Real Gospel or Pseudo-Gospel?

Mike, you seem a bit obsessed with this "death before sin" concept - something that isn't a major issue among the baptists whom I know. There is an obvious link between death/mortality and sin; but I imagine you're right that some might come up with a way to separate the two. Nevertheless, allowing for such is hardly synonymous with believing "whatever you like."

You'll note the boundaries implicit here:

Joshua

 

O...kay. Let me refine this further then.

I've already said that animals and plants die natural deaths, both before and after sin comes into the world ie: as it were, apart from sin.

At some point in the evolutionary process, homo sapiens (or proto-homo sapiens) becomes spiritually aware as a result of God breathing His spirit into him. At this point, man becomes spiritually alive, with conscience, free will etc and the capacity to love or refuse to love God and, indeed, potentially the capacity not to die either spiritually or physically. However, he (and all of us since with the exception of Jesus) choose not to love God and instead sin, leading to both spiritual and physical death. Sin comes into the world and with it spiritual death.

This process BTW is very similar IMO to the dawning of conscience in an infant.

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

For those theistic evolutionists/non-literal Genesisists, Romans chapter 5 must be especially difficult to reconcile with your beliefs! But then, where there's a will (to believe in the wisdom of man over the wisdom of God) there's a way. So I'm sure you have or will come up with something!

 

No biochemical changes would ever suffice. It would take a miracle. This evolutionist plans to make no objections when God reverses the 2nd law of thermodynamics and raises my body from the grave and gives me eternal life, according to His promise!

 

O...kay. Let me refine this further then.

I've already said that animals and plants die natural deaths, both before and after sin comes into the world ie: as it were, apart from sin.

At some point in the evolutionary process, homo sapiens (or proto-homo sapiens) becomes spiritually aware as a result of God breathing His spirit into him. At this point, man becomes spiritually alive, with conscience, free will etc and the capacity to love or refuse to love God and, indeed, potentially the capacity not to die either spiritually or physically. However, he (and all of us since with the exception of Jesus) choose not to love God and instead sin, leading to both spiritual and physical death. Sin comes into the world and with it spiritual death.

This process BTW is very similar IMO to the dawning of conscience in an infant.

Yours in Christ

Matt </font>[/QUOTE]How do you know that it was homo sapiens that became "spiritually aware" and not some other previous hominid. Maybe some previous hominid passed on their "spirituality" to it's evolved decendents mainly homo sapiens? How do you know this?

 

Alas, those details are lost in the mists of time.
We'll have to wait and see from the perspective of heaven just what part the now extinct closely related hominids played in spiritual terms.