Out of Africa, Biological Adam and Eve - Term Paper Example

Out of Africa, Biological Adam and Eve enter the Number or College 21st March, Part Introduction Human beings have always thought about where they come from. The existence of human race and its evolution have always been something of human interest. Many researchers have tried to prove their point of view as correct and logical but there are still some mysteries unsolved – some questions unanswered. As we grow in years, we hear about the stories of Adam and Eve in our schools and in religious sermons. All that we know about Adam and Eve is that they were the first human beings on earth. They were banished from heaven and sent to earth as punishment. Human brain inquires many questions over this small statement. Is this a true tale? Were Adam and Eve really the first human beings? If they were punished or banished from heaven then why are we here? And, is this all a punishment? Theology and science have been into cold war on these topics from the very beginning. This is because science accepts logic and evidences however, religion expects one to believe in whatever is told without any doubts. The aspects of the existence of universe and that of mankind are discussed side by side in this assignment. Adam and Eve are the first two human beings i.e. male and female, created by God. He wanted them to live in heaven and gave them superiority over the other creations of His. He made every possible luxury available to them but ordered them to avoid only one thing. He ordered them to stay away from one tree. That tree is termed as tree of knowledge which contained the knowledge of evil and good in it. Some mythological tales state that the tree of knowledge had “apples” on it. Satan misguided Eve and made her go near the tree. She being the only companion of Adam convinced him to accompany her. On this act God became angry with them and banished them from garden of heaven. He expelled them from heaven and made them spend their lives on earth. Also, he did not keep their lives free of tension or evil. It is in many mythological tales that God made humans suffer by giving women childbirth pain and by making men face the hardships of earning livelihood and farming etc. It is also found in historic writings and theological information that they were expelled to earth and sent to Africa. This tale is what we all know but how we are connected to Adam and Eve and how our roots connect with Africa is still a mystery. There are many paintings made by people of different faith over this incident. They all tell something different yet all are common at the point of naming both the humans as Adam and Eve. The topic under discussion throws light over Adam and Eve existence, their expulsion from heaven, their lives on earth, their multiplication and migration. Bombarded with philosophy, theology and science, the questions of human race existence are answered to unravel the facts unknown to most of our generation. Part. 2: Out of Africa, Biological Adam and Eve Adam and Eve were the first human couple due to which we are here today. This is the little piece of information we all have. There are numerous things dwelling between the above mentioned two simple lines. Let us discuss the religious, scientific and logical aspects of this simple story which starts becoming complex as we analyze its different aspects. 2.1 Religious Aspect about the existence of Adam and Eve According to the religious perspective, Adam and Eve were meant to live in Eden and enjoy God’s bounties without having any unfulfilled desire. God created every luxury in heaven for them. He gave them superiority over other beings and excused them from the hardships of life (House and Grover, 2009, pp.31-36). House and Grover (2009, pp.32) state that Mattew Henry exemplified Eve to be created from Adam’s rib because God did not want him to live alone. The woman created from the rib has the logical justification of not to rule over man, be by his side for his support, to be guarded and loved. This means that woman was made for man to help him live his life to its full. The debate on women and their existence is another long subject which is accepted by some and rejected by others. We will focus on the subject matter of biological Adam and Eve in the current discussion. God ordered them to eat from one tree in heaven and not from the tree of knowledge. Satan misguided Eve and she insisted Adam to accompany her. She asked him to eat from the other tree and this little mistake made them banish to earth. They were exiled to earth at different places and they met after around tens and thousands of years. However, it is believed in the religions like Christianity and Islam that the nations emerged from a single pair of human beings and that pair is namely Adam and Eve (Williams, 2001, pp.1-10). Their sons and daughters mated which in result created more human beings. This is how the humans multiplied and generations came into existence. 2.2 Science, Religion and Out of Africa, Biological Adam and Eve According to Christianity, the creation of universe is dated back to six thousand years however science proves it to be as old as twelve billion years. According to science the earth is four and a half billion years old whereas organisms are three billion years old (Williams, 2001, pp.1-10). Evolution is the basis of the creation of diverse living organisms. It is also a fundamental tool which makes them adapt to the changing environment. The changes in the organisms did not take place at once. It took years for these changes to develop in the body and behavior of different species. A good example is giraffe; science believes that the neck of giraffe used to be smaller as it consumed grass. With the passage of time, it required complex food and turned to the trees. For this purpose over the years its neck grew into the long neck we see today. Bladon (2007, pp.55-57) states that the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib is symbolic in nature and has nothing to do with the actual “ribs”. The creation of Adam and Eve was not incidental or a result of some magic. Science also believes that Eve is not the name of only “one” woman but it is symbolic in nature. Adam and Eve are also considered as mitochondrial Eve and Y chromosomal Adam in the latest researches (Seeder, 