If we're all descendents of Noah, how come there are so many different races?

Question

We have people have all colors/ethnicity on this planet. So, how did we get from one person all these ethnicities? Was it some sort of cellular evolution that created an excess of melanin in some people over others?

Answer 1

Discussing evolution in the religion section? Oh be prepared to be called all sorts of lovely things!

Noah was a story about an area that flooded somewhere in ancient times. It more than likely did wipe out an entire valley of people and tribes...but that is all, not the entire world as many were led to believe. Rulers and priests used that story to keep the unruly citizens of their cities in check.
What better way to do so than telling them that a god wiped out an entire world because he was pissed at his peoples transgressions? Yeah that would get any uneducated worker to behave and listen to the laws handed down by god and conveniently interpreted by a ruler or priests. (with many clever additions such as taxes and tithes thrown in)

Answer 2

Actually in the older Sumerian version of the flood that Noah was created from, Noah, his wife and sons, their wives, his extended family, his friends, and the people that helped him build the ark were all on the boat, not just his immediate family.

That sort of evolution wouldn;t fit into a Christian theory of the earth being 6000 years old, because it has been said that it takes 10,000 years for a black man to turn into a white man.

Answer 3

Noah had his wife, their three sons and their wives. This means there are actually five sets of genetic information to pool from (noah, his wife, and the three sons wives - the sons all had different combinations of the genetic info from their parents). Children from one brother married thier cousins, and even further blended information. As Hem, Shem, and Japeth all took their families farther and farther away, the familes got bigger and bigger. The familes started to break off into smaller clan groups. As you know, when a group begins to reproduce within itself, certain characteristics will begin to show up more frequently because more and more decendents carry that particular gene.

The reason we cannot marry people too close in the family tree is that our DNA is affected by sin, and the fall. As the generations continue, our DNA mutates more and more creating birth defects and genetic diseases.

Answer 4

We humans have adapted to our environments. Those in warmer clients developed darker skin to protect them from the sun while those in colder climates remained paler. Facial features are also related to the climate and altitude of the villages. Notice that the Andean people share many common features with the Tibetan people and yet they are at least 2-3 thousand years from a common ancestor. We are all literally products of our environment. Genetic mutations also occured in certain populations over the years that affected height and features.

Keep in mind that the wives of Noah's sons may have looked quite different from Noah.

Answer 5

Because the Bible isn't historical fact. The story of Noah, like most Bible stories, is a metaphor. In this case, it's about obidience and redemption. To interpret it literally as historic fact is to entirely miss the point of the story. In fact, this goes for most stories in the Bible. There is little (if any) historical or scientific evidence indicating that any of the events in the Bible actually took place. When you look at the Bible in a more metaphorical context, it's relevance and importance becomes obvious, even to those of us who choose not to believe in the existence of a higher being.

If you would like to look beyond the Bible and learn more about the factual and scientific reasons why the Earth has the diversity of humans, I would suggest you spend time at this page on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race
The article is excellent and should be very interesting for you to read.

Answer 6

Races come from their respective Gods. The God Noah served was Noah's race just like the God I serve is my race. Or, you could just assume that races are different points of evolution (bad idea, you'll get haters) or that some races are really descendants or results of alien breeding... You can come up with all kinds of goofy crap and as long as you call your ideas divine inspiration, you'll get followers and zealots. Have fun and make your own religion!

Answer 7

God created all the races on the 6th day of creation. Genesis 1.
God told Noah to take 2 of every flesh, not just animals. All the races were on board the ark.
Gen 6:19 "And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every [sort] shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep [them] alive with thee; they shall be male and female."
You should ask "Why did God bring the flood in Noah's time?"
Maybe someone will answer correctly.

Source(s):

King James Bible

Answer 8

I'm no christian, but according to the bible aren't we all also descendents of Adam and Eve? If so, then the level of inbreeding present in the human race could account for a wide range of genetic anomolies couldn't it?

Yes my answer is mostly sarcastic and no I'm not a racist.

Answer 9

Prophet Noah had 3 sons
yafth father of western people
sam father of arab and jews
ham father of people on Aferica
other kind of people from mixing of these 3 later

Answer 10

Because God "scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth;" (GEN 11:8). God wanted diversity and people were building a city (Babel) and everyone was pretty much the same, so God seperated them and made their languages different so they couldn't understand each other.