Description: An examination of how the story of Adam and Eve was interpreted in Jewish and early Christian traditions, and the growth of the doctrine of original sin.
This book traces the history of the interpretation of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 through the biblical period and the church fathers until Augustine. It explains the emergence of the doctrine of original sin with the theology of Augustine in the late fourth century on the basis of a mistranslation of the Greek text of Romans 5:12. The book suggests that it is time to move past Augustine's theology of sin and embrace a different theology of sin that is both more biblical and makes more sense in the postmodern West and in the developing world.Brief description: John E. Toews is the retired President of Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo, and the Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament Literature emeritus of the Fresno Pacic University Biblical Seminary.
Review Quotes: I would highly recommend this fascinating monograph for biblical scholars, theologians, and seminarians interested in the history of sin within the Old and New Testaments and its reception in Second Temple Judaism and patristic literature.--Igal German, University of Toronto, "Theological Book Review, Vol 25, No 2"