The Genesis

[The Peacekeeper]

I had a question, it's said that after being cast away from Heaven, Adam and Eve inhabited the Earth and God gave them freedom to give birth to the human race.

I was wondering, how can you create an entire race out of two beings, considering that it's quite scientifically impossible as the genetic material deteriorates if relatives give birth to children...

I don't want necessarily a scientific explanation, just a Christian one.

 

[fallingblood]

Adam and Eve never were cast from Heaven.

As for how it would be possible for them to populate the Earth? God. The story is a myth, but if we accept that it happened, God simply drove the process.

 

[filthy tugboat]

I had a question, it's said that after being cast away from Heaven, Adam and Eve inhabited the Earth and God gave them freedom to give birth to the human race.

It was the Garden of Eden not Heaven, but I guess, the point remains the same.

I was wondering, how can you create an entire race out of two beings, considering that it's quite scientifically impossible as the genetic material deteriorates if relatives give birth to children...

I don't want necessarily a scientific explanation, just a Christian one.

Largely, Genesis is considered an allegory, it is not a description of, or a book based on real events. It's a story with multiple morals and teachings that some consider consistent with Jewish, Christian and Islamic thoughts. But Adam and Eve, the Global Flood, all of it is just a story, a myth that promotes certain ideals.

 

[rusra02]

I had a question, it's said that after being cast away from Heaven, Adam and Eve inhabited the Earth and God gave them freedom to give birth to the human race.

I was wondering, how can you create an entire race out of two beings, considering that it's quite scientifically impossible as the genetic material deteriorates if relatives give birth to children...

I don't want necessarily a scientific explanation, just a Christian one.

Adam and Eve began procreating after leaving the Garden of Eden, and after they sinned. So they could not produce perfect offspring. (Romans 5:12) Nonetheless, the Bible shows that people born before the Deluge lived an extraordinarily long time. Adam himself lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5) So close to human perfection, the effects of interbreeding among siblings evidently did not produce the effects common today. It would not take too long before men and women only distantly related could marry. Living such an enormous time, men and women could continue to bear children, increasing the population rapidly. (Genesis 5:4, 6:1)

 

[The Peacekeeper]

rusra: thanks for the answer, never thought of that. It's a good interpretation.

Thank you for all the answers as well.

 

[filthy tugboat]

Adam and Eve began procreating after leaving the Garden of Eden, and after they sinned. So they could not produce perfect offspring.

What constitutes "perfect offspring"? How did Adam and Eve's children compare to the standard of "perfect offspring"?

(Romans 5:12) Nonetheless, the Bible shows that people born before the Deluge lived an extraordinarily long time. Adam himself lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5) So close to human perfection,

What is "human perfection"? How is living 930 years closer to "human perfection" than living 80 years?

the effects of interbreeding among siblings evidently did not produce the effects common today.

It could be that they did produce similar effects, as you said, those humans were very different, they lived far longer than anyone around today so perhaps their interbreeding is what degraded our genetics and now we only live for 80 or so years. Why does interbreeding produce the effects common today? Couldn't God have created a system where interbreeding did not negatively effect the offspring? Why did the effects change?

It would not take too long before men and women only distantly related could marry. Living such an enormous time, men and women could continue to bear children, increasing the population rapidly. (Genesis 5:4, 6:1)

I find that the Adam and Eve were not the only humans around at this time. Cain found a wife outside of the domain of his family, after slaying Abel he was banished. During this banishment he somehow found a wife and raised children. It is possible that there were other tribes of humans and interbreeding was not necessary.

 

[Pegg]

I had a question, it's said that after being cast away from Heaven, Adam and Eve inhabited the Earth and God gave them freedom to give birth to the human race.

I was wondering, how can you create an entire race out of two beings, considering that it's quite scientifically impossible as the genetic material deteriorates if relatives give birth to children...

I don't want necessarily a scientific explanation, just a Christian one.

1. they werent cast away from heaven...they were cast out of the garden of Eden which was the home God created for the first man and woman.

2. the genetic issues we have today are a result of mankinds imperfection. When they were perfect, their dna was capable of reproducing perfectly without defects but after they sinned, they became independent of Gods governance and thus 'eventurally' became prone to genetic defects. The defects are more probable in cases of incest which is why Gods law to Isreal forbade incest, but defects are still possible even among normal unions.

 

[Pegg]

Living such an enormous time, men and women could continue to bear children, increasing the population rapidly. (Genesis 5:4, 6:1)

good point rusra

women can produce a child quite comfortably every 18 months. But lets stretch it to 1 child every 2 years from the age of 20yrs -120yrs

that would be 60 children in 100 years. If Eve continued to have children for even just 500 years, she & Adam could have had 300 children.

Now add to that the children of Adam & Eve all having their own kids too for hundreds of years and the population would have been grown very quickly.

 

[Lucian]

Genesis 6:3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."

It's somewhat interesting that at this point the days of man became 120 years. Jeanne Calment is held to be the oldest today; she died at the age of 122. It would be interesting to know where this exact number in Genesis came from. Did the writer know someone who had lived that long? Or is it a symbolic number? It's also interesting that some hermits have lived to their 100s in conditions which haven't been the ideal.

 

[james2ko]

I had a question, it's said that after being cast away from Heaven, Adam and Eve inhabited the Earth and God gave them freedom to give birth to the human race.

I was wondering, how can you create an entire race out of two beings, considering that it's quite scientifically impossible as the genetic material deteriorates if relatives give birth to children...

I don't want necessarily a scientific explanation, just a Christian one.

According to Stanford University Geneticists Dr Barry Starr, it is scientifically possible for two beings to populate the earth.

http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=105

 

[rusra02]

Genesis 6:3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."

It's somewhat interesting that at this point the days of man became 120 years. Jeanne Calment is held to be the oldest today; she died at the age of 122. It would be interesting to know where this exact number in Genesis came from. Did the writer know someone who had lived that long? Or is it a symbolic number? It's also interesting that some hermits have lived to their 100s in conditions which haven't been the ideal.

The context shows that God was talking about the years until he would destroy that wicked world by means of the flood. Even after the Flood, men lived longer than 120 years, although life spans dropped gradually after the Flood.

 

[The Peacekeeper]

"This is why it would depend on who the founders were. If they were disease gene free (which none of us living today are), then the complications would be minor. If they were like the founders of the Amish community, then polydactyly would be a problem but not CF."

I suppose that surely Adam and Eve were disease gene free.