2012). Also, both of them were banished to different places on earth and could not meet for centuries. If we consider this then we will get to know that reproduction would not have been possible between these two “only” people on earth. On the contrary, theology believes and advocates that Adam’s life span was more than 912 years. This huge life span ensures that not meeting Eve for several years does not affect the reproduction process (Bladon, 2007, pp.55-57). Seeder (2012) debates that Eve lived in Eastern Africa and this took place 200,000 years back whereas Adam lived there 50,000 or 150,000 years ago. Eve’s existence pre-dates Adam’s existence at Africa. This fact is defended by the huge life spans humans had at that time. According to the out of Africa hypothesis, it is derived that the whole human race and its DNA comes from two individuals who lived in Africa. The investigation over this hypothesis was done by researchers from Uppsala University located in Sweden. They examined genetic composition of DNA of fifty three humans and came to the conclusion that the traces of DNA found in them have ancestry from Africa (Whitehouse, 2000). The oldest remains or fossils of humans are 120,000 years old and are found in Africa only. This is a huge explanation of the conclusion that humans spread throughout the world from Africa. This research has faced a lot of criticism. However, the urge of humans to know about their existence never lessened. It is a very difficult task as to understand evolution completely. Despite of the scientific and molecular researches, it is still not clear that biological Adam and Eve actually were descendants of Africa or not. Also, the biblical Adam and Eve and the scientific Adam and Eve are the same or not. Nevertheless, at one point science and theology does agree and that is the fact that humans multiplied due to two people whether in one pair or more. The reason for science to have the same opinion as theology is because research made on DNA ends at two people only. In science, these two people are referred to as mitochondrial Eve and Y chromosomal Adam. This is a reality that in history human beings did not exist in Africa alone. They did spread out from there. This happened by migrations of people from Africa to other parts of the world. The reason of relocation might have been the adverse environmental situations in Africa. Haplogroup is vital for the understanding of migration of human beings. It is used to create the tree of the family. Haplogroup branches tell us about the migration patterns of human beings. Mitochondrial Eve and Y chromosomal Adam in the DNA of humans are identified by the mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosomal DNA. Tests like Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA are performed to reveal the history of family. If we want to know about our family tree, the history of migrations and our first parents then these tests are performed (Seeder, 2012). Seeder (2012) unveils the fact that the earliest record of human relocation is a long tale itself. Seeder (2012) believes that the first human relocation took place towards the south of Africa. After that the records of people crossing the Red Sea to Arab is found. This makes us understand the human dispersal on earth. Part. 3: Conclusion Expulsion from heaven and putting up with hardships at earth were what Adam and Eve gained by going against God’s will. Adam and Eve story comprises of astonishing facts and details. From science and theology one thing is in common that Adam and Eve lived in Africa. However, they lived at different areas there. Living at greater distances made it impossible for them to meet for several years. However, they did meet and it is justified by the long life span of Adam which was more than 912 years. Whether Adam and Eve were the only two human beings who resulted in multiplication of human race or not, one thing is certain that we exist today. Our existence is the proof of the fact that multiplication of human beings dates back to centuries. To trace the roots of human multiplication and migration is becoming an interesting chore of researchers nowadays. The research on this subject is done by using the information in the human DNA. It helps in tracing the roots of human existence and formation of family tree. DNA is composed of x chromosomes and y chromosomes. On this basis mitochondrial Eve and Y chromosomal Adam are identified. Adam and Eve mated and so did their children. This resulted in human multiplication and hence, populated the earth. However, they did not stick to one part of the earth i.e. Africa in this case. Migrations from Africa to different parts of the world made the human race spread out .Changes in skin tones, eye color, height and other physical characteristics took place due to the environmental change in the places where the tribes settled down. These changes were result of environmental changes and of “evolution”. Requirement of the body of people living in desert and high temperature areas was to have dark skin which means to have higher melanin. This was a requirement to protect them from the harmful effects of the sun. Most of them had to live in adverse situations, lack of food and water that is why the natives of Africa are mostly skinny. The people of Africa have a little thicker skin than other people who live in America or Europe. There are number of researches going on this topic which adds into the current information. These researches also unveil evolution and the complex migration patterns. Science hence makes humanity’s story full of mesmerizing events and multifaceted facts. The information gathered in this research makes me appreciate that how we came out of Africa and how biological Adam and Eve are related to us. Part. 4: Works Cited House, W., H., Grover, W. “Does God Feel Your Pain? Finding Answers When Life Hurts”, Harvest House Publishers. (2009), pp. 31-36. Print. Bladon, L. “The Science of Spirituality”, Lulu.com. (2007), pp. 55-57. Print. Seeder. “Adam and Eve: Behind the Myth”, Inspiring Science, (2012). 21 Mar. 2013. Web. . Williams, P., A. “Doing Without Adam and Eve: Sociobiology and Original Sin”, Fortress Print. (2001), pp.1-10. Print. Whitehouse, D. “BBC News | SCI/TECH | Genetic study roots humans in Africa.” BBC News – Home, (2000). 20 Mar. 2013. Web. . Read More