The following points are taken from chapter 10 of my book: Noah’s Flood: Literal or Figurative?

We are obliged by faith to hold that Adam and Eve are two real historical persons. If there was no Adam, then:

a. there would be no original sin
b. we would not be in a fallen state
c. we would not need Baptism
d. we would not need to be reconciled to God by Christ
e. the Immaculate Conception, which preserved Mary from original sin, would be meaningless, null, and void.

Therefore, we must hold that both Adam and Eve existed as real historical persons, regardless of the assertions of any field of science. Furthermore, the dogmas taught by the Council of Trent explicitly require belief in Adam as the source of original sin, which we all inherit from him. So a denial of the historical existence of Adam and Eve implies a denial of several dogmas, indirectly.

How, then, can we reconcile the existence of Adam and Eve, as the progenitors of the whole human race, with the scientific information on our origins? My suggestion follows.

Anatomically modern humans began about 200 thousand years before the present (200 ka BP). But these archaic homo sapiens had modern or nearly modern human bodies, but they did not have modern human behavior. Modern homo sapiens, i.e. having modern human behavior and not merely modern bodies, began about 70 to 50 thousand years ago (70 – 50 ka BP). About that time, modern homo sapiens spread out from Africa to the whole world (the ‘Out of Africa’ theory).

We cannot place Adam and Eve any later than 50 ka, because behaviorally modern humans would already have spread out to many regions of the world after 50 ka. Since we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, they must have lived when the human race was in only one location: in Africa, prior to 50 ka. It is then possible to reconcile science and faith on this question.

The anatomically modern humans evolved from the lower primates; they did not have reason, or free will, or an immortal soul. Behaviorally modern humans were created by God, beginning with Adam and Eve. Modern human behaviors, especially the use of language to express the workings of reason and free will, indicate an immortal soul. Evolution produced the human body, but it took a miraculous intervention from God to create “behaviorally modern humans”, i.e. having reason, free will, and an immortal soul, beginning with Adam and Eve.

Animals with the type of soul that is not immortal, lacking reason and free will, cannot evolve into a being that has the type of souls that is immortal, having reason and free will, because the difference is not a matter of degree, but a matter of type. God intervened within His creation on earth to accomplish something discontinuous.

Evolution, adapted to a Christian point of view, prevailed to evolve the multiplicity of species on earth. But evolution did not suffice to create the human race. And so God intervened, not providentially, but miraculously, to create Adam and Eve. Their bodies were patterned after the highest form of the lower animals, the anatomically modern humans (prior to modern human behavior). The primates evolved into anatomically modern humans, but these early humans did not have reason, free will, and an immortal soul, as proven by the fact that they lacked the modern human behaviors that express reason and free will, especially language.

God placed Adam and Eve in the Paradise of Eden, which is not a place in this life. It is a place that is like earth, but unfallen; it is discontinuous with the material universe of this life (much like Heaven, and Purgatory). When Adam and Eve fell from grace, they were no longer fit for that unfallen place, so they were placed upon this fallen earth by God. Then, from Adam and Eve and their descendants, the human race spread out to the whole world.

But how can we reconcile the genealogies of Genesis with this speculative theological opinion? My current thinking is that Cain and Abel and the other persons mentioned in that genealogy are only figuratively the immediate descendants of Adam and Eve. I think that they are later descendants of Adam and Eve, perhaps many generations later.

The genealogy from Adam to Abraham in the Book of Genesis contains both literal and figurative elements. All the persons named were real historical persons, including Adam and Eve. But some, even many of the descendants of Adam and the ancestors of Abraham are not named. The genealogy from Noah to Abraham skips some generations, preferring to name only the more prominent persons. The genealogy from Adam to Noah skips many generation. The long lifespans attributed to persons before Abraham are a figure for the lengthy influence of these individuals’ lives and a clear indication of figurative elements in the genealogy.

As Christians, we should not reject evolution wholesale, for the theory of evolution is well-supported by science and reason. The Catholic religion is not based solely on faith, but on faith and reason. If science proposes a reasonable theory, we should accept it, according to the degree of support that the theory has in reason and evidence. In so far as any theory or point within a theory conflicts with faith, we must modify or reject those aspects of the theory. But we should not reject whatever is reasonable within the same theory.

I hold that God created the universe, not in 7 days, but over billions of years, according to the current scientific theories, especially the Big Bang theory (which offers a discrete starting point for creation). I also hold that God intervened in His Creation to initiate life on earth (either miraculously or providentially). Life on earth developed according to the theory of evolution. However, God guided this development, as He guides all things, by His Providence. Then, after anatomically modern humans were developed by evolution, guided by providence, God acted by miraculous intervention to produce the human person (behaviorally modern humans), by creating Adam and Eve. After the fall from grace, Adam and Eve lived upon the earth, had children, and their descendants gave rise to the whole human race.

More on this topic in chapter 10 of my book: Noah’s Flood: Literal or Figurative?

by
Ronald L. Conte Jr.
Roman Catholic theologian and
translator of the Catholic Public Domain Version of the Bible.