according to the noah myth, we are all inbred and every animal is inbred to, right?

Answer 1

It is not a Myth.The dimensions make it very possible .We are descended from the three sons of Noah. Ham (parts of the Middle East and Africa) Shem (Parts of Asia ,The Fertile Crescent and Japheth (most of Europe).

Answer 2

Look up Punctuated Equilibrium.
"inbreeding" is not necessarily a bad thing - a necessary component of evolution is the separation of a small genetic sample of a population (often due to some upheaval like a flood or volcanic eruption).
Also check out "Mitochondrial Eve" - mitochondrial evidence that all humans originaly came from one female.
Finaly, the recent research on the Egyptian royalty who routinely seem to have married their sisters does not show anywhere near the expected degree of abnormality.

And as folks mentioned - if you believe the myth, Noah's three sons were already married and at least some segment of the animals were in 7 pairs - so the inbreeding wasn't "as bad" as all that.
And anyhow - the usual inbreeding problem comes from repeated matings between siblings (ie: children of siblings marying siblings, with their children in turn marying siblings, and theirs in turn marying siblings). In the Biblical mythology, the pairings went outwards with only the initial one being between siblings. In the next generation the relation was further apart and in the next one even further, etc.

Finaly - It is regretable that people get so preocupied in reading the Bible as literal history that they loose the capacity to read for symbolism - and this is the major strength of the stories - the construction of a strong psychosocial deeply resonant platform for human interaction.
The story of Adam's children has nothing to do with who married who - it was about two brothers and the nature of jealousy.
The story of Noah is not about the continued viability of a species brought back from two genetic samples - it is about a society that degenerated until leaders would snatch random women off the streets for their peasure and the rest of the people were no better -- so that the one man who was "righteous in his generation" was a drunk whose only merit seems to have been to leave others alone. (okay - I'm oversimplifying - there is more to the story - but genetics is realy the least relevant piece of it)

Answer 3

According to the story in the Bible, there were 8 people in the ark: Noah and his wife, Noah's sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives. Also only unclean animals were brought in in one pair, the clean animals had 7 pairs each. I would only assume that after they got out of the Ark, there was some sort of inbreeding amongst the unclean animals and Noah's grandchildren. As far as I know, God led the animals to the Ark, Noah didn't choose them himself.

Answer 4

No. Reread the story. There were 8 people on the ark and some of the animals he had 7 pair.

Answer 5

The same would be true for the evolutionary myth as well.

It all had to start with one cell.....


What's your point?

Answer 6

If you consider it a myth, believe whatever you want to believe. I tend to believe that every individual is a unique human being. Inbreeding creates problems as when sister and brother mate, their offspring often tend to have abnormalties.

Answer 7

i see you are a true descendant of Noah. I bow to your insight, sightless one.

Answer 8

Only the Christians the rest of us evolved from anthropoids remember so technically only Christians are in-breeders !

Answer 9

True. And, of couser we know from genetic that we aren't. But if you want to debunk the Noah tale, there are lots of other ways to do it.

Answer 10

its not a myth. its history.