Question on Sin and Death: From Romans 5

I would request the reader to bear with me a little here. Below is a mail I wrote to CatholicExchange:

From: Kensy Joseph
To: biblestudy@catholicexchange.com
Sent: 12/12/02 2:26 AM
Subject: Question on Death and Sin

Dear CatholicExchange,

Peace in our Lord Jesus Christ!

I am a student of your excellent Bible study series. I am currently going through the study on Romans.

In Session 8 (Romans 5:12-21), you have asked the question on whether Paul spoke of only human death as being the consequence of Adam's sin. In "Suggested Responses", you have also said that Paul does not make any mention of plant and animal death.

This raises the obvious question - why do plants and animals die in the first place? With humans it's clear enough. Would it be fair to assume that plants and animals suffered death even in Eden (whereas Adam in his state of grace was immortal)?

I would be most grateful if you could please shed some light on the matter.

Regards

Kensy

Dear Kensey[sic],
When Adam and Eve sinned, ALL of creation was affected because of their sin. Their sin brought death into the world whereas there was no death prior to the fall, for either man or plant or animal.

If you would like further information on this question, or any part of the Romans study, I would recommend the Navarre Bible Commentary on Romans which is available from St. Joseph Communications. Here's a link to it.
http://www.saintjoe.com/products/3015F.html

Sincerely in Christ,
Gail Buckley, Executive Director
Catholic Scripture Study

Dear Gail Buckley,

Peace in our Lord Jesus Christ!

Thank you for your prompt response. However, I think I may not have expressed my concerns with adequate clarity.

My concern is this - if it was Adam and Eve (the first humans) who brought death into the world (for all creation), then what about those plants and animals who died before humans were even on this planet? The dinosaurs, for instance. Humans have been on earth for only a million years or so; the dinosaurs died out about 65 million years before that. And there were creatures that died before the dinosaurs.

Hence, one must assume that the Fall happened long before even the dinosaurs were on earth (for death has been on earth right from the first bacteria that evolved from the primeval slush). In which case, Adam and Eve could not have been humans in the sense (physical and biological) that I am.

Please shed some more light on this issue.

Thanks and regards

Kensy Joseph