Dennis Venema & Scot McKnight, "Adam & the Genome"

Intro 0:00
Dennis Venema 0:16
Scot McKnight 47:17
Q&A 1:25:38
TWU Faith & Science Club, Humanitas Anabaptist-Mennonite Centre, House of James Bookstore & the CSCA Present a special event with Dennis Venema (Professor of Biology, Trinity Western University) and Scot McKnight (Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary in Lombard Illinois) in promotion of their new co-authored book, Adam and the Genome.
More Info: www.csca.ca/eve...
Many Christians believe that humans are direct, supernatural creations who did not result from an evolutionary process. Additionally, many Christians hold that all humans today descend uniquely from a single ancestral couple: Adam and Eve. These strongly-held convictions are now under pressure, namely from genomics evidence that indicates humans evolved and descend from a large population, rather than from a single pair. Is it possible that God used evolution as a means of creation? Or should Christians resist this evidence? What about intelligent design? Does Paul’s use of Adam indicate that he must be taken as a historical figure? Drs. Dennis R. Venema (Biologist) and Scot McKnight (Biblical Scholar) have taken these questions head-on in their new book, Adam and the Genome: Reading Scripture after Genetic Science (2017). This talk will explore the genomics evidence for evolution and consider its implications for evangelical faith, witness, and interpretation of Scripture.
This project/publication was made possible through the support of a grant from Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc.

[@capturedquestsmusicstories7788]

This guy makes me proud to be Dutch!

[@mrmemyselfandi9609]

I can't begin to tell you how awesome this video was for me. I have been deep diving apologetics for YEARS and the honesty with which these men approached and dealt with these real problems was stunning. People can literally lose their faith in the bible..in original sin..Jesus...and even God over these issues, and compounded with LGBT issues and telling them they are going to hell "because the bible says" etc..right after it was wrong about this...is enough to break anyone. Why would you throw a people group under the bus based upon a book that is just written imperfectly from their time based upon analogy? No Adam and Eve....ok. We need to find more nuance in the bible if we're not going to be totally ignorant about it's issues. And yet...why all of the hurdles just to believe? Special pleading. Either it adds up and Jesus was who He claimed to be...or...this is all just a waste of time any why all of the trouble?
And for the woman @ 2:04:28 I FEEL YOUR PAIN!! That's what it sounds like to hear someone have a faith crisis on mic. What she REALLY wants to ask is..."Why should I keep believing?" ...especially if the goal post is always changing with the science. "creation myth...archetypes....death before sin....people group that stood for humans"....etc etc. I gotta be honest...I look at the text and I see enough prophecy that points to Jesus...an then the best evidence for the resurrection and I still consider myself a Christian...but I fully admit that I WANT Jesus to be who He claimed to be...but...there's some stuff here that's not easy to digest. I think at the end of the day...there are some things we may never know. At the very least..."Love God with all your mind might and strength and love your neighbor as yourself" and get to living.
It's like Doc Holiday said to Wyatt Earp in Tombstone the movie.
Doc: "What do you want Wyatt"
Wyatt: "Just a normal life"
Doc "There is no normal life Wyatt...there's just life...now get on with it".
So I say..Jesus is our best bet and teacher that I know of...I believe He was who He claimed to be, but even if He wasn't a real person, He's still a GREAT idea and worth living and dying for....now get on with it.

[@bramrawlings3051]

There are great reasons to believe Jesus was who he claimed to be, especially the evidence for the resurrection! I would check out William Lane Craig and Lydia and Tim McGrew’s lectures.

[@AtamMardes]

Evolution process is extremely slow - addition of minute DNA changes over 100s of thousands of generations. Asking the question "Who was the first human?" is as absurd as asking "How old were you when you were growing up?", or "Who was the first person to fully speak French?".
A theory explains a process based on evidence at hand. Theories can be modified, updated, or rejected based on new evidence. Fossil & DNA evidence prove evolution to be a fact & the evolution theory explains how it works.

[@paulolivier7346]

It’s very easy to debunk the myth of “a minimum population of 10,000 humans.”
Was there ever a time on this planet when there were 0 humans? (- Yes.)
How do you get from 0 humans to 10,000 humans in one instant, without passing through a population smaller than 10,000? (- Uhhh… we’ll maybe they weren’t fully human yet…)
Ok. Was there ever a time on this planet when there were 0 organisms? (- Yes.)
How do you get from 0 organisms to a minimum population of 10,000 organisms without passing through a number smaller than 10,000 organisms? (- Uhh….…hmm…….uhhh….)

[@Mark64]

Hi Paul, I've deleted your other comment for being needlessly disrespectful. Our YT comment space is a place for thoughtful engagement, which allows *respectful* disagreement. Your comment above comes pretty close as well. From my POV, it seems like you misunderstand the evolutionary theory on these points. Pointing out that there was a time when there were zero humans or zero organisms doesn't address the theory at all-it seems to show that you don't understand what Dennis is arguing.

[@Chomper750]

@@Mark64You were far more charitable than my impulses were to be. Thank you for setting a fine example.