It Began With Eve

And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Gen. 3:20

People in a fast food restaurant came to a hush and stared at a woman who had just sat down. She was unlike any woman many of us had seen, right out of an illustration from Omar Khyaam. A bit of Persia, perhaps, was in our midst.

A few years later, in a bakery, I saw a man who looked like an Etruscan mosaic. These people, standing out in my rather plain and uniform heartland population, made me think. We all have one mother. One woman, Eve. It was hard to believe, so much diversity!

For those who would think I am hopelessly naive in believing that we all began with Adam and Eve, I submit the following. I was attending a biology class at the University of Cincinnati. The young teacher explained the genetic diversity of human beings. He told us, "Imagine a large set of encyclopedias filled with digits, all nines. That is how many babies are in the genes of one woman."

I understand the Chinese say that Adam and Eve were Chinese, and it seems some genetic studies bear them out on the basis of genetics present in every race. Since people who know the Chinese, as did Edgar Snow, even after the recent purge of intellectuals, he believes the Chinese are still the smartest people in the world. If so, we had a great beginning.

As time passed, in many ways, we went downhill. We finally became so evil that God brought the flood upon us and killed all but eight people. Noah had three sons. Of these the whole earth was overspread, says the word.

I see a continuing narrowing down here, until we all began from one person, spiritually. What we read as we look in the world's greatest history book, Genesis! If Eve knew how it all would go, would she not have marveled?