#364 Did Adam & Eve Really Exist? Why It Matters More Than You Think | Dr. J.R. Miller
The Alisa Childers Podcast
Alisa Childers
4.9 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 22 March 2026
⏱️ 69 minutes
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Summary
Did Adam and Eve really exist — and does it actually matter for the gospel?
In this episode, we continue our exploration of origins, tackling some of the most controversial questions Christians are asking today. From theistic evolution to intelligent design, from young-earth to old-earth views, the debate often centers on science. But what’s really at stake is theology. Was Adam a real, historical person — the sole biological ancestor of the human race — or merely a symbolic representative? And how does the answer shape our understanding of sin, salvation, and the authority of Scripture?
I’m joined by Dr. J. R. Miller for a thoughtful and candid conversation about how to interpret Genesis, what modern origin models claim, and why the historic Christian view of Adam has been so foundational to the gospel message. We also discuss areas where faithful believers may disagree — while wrestling honestly with the theological consequences of redefining humanity’s beginnings.
This episode will challenge you to think more deeply about what you believe, why you believe it, and how the story of the first man connects to the story of the Second Adam.
Dr. Geisler's article about Old Earth and Inerrancy
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today we're continuing our conversation about all things origins. |
| 0:14.7 | Is the earth old? Is it young? Did God use theistic evolution? What about intelligent design? |
| 0:20.4 | We've been discussing all of those topics and the theological implications on this podcast. |
| 0:25.0 | And today we're going to zero in on a literal atom. I've shared in the past my view that I don't really have a dog in the fight as far as exactly how old the earth is. |
| 0:35.1 | But the hill that I will die on is maintaining the theological |
| 0:39.5 | and historical view that Adam is a literal person. |
| 0:44.5 | And I read the book of Genesis as actual history. |
| 0:47.6 | And so we're going to talk through today with a special guest, Dr. J. R. Miller, who has |
| 0:51.0 | thought very deeply about all of these topics, about what we're really |
| 0:54.3 | talking about when we say Adam was a literal person. Was he the sole progenitor of the human race? |
| 1:00.6 | The sole biological progenitor of the human race? And what do we mean when we say we read |
| 1:06.1 | Genesis literally? What do we mean by the words that we're using? And then what are the theological |
| 1:12.1 | implications of Adam being not a historical person, of him just being a representative or some |
| 1:18.6 | sort of a mythological character? We're going to talk through some of the views of William |
| 1:24.7 | Lane Craig and his mytho history and where Dr. Miller disagrees with Dr. |
| 1:30.3 | Craig. But I do want to say this. Please understand that this is an issue that I believe |
| 1:36.9 | faithful Christians can agree to disagree about. I do think it's incredibly problematic for a Christian |
| 1:41.9 | to hold the view of theistic evolution, but I'm not |
| 1:45.2 | going to divide with somebody as a Christian if they believe that. And I'm certainly very grateful |
| 1:50.5 | for a lot of the work that Dr. William Lane Craig has done, especially through my faith crisis. |
| 1:55.9 | I watched a ton of his content and read, I think one, maybe one of his books that was really particularly helpful to me. And I've even had him on the podcast to talk through Atonement. He is fabulous on The Atonement. So I'm going to encourage you to go back and listen to that in the archives. So even though there's going to be some disagreement today does not mean that I'm not very grateful for a lot of the work that William Lane Craig has done. But this is an issue where I do have some concerns about some of the views that have |
| 2:21.6 | been popping up and then the theological impact of those views. |
... |
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