Adam's sins? It doesn't make sense.
