Adam & Eve- really?

[I Think]

The following pretty much puts an end to thoughts that just two humans could have been the progenitors of all humanity/

We all have two copies of every gene, one from each parent. But some gene variants don’t show up unless you have two exactly the same. Most inherited diseases are caused by these “recessive” variants, which sneak through the evolutionary radar because they are harmless on their own. In fact, the average person has between one and two lethal recessive mutations in their genome.
When a couple are related, it doesn’t take long for the mask to slip. Take achromatopsia, a rare recessive disorder which causes total colour blindness. It affects 1 in 33,000 Americans and is carried by one in 100. If one of our post-apocalyptic survivors had the variant, there’s a one in four chance of their child having a copy. So far, so good. After just one generation of incest, the risk skyrockets – with a one in four chance of their child having two copies. That’s a 1 in 16 chance that the original couple’s first grandchild would have the disease.
This was the fate of the inhabitants of Pingelap, an isolated atoll in the western Pacific. The entire population is descended from just 20 survivors of a typhoon which swept the island in the 18th Century, including a carrier of achromatopsia. With such a small gene pool, today a 10th of the island’s population is totally colour blind.


http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2016011 ... late-earth

[LANDM]

Congratulations, the conundrum of "is everything in the bible factually precise" has finally been solved!

[Farmmaa]

Congratulations, the conundrum of "is everything in the bible factually precise" has finally been solved!

It may amaze you just how many people believe exactly that....when the question really should be - is anything in the bible factually precise, or even close to it.
Yes, millions of people do believe in the biblical version of creation - that all humans were born of Adam and Eve. They take these bible stories literally.
The parting of the Red Sea, the talking serpent, the Ark, the virgin birth, the great flood that wiped out all of humanity - only to be repopulated again, of one gene pool.

[mexi cali]

Devout Christians believe unwaveringly in the Bible and that the stories unfolded exactly as written. That is why it is called faith and why it is next to impossible to hold an intelligent conversation with them.

[JayByrd]

It definitely would require the involvement of something more powerful than genetics for this to have happened, which is precisely what allows Christians to believe that the story of Adam and Eve occurred (and not all Christians do).

Even those who take the Bible as historical fact, don't claim to have all the answers. If one believes in God, then one also believes that anything is possible, including things that cannot be proven or even plausibly explained by science.

Christians don't see science as the lone arbiter of what is fact, nor do they see it as mankind's only source of truth. They also don't see God/creation/events in the Bible as a puzzle to be solved, but rather a truth to be celebrated. That's pretty much the crux of what faith is: belief in something you don't fully understand. And here's the kicker: a great number of Christians, despite their faith, recognize that they might have it all wrong.

[mexi cali]

a great number of Christians, despite their faith, recognize that they might have it all wrong.

Hmmmmmmmm. Don't think I'v ever met one of those.

[JayByrd]

Hmmmmmmmm. Don't think I'v ever met one of those.

Maybe you have and you don't know it. Not every person of faith fits the fundamentalist bible thumping stereotype.

[Bpeep]

I wonder why Adam and Eve are depicted as humans with belly buttons.

[I Think]

How else would the fetuses get nutriti........................ Oh right, yeah why?

[zzontar]

Perhaps Adam and Eve were the first two humans to be inhabited by souls, and souls are like a species. Seeing as the word "soul" scares some people more than ghosts, I'll talk about ghosts instead... around half the population believes in ghosts with around 20% claiming to have seen one. As most believe ghosts came from a body then it doesn't seem unlikely they could enter one as well. In reality, only half the population could consider that as far-fetched.

[Ka-El]

Devout Christians believe unwaveringly in the Bible and that the stories unfolded exactly as written.

Hmmm. I know they do exist, but I've never met one of them - and I have met a lot of Christians. Most I've met are university educated, believe in evolution (just not random chance) and the scientific timeline for Earth, and understand the Bible is a collection of stories - many passed down by oral tradition (as clearly specified in the preface of the New English Bible).

[JayByrd]

Hmmm. I know they do exist, but I've never met one of them - and I have met a lot of Christians. Most I've met are university educated, believe in evolution (just not random chance) and the scientific timeline for Earth, and understand the Bible is a collection of stories - many passed down by oral tradition (as clearly specified in the preface of the New English Bible).

I think it's something like 50% of Christians, who regard the Bible as a literal historical document. For most of those, the key isn't "did this really happen or not" but rather, what wisdom can be drawn from it. If a person has faith, they don't need proof to proceed. This is where atheists and people of faith diverge; they're not asking the same question.

I'm pretty sure a race between a tortoise and a hare never happened, and there's no historical reference for the boy who cried wolf, but we still find a certain truth in those stories.

[I Think]

Jaybird sayeth;

50% of Christians, who regard the Bible as a literal historical document. For most, the key isn't "did this really happen or not

Um if you have 50% on one side, you can't have most on the other.

[JayByrd]

I Think thought:

Um if you have 50% on one side, you can't have most on the other.

Why would you type "um"?

Anyways, it's been edited to satisfy your pedantism. I bet you're great fun at parties.

[Farmmaa]

Hmmm. I know they do exist, but I've never met one of them - and I have met a lot of Christians. Most I've met are university educated, believe in evolution (just not random chance) and the scientific timeline for Earth, and understand the Bible is a collection of stories - many passed down by oral tradition (as clearly specified in the preface of the New English Bible).

I'm not sure how you've managed not to meet them.
I've met way too many. And yes, they too are intelligent ( seemingly ), well educated individuals as well.

Perhaps their true colors don't actually come out until they find out that you don't believe any of it and it stuns them.
You don't believe in god ?! Well, at least you believe in the bible though, right ? You can't deny that Jesus is real. What do you mean you don't believe in Adam and Eve??

If you want to call yourself a Christian, if you choose to believe that the bible is the word of god - it is hypocritical to then turn around and pick and choose which parts are true and which are not.