• Question: if we came from adam and eve how are there different races of people ?

    Asked by ggd03 to Charlie, Eoin, Jemma, Julian, Steve on 22 Mar 2011.
    • Photo: Eoin Lettice

      Eoin Lettice answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Hi ggd03,
      Most scientists believe that the Adam and Eve story isn’t scientifically correct and that the origin of life on earth and the evolution of humans happened by purely natural means.
      That isn’t to say that there are not scientists who believe in God, but many of them would see the adam and eve story as being (at best) a sort of analogy of how life on earth started.

      Different races of any organisms (including humans) occur due to groups of individuals being separated by geography and climate. Different geography and climate affect the development and evolution of different groups of people, giveing us a wide variety of ethnic origins on earth.

      Eoin.

    • Photo: Stephen Moss

      Stephen Moss answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Hi GGD

      “If” is the most important word in your question. At the time the story of Adam and Eve was written, it probably seemed the best explanation for how humans came to be on the Earth. But we know much more now, and according to the fossil record, it seems likely that the first humans came out of Africa, and then scattered across the planet. Over tens of thousands of years in their respective corners of the world, those people gradually developed the skin colours and facial features etc that led to the different races we see today.

    • Photo: Charlie Ryan

      Charlie Ryan answered on 22 Mar 2011:

      hi ggd03
      I have to admit i dont believe that we came from adam and eve. If i did, then i would believe in creation – that god created us and all other animals. This i don’t believe – i much prefer evolution! Evolution seems to very well describe the variation of the species, and how we have evolved from primates, and long before that from animal life in the sea. The different race of people seems to be a good demonstration of evolution – as humans have adapted to the environment.

    • Photo: Julian Rayner

      Julian Rayner answered on 22 Mar 2011:

      Hi ggd03. I think that the story of Adam and Eve is best seen as allegory than plain truth. The idea that most of us are descended from very few individuals though is one that human evolutionists generally support. Modern homo sapiens emerged from Africa some time about 50-100,000 years ago, and there were probably only about a few tens of thousands of us at the time (you can tell by the number of genetic differences in DNA between people all over the world).

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