Expert: Brenda Martin - 8/4/2009

Question
Hi,

Something that has always stumped me is how did we all come from one set of parents; Adam and Eve? I believe that the bible is the word of God and since it says that we are all of one blood than I believe that but I still have trouble understanding it. What are thoughts on this question? Thanks in advance, Cindy

Answer
Hi Cindy,

God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, and placed them in a beautiful garden & God assigned them “to cultivate it and to take care of it.” (Genesis 2:8, 9, 15) So our once perfect parents had a satisfying & enjoyable work to do.

But God’s purpose for the earth involved much more than caring for that original garden. He wanted the whole earth to be transformed into a paradise. That is why God gave this command to Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.”—Genesis 1:28.

The Bible record indicates that Cain married one of his sisters (Gen. 4:17; 5:4) Why was brother-and-sister marriage not inappropriate at the beginning of mankind’s history? God created Adam and Eve perfect and purposed that all humankind descend from them. (Gen. 1:28; 3:20) Obviously some marrying of close relatives, especially within the first few generations, would occur.

Even after sin made its appearance, there was relatively little danger of marked deformities in the children during early generations, because the human race was much closer to the perfection that had been enjoyed by Adam and Eve. This is attested to by the longevity of people then. (See Genesis 5:3-8; 25:7.)

But about 2,500 years after Adam became a sinner, God prohibited incestuous marriage. This served to safeguard the offspring and it elevated the sexual morality of God’s servants above that of people around them who were then engaging in all manner of depraved practices.—See Leviticus 18:2-18.

Acts 17:26: “[God] made out of one man [Adam] every nation of men, to dwell upon the entire surface of the earth.” (So, regardless of what races make up a nation, they all are offspring of Adam.)

Gen. 9:18, 19: “Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth. . . . These three were Noah’s sons, and from these was all the earth’s population spread abroad.” (After God destroyed the ungodly world by means of a global flood in Noah’s day, the earth’s new population, including all the races known today, developed from the offspring of Noah’s three sons and their wives.)

It is noteworthy that both Darwin and most modern scientists agree that mankind has one common origin. As the Encyclopedia Americana states: “Mankind is a single biological species.” Science writer Amram Scheinfeld recently wrote: “Science now corroborates what most great religions have long been preaching: Human beings of all races are . . . descended from the same first man.”

God’s original purpose for the earth will be fulfilled shortly; the earth will be completely populated by worshipers of Jehovah and these will be able to enjoy eternal life in human perfection; even the dead will be raised to an opportunity to share in these blessings.

For further information go to www.watchtower.org

All the best
Brenda