How come there are many human races, aren't we all from Adam and Eve?

Question

How come there are many human races (Black, White, Asian), aren't we all from Adam and Eve?what does religion say about it, and what does science say about it?

Answer 1

Scientific Viewpoint:

(Note: I am neither a scientist nor an evolutionist, so I am answering your question using scientific facts. What their actual opinions are, I do not know.)

Could we have all come from Adam and Eve? Yes. How? Given the right blend of genetic material in the beginning would spawn all the current nationalities. After all, there are only three eye colors (blue, green, and brown), three hair colors (blond, black, and red), and two types of hair (straight and curly) with a myriad of slight variations inbetween. Blend this with the sun's effect on skin coloration, and oila! The human race and all variations that it contains. When people of similar coloring mate, the resulting offspring carries and donates the dominant genes to their offspring, fine-tuning the general population of that area to a certain tendancy. Every racial group's origin has been their home for thousands and thousands of years, so they have very similar, almost identical, genetic makeup, which includes certain adaptations needed for the conditions they live in.

Religious Viewpoint:

(I assume you're referring to the Bible...since that is where Adam and Eve originated.)
Adam and Eve were created by the Hand of God and were told to populate the earth. Since the Bible documents the lifespan of most pre-Noah people as upwards of nine hundred years, and fertility late into life, yes the earth could have been populated exclusively by two people. As far as the Bible is concerned, people were designated by where their family originated from, rather than by specific genetic traits. That's why some people say Jesus of Nazareth is black, and others say He's white. He actually would have been somewhere in between, similar to the Middle East of today. Dark brown skin, dark wavy hair, brown eyes. Honestly, the fair-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed person He's generally portrayed as would be folly. Point being, in the Bible, people were referred to by country of origin, not by race. Specific colorations were not discussed, per se.

So, yes, we all came from Adam and Eve.

For those skeptics that need physical proof in all things...aren't you still looking for the "missing link"??? Hmmmmm....

Peace and Blessings

Answer 2

You need to be udpated. There is no such thing as race!!
You should read this book by Audrey Smedley, "Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview" Audrey Smedley is a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and her book is about:

"In a sweeping work tracing the idea of race for more than three centuries, Audrey Smedley shows that "race" is a cultural invention that has been used variously and opportunistically since the eighteenth century. Race was not a product of science but a folk classification reflecting a new form of social stratification and a rationalization for inequality among the peoples of North America."

More information about race from websites:

"Human subspecies don't exist.
Unlike many animals, modern humans have not been around long enough, nor have populations isolated enough, to evolve into seperate subspecies or races. Despite surface differences, we are among the most similar of all species."


"The rejection of race in science is now almost complete. In the end, we should embrace historian Barbara Fields's succinct conclusion with respect to the plausibility of biological races: "Anyone who continues to believe in race as a physical attribute of individuals, despite the now commonplace disclaimers of biologists and geneticists, might as well also believe that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy are real, and that the earth stands still while the sun moves."

Answer 3

We all descend from one unique race, black, from Ethiopia. It is called the Adamic race because of the Genesis. Among this race, from a woman Science named Eve (from the same Genesis), all of a sudden, without a plausible explanation, one generation develloped intelligence, the ability to transmit culture. This race crossed what is now the Red Sea to Asia. The racial differences were caused by Nature and the necessity to adapt to the new circumstances. A lighter skin in the cold North (observe all Northern animals tend to be white), darker next to the tropics. This is the main reason racism is a display of ignorance.

Answer 4

Religion (Christianity) claims that we all came from Adam and Eve. According to genesis (first chapter in the bible) Adam and Eve were the first creature on earth.

Science will say that we evolved from other forms of animal. Science is against the concept of Adam and Eve, because according to science we have become what we are now through a process of constant change known as evolution. Science also justifies the variation of race (black, asian, white, red etc) due to the theory of adaptation. Meaning, since we live in different locations/places with different needs/wants, our body through the years adapt. People in africa for instance have big nosestrills because they need it to make the warm air they inhale cooler. Meanwhile, the nosestrills of those in Alaska (eskimos) are narrow so that the cold air that passes through it gets warm.

Given the chance to choose, I'd say science makes sense and the concept of Adam and Eve should not be taken literally. I've learnt from my religion teacher that the bible is a combination of history, fable, parables, myths, etc. Besides, there are a lot of questions regarding the veracity of what the bible tells us. Science explain evolution with proofs, religion explains "adam and eve" with faith; in my case science gets a better chance to be true.

Answer 5

If the Garden of Eden was between the Tigris and Euphrates, would that have made Adam and Eve Persians? Anyway yes, there would certainly have been a lot of incest. This is of course made weirder by the fact that the Bible doesn't mention any women except for Eve for at least one generation.

Answer 6

The different races are anomalies in the human race.
Ham who was born and raised in Mesopotamia, which is now in Iraq, had a son he named Cush.
The definition of Cush is below.

03568 vwk Kuwsh koosh

probably of foreign origin; TWOT-969;

AV-Ethiopia 19, Cush 8, Ethiopians 3; 30

Cush =" black"

n pr m
1) a Benjamite mentioned only in the title of #Ps 7:1
2) the son of Ham and grandson of Noah and the progenitor of the southernmost peoples located in Africa
3) the peoples descended from Cush

n pr loc
4) the land occupied by the descendants of Cush located around the southern parts of the Nile (Ethiopia)

This is just one example, because it is given in scripture.

grace2u

Answer 7

It's like when the Lord changed the languages of the people who made the tower of babel. Maybe He changed the races of some people for some reasons long ago.

when it comes to science, i guess it's, adaptation. Black people are usually found near the equator where the sun's rays are direct. They need more melanin(dark pigments found in skin and hair which prevents skin cancer) to protect themselves from the sun's rays. I think some cases, like cuture, are also affected by this.

Answer 8

People are all different colors because of what region of the world they live in. Think about it...below the equator people have darker skin because the sun concentration is much greater and they have evolved to adapt to it...but much far north people covered up because of the cold and lack of sun concentration to our skin didnt need to produce melanin. therefore we are whiter. We are all related but not from Adam and Eve. I reccomend the movie Journey of Man for more about that.

Answer 9

I'm sure Christians will have an answer but really, Adam & Eve? Do you really think two people just magically appeared? Really?

Answer 10

We all started the same and as people moved north from Africa, we adapted to suit our climate. White people shouldn't be in Australia, skin cancer is the biggest killer of the young there. The aboriginals are suited best to the hot climate because they have dark skin. Thousands of years changed people's appearances, we didn't all start off looking this way.