I was born into the evangelical tradition. No need for specifics--just meat and potatoes evangelicalism.
In my experience living in this strange world, I can confidently say that evangelicals believe that death was introduced into the world via the Fall.
It simply wasn't up for debate. Almost every sermon on sin began with a reference to the impetus for decay in the universe: Genesis 3--the Adamic Fall.
I attended several churches, all of which subscribed to this "orthodox" doctrine. I listened to Christian radio, read Christian books, watched Christian television programming, and everywhere I turned, the Adam-Introduced-Death-Through-Sin gambit was being repeated. It was biblical. Nothing else made sense or was in harmony with scripture, I was told.
Now cognitive dissonance has won out and I have abandoned the fundies. I have gone on Christian forums to express my dismay at the brainwashing I endured, and even exposed the deceptive tactics of many a YEC.
Little did I know I'm still not justified in abandoning the Bible as an inspired text. No, I have been told by seeming reasonable Christians that I need not have been brainwashed. The Bible, they tell me, says nothing about sin introducing death into the world. Things died pre-Fall because the Bible doesn't say that things DIDN'T die.
I can only say one thing: you guys need to get your stories straight!
It's like some grand Keystone Kops routine.
Seeing YECs fight with each other on who has the most biblical YEC stance reminded me of just how ridiculous the evangelism routine is. It's founded on premises that millions of (presumably sincere) Christians can't even agree on between themselves.
And now I'm being proselytized to believe in a more liberal Christianity, one vastly gentler and more comfortable than the stuffy YECism that I was chained to before, but no more believable.
In a system where religion is a conconction of men, such things are to be expected. That's what gives me comfort. At least it's no mystery why men argue endlessly about trivial religious matters. It's very similar to those who bicker about constitutional authority.
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