"Adam being pretty much as we are now, physically, is probably believed by most, but the physical world was without death before the first sin against God was commited by man, and nearly all seem to believe that God's judgement had physical consequences on the world - after all, the Garden of Eden is envisioned as something different from the world as we know it now."
Actually, I never met anyone who believed that Adam really existed. It seems an unlikely hypothesis considering the DNA evidence. And creating Eve from a rib seems preposterous--and unnecessary for a creator. I mean, if he can create polar bears by {poof}, why not a woman {poof}?
It would seem that He needed a design template. And did female polar bears get created from the rib of a male polar bear? Or, why go to the trouble of designing male reproductive organs if the female was an after-thought?
OK, I cut Him some slack--this was before project management software. I am not so sure about sin--is this the same as falling behind on the schedule?
I hope you're kidding.
Actually, I never met anyone who believed that Adam really existed
You have now
As far as we know, he did {poof} Eve. He {poofed} her from Adam's rib. The meaningful distinction however, may be found in the eyes of Adam, and not necessarily God.
Otherwise, why {poof} at all if there is no meaning within the {poofing}
And I have never met anyone who I would consider to be a person of faith...if they didn't.
If you toss out Adam, then everything else is meaningless, and what you have left is nothing more than a security blanket, rather than faith.
Faith is so much more than mere belief [for belief's sake] it is an awareness that is profound, an experience that can never be put into words, and a realization that it is not you who need God, but it is God who needs you.
This is the reason why pride is the greatest stumbling block to faith.
That woman is derived from man by virtue of the Creator's use of the man's flesh is the reason why men and women are more intimately intwined - spiritually and emotionally - than the other creatures. "Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh," says Adam. The Creator did not make the human creature in the same way as plants and animals, and for good reason.