The Historical Adam and Eve
I theorize that a lot of the modern attacks on traditional Christian beliefs are rooted in Masonry. Masons want to "strip from all religions their orthodox tenets, legends, allegories and dogmas." (Clausen, Clausen's Commentaries on Morals and Dogmas, p. 157).
In order to deny the historicity of Adam and Eve, one would have to do a lot of deleting from the divine sources of Christian faith, as well as deny the patristic doctrine of Scriptural inerrancy. Such a person is not Orthodox by any stretch of the imagination. The Apostle Paul specifically states that all, not part, ALL Scripture is God-breathed (2Tim. 3:16), this obviously includes all the biblical passages affirming the historicity of Adam and Eve.
THE BIBLICAL TESTIMONY
Adam and Eve were literal people with children from whom all humanity descended. (Gen. 5:1).
They gave birth to literal children. The phrase "this is the history of" proves the historical genre. (see Gen. 4-5).
The phrase "this is the history of" is used to record later history in Genesis. (6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19) and used of the creation account (2:4).
Later Old Testament chronologies place Adam at the top of the list (Gen. 5:1; 1Chron 1:1).
Adam is placed at the beginning of Jesus' literal ancestors. (Luke 3:38).
Jesus referred to Adam and Eve as the first literal "male and female." He made their physical union the basis of marriage. (Matthew 19:4).
St. Paul teaches that literal death was brought into the world by a literal "one man"--Adam. (Romans 5:12, 14).
“From one man he [God] made every nation of men.” (Acts 17:26).
St. Paul compares the first man (Adam) with Christ (the last Adam). (1Corinthians 15:45).
St. Paul affirms that "Adam was first formed, then Eve." (1Timothy 2:13-14).
The New Testament understands Adam and Eve to be historical figures (Luke 3:38; Acts 17:26; 1Cor. 11:8-9; 2Cor.11:3; 1Tim. 2:13-14).
The New Testament also assumes the historicity of the sons of Adam and Eve, Cain (Heb.11:4; 1John 3:12; Jude 11) and Abel (Matt.23:35; Luke 11:51: Heb.11:4; 12:24).
Again, one would have to do a lot of editing and deleting from Christian sources in order to defend his thesis that Adam and Eve were not historical. Such a person is not Christian by any stretch of the imagination.
THE HOLY FATHERS AND POPES
"The Fathers of the Church believed the Genesis account of the creation of Eve literally, although they sometimes superimposed allegorical interpretations on it. The creation of Eve from the side of Adam is so strongly affirmed in Magisterial teaching"... (Warkulwiz, The Doctrines of Genesis 1-11, p. 262).
"The Fathers and Doctors of the Church and all the popes, bishops and faithful for nineteen centuries believed that God created Adam immediately from the dust of the earth." (Warkulwiz, 234).
St. Basil said that God made Adam directly from the earth to distinguish him from animals. (On the Origin of Man 2:4, as quoted in Genesis, Creation and Early Man, p. 159).
Adam was created from the earth according to Saints Irenaeus, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Alexandria, John Damascene, Ephraim, Tertullian, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine. (See Rufini, Cardinal Ernesto, The Theory of Evolution Judged by Reason and Faith, pp. 124-129).
St. Cyril of Jerusalem: "Eve was begotten of Adam and not conceived of a mother"...(Oden, Louth, Ancient Christian Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Old Testament, Vol.1, Genesis 1-11 p. 67).
St. Ephraim believed Eve was already inside Adam when God removed his rib. (ACC p. 36).
St. Ambrose said God created Eve from the body of Adam. (Warkulwiz, p. 270).
Theodoret of Cyr taught that God made Eve from Adam. (Warkulwiz, 270).
St. John Chryosostom said Adam and Eve lived like angels. (Eight Homilies on Genesis 8:4, quoted in Genesis, Creation and Early Man, p. 151).
1909 Pontifical Biblical Commission: "the fall of our first parents from their primitive state of innocence," and "the promise of a future Redeemer" are things in Genesis that must be be taken in the "literal and historical sense" because they "pertain to the foundations of the Christian religion." (Warkulwiz, p. 321).
1909 Pontifical Biblical Commission stated that the temptation of Eve by the devil "under the guise of the serpent " must be taken in "the literal and historical sense." (Denzinger, Enchiridion Symbolorum no, 2123).
St. John Damascene wrote of "our first parents." (ACC p. 17).
Blessed Augustine: "in the very beginning Adam and Eve were the parents of all peoples." (Quoted by Warkulwiz from Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers, no. 1813).
Theodoret of Cyr: "the myriads of tribes [came] from one couple." (JR, no. 2147).
Sirach: [Adam was honored] "above every living being in creation." (49:16).
Book of Wisdom: "Wisdom protected the first formed father of the world, when he alone had been created; she delivered him from his transgression, and gave him strength to rule all things." (10:1).
The view that Eve was literally taken from Adam's rib was held by such notable saints as John Chrysostom, Ambrose, Ephraim the Syrian and Cyril of Jerusalem. (see: Genesis, Creation and Early Man, by Fr. Seraphim Rose).
Pope Pelagius I (died 4 March 561) said that the first woman was created "from the rib of the man." (DZ, no. 228a).
Pope Pius II in 1459 condemned the notion that Adam was not the first man.
Pope Pius XII in 1950 condemned polygenism. (Warkulwiz, p. 343).
In 1909 the Pontifical Biblical Commission said that the literal-historical sense is to be adhered to in regard to "the formation of the first woman from the first man." (DZ, no. 2123).
All the Holy Fathers, even St. Seraphim of Sarov, believed that Eve came from Adam’s rib.
The historical Adam is affirmed by Ante-Nicene Pope St. Clement of Rome (r. 88–99), Pseudo-Clement, St. Ignatius of Antioch, The Epistle of Barnabas, St. Justin Martyr, Pseudo–Justin and ancient Pagan testimonies, St. Theophilus of Antioch, St. Irenæus of Lyons, St. Hippolytus of Rome. (for quotes and sources see the upcoming book "Thou art Dust: Recovering the Catholic Doctrine of the Origin of Adam’s Body," by the Kolbe Center).
Popes from Pelagius I up to Leo XIII and Pius X have explicitly taught that Adam and Eve had no parents but that Adam was made immediately from the earth and Eve immediately from Adam's side. There is no evolution here.
There are many ancient secular genealogies that trace back to Adam. Example, most Arab tribes trace back to Ishmael, and from there to Adam. A large fraction of Medieval European kings had genealogies that went back to Adam. (see The Harvest Handbook of Apologetics, pp. 292-293).
SCIENCE
There is now abundant genetic data that supports the existence of a literal Adam and Eve. (Mortenson, et al. Searching for Adam; Sanford and Carter, God, Family and Genetics--a Biblical Perspective, Part 1 in Genetic Evidences Supporting The Divine Origin of Man and Family (2016); Published in Proceedings of the Symposium at Rome "The Two Shall Become One" at The Creation of Adam and Eve as the Foundation of the Church's Teaching on Holy Marriage. Human Life International; Part 2 in Genetic Evidences Refuting the Evolution of Man and Family (2016) published in Proceedings of the Symposium at Rome).
All the Mitochondrial chromosomes in the world are nearly identical and trace back to a single woman known as "Mitochondrial Eve."
Further, the studies indicate that this Mitochondrial Eve lived just thousands of years ago.
All of the human Y chromosomes in the world are nearly identical and trace back to a single man. "Y-chromosome Adam."
Dr. Jason Lisle has a Ph.D. in Astrophysics and Argues for the Historical Adam