The science of genetic bottlenecks is known to many, but often misunderstood.
Adam and the Genome
Genomic science indicates that humans descend not from an individual pair but from a large population. What does this mean for the basic claim of many Christians: that humans descend from Adam and Eve? Leading evangelical geneticist Dennis Venema and popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight combine their expertise to offer informed guidance and answers to questions pertaining to evolution, genomic science, and the historical Adam. Some of the questions they explore include:
- Is there credible evidence for evolution?
- Do we descend from a population or are we the offspring of Adam and Eve?
- Does taking the Bible seriously mean rejecting recent genomic science?
- How do Genesis’s creation stories reflect their ancient Near Eastern context, and how did Judaism understand the Adam and Eve of Genesis?
- Doesn’t Paul’s use of Adam in the New Testament prove that Adam was a historical individual?
The authors address up-to-date genomics data with expert commentary from both genetic and theological perspectives, showing that genome research and Scripture are not irreconcilable. Foreword by Tremper Longman III and afterword by Daniel Harrell.
The science of genetic bottlenecks is known to many, but often misunderstood.
It’s impossible to prove that we didn’t descend from just two individuals. But the genetic evidence makes that scenario extremely unlikely.
It’s impossible to prove that we didn’t descend from just two individuals. But the genetic evidence makes that scenario extremely unlikely.
The Christian community needs to see more humility from its intellectual leaders—and more patience and less pressure to crank out surefire answers to hard questions on complex issues.
The biblical text gives us anchor points in our engagement with modern science even though it does not focus on a lot of the concerns that modern scientists have in their work.
It is difficult to classify every way of understanding Adam and Eve alongside evolution. These four questions are a helpful starting point.
BioLogos deletes an article from their website. Why did they delete it? What were the mistakes in it? Transparency is how we move forward.
Does genetics challenge a single-couple origin to humanity? William Lane Craig explains how we found that this challenge was an illusion.
I depart from Adam and the Genome’s main thesis. Critical information was left out of this book about genealogical science.
When I disagree with another scientist, I sometimes respond, In my professional opinion, this just looks 1+1=3 to me. Maybe they took the garden path?
Three different stories of Adam and Eve might be consistent with the genetic evidence. It returns us to the Grand Questions of Origins. We all should care.
This last year, 2017 till now, we have been reworking the science of Adam. This brings us several new ways to think about Adam and Eve in human origins.
