How Did We Get All The “Races” From Adam And Eve?
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, July 17, 2025 (Donate)
When we start with the Bible, we start with Adam and Eve—the
first man and woman. But today, peoples around the world look different from each other. So, many often ask—how
did that happen? What about the different “races” and why do we look so
different?
Believe it or not, these are easy questions to answer when
we start with God’s Word. In short, there is only one race—often dubbed the human
race, mankind, man, or if we use the classical name, Adam’s Race. Yes,
we have variation and that is a good thing that we will discuss biblically in a
moment.
But to fully grasp the connect of “race”, I would love to
discuss some important preliminary information about it and how the definition
has changed—because that is “eye-opening” and quite revealing as to how our
culture has become so “evolutionized”.
New Definition Of “Race”
In modern times, variations in man (generic term for
mankind) are often classified in different ways by culture, family, nation, and
so on.
In the 1800s, those opposing the Bible redefined man into
different evolutionary “races”. You need to understand that this term “race”
suddenly took on a new and different meaning.
Prior to this new definition, when someone asked what race
you were, you might answer: “Irish”, “German”, “Egyptian”, “Chinese”, “Indian”,
“Arabian”, “Japanese”, “Korean”, “English”, “Swedish”, “Spanish”, “Peruvian”,
“Mexican”, “Canadian” and so on. In fact, you might have been even more
specific and names a particular cultural group within these national groupings
like “Maio”, a subgroup in China or “Quechua” a subgroup in Peru.
But all that changed in the 1800s, when researchers began lumping people according to alleged higher and lower evolutionary “races”. Charles Darwin discussed this and used these terms in his writings.
So How Do We, As Christians, Deal With This Delicate
Subject?
We need to gently point out the truth. Genetically and biologically, there is only one race. It is nice to see scientific thought finally catching up to the Bible.[1] There are not different races of man in a biological or biblical sense—rather, all human beings belong to one race: the human race.
This truth is based on both Scripture and confirmed by scientific
findings. Acts 17:26 states that God “has made from one blood every nation of
men,” which means that all humans share the same origin in Adam and Eve—and the
line of patriarchs between Adam and Noah.
The concept of different “races” largely stems from
evolutionary ideas, which attempt to categorize people into separate groups
based on physical features like skin color, eye shape, or hair texture.
However, modern genetics confirms that these differences account for only a
tiny percentage of human genetic variation—so much for the evolutionary prediction.
Even secular scientists agree that any two people are about
99.9% genetically identical. The superficial traits used historically to define
"race" represent a minuscule portion of the overall genetic code.
What About Skin Tone?
The primary reason for skin tone variation is melanin, a
pigment produced in the skin (called melanocytes). Melanin exists in two basic
forms:
· Eumelanin (brown to black)
· Pheomelanin (red to yellow)
The amount and type of melanin each person produces is determined by their genetic makeup. Everyone has the same basic skin color—brown melanin pigment—but in varying amounts. People with a high concentration of melanin have darker skin, while those with less have lighter skin.
If you remember back to the days of using a Punit Square, let's do some basic genetics (though itis more complicated that this). Let's say that you have genes that say produce lots of melanin (represented by capital letters) and genes that say to produce smaller amounts of melanin (represented by small letters). You can have great variation in the kidlets if mom and dad both have a mix of genes (this means their skin tones were middle brown).
After the global Flood and as people dispersed from Babel (Genesis 11), small populations became isolated from one another. This isolation allowed certain genetic traits, such as skin tone, to become more pronounced in specific groups (called founder effect).
For example, if my wife and I ended up stranded on an
island, all of our descendants for generations would resemble us. This
is because the gene pool for all of our descendants was limited to the two of us. It was similar to this after Babel but as some cultures interacted, traded, went to war, had slavery, royal and noble marriages, and so on, cultures near each other intermixed.
Skin tone is a polygenic trait, meaning it is controlled by
multiple genes rather than just one. These genes regulate the type and amount
of melanin produced in each person’s skin. The variation we see today is simply
the result of inherited combinations of these genetic factors.
The idea of different "races" based on skin color
is misleading and unbiblical. All humans share the same essential biology and
are equally made in God's image. Skin tone differences are simply minor variations
within one human kind, reflecting God’s design and the variety within His
creation.
With Adam and Eve being middle brown—having a mixture of genes that code for both light and dark skin tone, they could have children in one generation that have lighter or darker skin tone. Consider the illustration (though it is more complicated than this but it should get the point across).
Evolutionary Racism Causes Problems
The evolutionary worldview has significantly contributed to
racism in cultures by promoting the idea that different people groups
evolved at different rates and levels. Evolutionary models, as presented in
Darwin’s writings and by later proponents, suggests that humans evolved from
apelike ancestors through a process of natural selection and mutations.
This belief system introduced the idea that some human
groups might be more "advanced" than others. In The Descent of Man
(1871), Charles Darwin proposed that some races were closer to their supposed
animal ancestors, while others had evolved further. This led to harmful
classifications of people into superior and inferior groups, which directly
fueled racist ideologies and atrocities in the 19th and 20th
centuries.
For example, social Darwinism and eugenics movements used
evolutionary ideas to justify discrimination, forced sterilizations, and
even genocide, falsely claiming a scientific basis for racial hierarchies.
By contrast, in a biblical worldview, all people belong to
one race—the human race. Any physical differences, such as skin color or facial
features, are minor variations within that single race.
When society accepts evolution as fact, it undermines the
biblical teaching of human equality. This has practical consequences, allowing
racism to take hold under a veneer of scientific respectability. The misuse of
evolutionary ideas led to people trying to justify racist attitudes, and other forms of oppression.
Getting Back To God’s Word
From a biblical worldview, classifying people into separate "races" undermines the truth that all humans are equally created in God's image (Genesis 1:26–27)—thus, we all have eternal value being made in the image of an eternal God.
The idea of evolutionary “races” has often been used to justify scientific
racism and prejudice, which are sinful. Recognizing all people as one race with minor
physical differences helps affirm the equality and dignity of all human beings
before God. As Christians, we should recognize:
- There
is only one race—the human race.
- All
people are descended from Adam and Eve, then Noah and his family after the
Flood and Babel.
- Skin
color variation is due to differing amounts of melanin, controlled by
genetics.
- Variations
arose after Babel due to population dispersion, isolation, and minor
genetic change—all within Adam’s Race.
- Racism
and racial divisions contradict biblical teaching that all humans are made
in God’s image and have led to terrible atrocities. Christians should be leading the fight against racism.
The evolutionary worldview has contributed to racism by falsely classifying human beings into different levels of advancement—and as animals no less! The biblical creation perspective counters this by affirming that all people are equally valuable, equally human, and equally in need of salvation through Jesus Christ. The various people groups and cultures are a beautiful thing and makes sense as people were limited in their variations by founder effect as they left Babel—but all part of Adam's Race.
[1] Natalie
Angier, Do Races Differ? Not Really, Genes Shows, New York Times, August 22,
2000,
https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/22/science/do-races-differ-not-really-genes-show.html.
