It’s said that on the sixth day, God created Adam and placed him on Earth. Then He realized that just as there was darkness and light or sound and silence, man needed an opposite. So, out of Adam’s rib he fashioned Eva, his partner on Paradise, where both enjoyed ever-present comforts and a peaceful coexistence with the rest of creation. But then they betrayed God’s commands by eating the garden’s forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, which revealed them truths they had long ignored.
The myth is part of the doctrine found in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religions. According to it, that’s how the human species begins, whereby Adam procreated with Eve in order to produce all living people on the planet. The tale, though once widely believed to be literal, is infamous for being incompatible with Darwin’s theory of evolution, which affirms that humankind evolved from other species.
Throughout the centuries, science and religion have been waging an endless battle where the former’s reason and the latter’s faith have each attempted to explain the primordial question about humanity’s purpose and origins. Evidence, however, proves science right, rather than religion. Specifically, there are many good reasons to believe Adam and Eve’s myth, and its underlying dichotomy, is nothing but a vague metaphor—a fantasy that belongs in cultural imagination rather than fact. Yet, there are still people who interpret the story literally. And that’s a problem. Here’s why you shouldn’t.
Two People Couldn’t Possibly Populate an Entire Planet
Let’s start with the basics. Around 60,000 years ago, humans left the African continent and migrated to Europe, and then to the rest of the world. A group of scientists established that at least 2,250 mature people are needed to be alive simultaneously in order to successfully complete said exodus.
Over 10,000 humans must have remained in Africa in order to keep populating that territory. Current genetic variation and demographics wouldn’t have been possible if we descended from just one man and one woman.
In Order to Thrive and Prosper, a Species Needs Different Genes
When genetic science developed over the course of the 20th century, it did nothing but confirm evolution. In short, we know how genetics works, and that genetic science is true, and genetics shows us evolution happened. But genetics is incompatible with the story of Adam and Eve.
If the only genetic lineage of global population were Adam and Eve’s, genetic damage and diseases would be considerable. Inbreeding would’ve decimated our species long ago. Present-day human development required a genetic pool coming from various populations, not just one, in order to avoid the mental alterations or anatomic anomalies caused by incest.
We’re Attracted to Genes That Are Different from Ours
Science has confirmed that organisms are attracted to those with a genetic makeup opposite of our own. This is only natural, since our species’ survival largely depends on mixing several genes pools, which result in genetic variation. That’s the only way, at least in the case of mammals like ourselves, to virtually guarantee the birth of fit generations capable of adapting to changing circumstances.
If similar genes were constantly brought together, mental and physical disabilities would be common throughout the population, which would doom our species to extinction.
The tale of the primordial couple should be taken as a fictional narrative aimed at tackling moral issues, rather than as an explanation about human origins. The Bible is, at best, a dubious spiritual guide (with some good insights, sure, but also plenty of terrible norms), so considering it a scientific truth would be a serious mistake.
Against religious literalism, science has provided rather conclusive and sufficient reasons for believing in an evolutionary explanation for the origins of humankind. Indeed, any religious arguments to the contrary simply lack credible and reliable basis.
This story was written in Spanish by Rodrigo Ayala Cárdenas in Cultura Colectiva
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