Al Mohler vs Scot McKnight over Adam and Eve

Scot McKnight responds on his blog to the overtly fundamentalist assertions of Southern Baptist theologian Al Mohler over Adam and Eve being the ‘beginning of the story of the Gospel’, based on the genealogy of Christ in Luke.

Dr. Mohler headlines his post with a picture of a bible open to Genesis and the synopsis:

The denial of an historical Adam and Eve as the first parents of all humanity and the solitary first human pair severs the link between Adam and Christ which is so crucial to the Gospel

He concludes his post with the following statement:

If we do not know how the story of the Gospel begins, then we do not know what that story means. Make no mistake: a false start to the story produces a false grasp of the Gospel.

McKnight contends that, on the contrary, the story of the Gopel begins with pre-existant person of Christ, as stated in John 1 and Collosians 1.

A Christian understanding of the Gospel begins with Jesus, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us and through whom all things are reconciled. The gospel according to Paul is centered on Christ, his life, death, and resurrection. Again we can turn to Paul – this time in 1 Cor. 15.
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As a theological and doctrinal question, the question of Adam is of secondary importance.  The link between all mankind, past present, and future, as sinners separated from God in need of reconciliation and Christ as the one who reconciles us to God is crucial. The link between Adam as a unique historical person and Christ is not crucial to the gospel.
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I think the question of Adam is important – and I will continue to post on the topic and explore the various facets of the question. I think the questions raised at the interface of science and the Christian faith, especially the questions raised by evolution are important. They are important for individual Christians struggling with the intellectual coherence of what they learn about the world from science and what they believe as Christians. They are important for evangelism in at least part of our secular society and this will be an increasingly important factor.

A false start to the story produces a false gospel. The start to the story is Christ who was in the beginning with God, who emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant and being made in the likeness of man, who became flesh and dwelt among us. Frankly, I don’t think that the incarnation is a solution to a problem created by our original forefathers, whether two unique individuals created from the dust or a community who evolved into humans. I think that the incarnation was part of God’s plan from the beginning.

Where do you think the story of the Gospel begins? asks Scot McKnight. Indeed. Where?