On human origins, contention swirls around the conversation between science and theology. We seek common ground by humbly engaging the grand questions together. In this project, we will first workshop a book on The Genealogical Adam. Next, we will formulate a plan for the next phase of this effort.
Adam and Eve are at the center of the conflict between science and theology. We aim to explore the range of scenarios in which they can be understood alongside evolutionary science. As part of this larger goal, we recently proposed The Genealogical Adam. Entirely consistent with the genetic evidence, Adam and Eve, genealogical ancestors of us all, could have been de novo created in the Middle East, as recently as 6,000 years ago. The only way evolutionary science presses on this story is by indicating there were people outside the garden. This possibility becomes visible with a humble exposition of genetic science, clarifying what it does and does not say about our ancestry.
In the first part of this project, we will develop The Genealogical Adam proposal into a book. We will bring a group of scholars together to workshop the manuscript, submitting it for publication as a book. This book will open one new way forward, where some might find common ground with evolutionary science.
In the second part of this project, we will develop a long-term plan for Peaceful Science. We see an opportunity to restructure the conversation on origins, to be more inclusive and grounded in science. We hope to build common ground around the grand questions themselves, and an honest account of mainstream science.
With these two activities, a foundation will be laid from which to launch Peaceful Science as a new voice on human origins. From here, we will be uniquely equipped to identify new common ground and facilitate an exchange of questions between theology and science. This could be a new way forward, where we find common ground in grand questions, rather than common answers.
