What FEC Does Not Claim

The limits of the proposal

FEC is meant to address a particular problem: how the Genesis account of an original good creation and a real Fall might be held together with the scientific history of an ancient world. It should not be made to claim more than that.

It is not a scientific theory

FEC does not offer an alternative calculation for the age of the universe, a new biological mechanism, or a scientific method for detecting the original creation. The proposal concerns the theological meaning and condition of the world that science investigates.

This leaves science free to do its ordinary work. It also leaves the proposal open to philosophical and theological criticism.

It does not make natural history unreal

The fallen creation has a genuine past. Stars actually formed, organisms actually lived and died, and evolutionary and geological events actually occurred. FEC is different from the claim that a young world was created with evidence of events that never happened.

It is not permission to dismiss evidence

Scientific conclusions can change, but they must be challenged with evidence and sound reasoning. The word “fallen” cannot be used as a general explanation whenever a finding is inconvenient.

It does not settle every question about Adam and humanity

FEC leaves difficult questions about the image of God, original sin, genealogy, other human populations, and Adam’s relationship to all people. Any proposed answer must recognize the equal dignity and moral worth of every human population. Biological history cannot be turned into a hierarchy of human value.

Its speculative extensions are not the core proposal

Possible explanations involving Cain’s wife, the sons of God and daughters of men, long lifespans, or the Flood may be worth examining. They are not required in order to understand or evaluate FEC’s central claim.

It is not necessary for salvation

Christians have faithfully followed Christ without FEC, and no one needs to accept it as a condition of Christian fellowship. The proposal may be useful to people for whom the apparent conflict between Genesis and science remains a stumbling block.

It does not prove Christianity

FEC does not prove that Christianity is true or that Genesis is scientifically correct. It is offered as a plausible reconciliation that should be tested by Scripture, theology, philosophy, and the best available science.

There are serious objections to the proposal. They should be stated plainly rather than hidden. A useful model does not need to pretend that every question has already been answered.