Article #15
No, this is not about the president and his wife. Neither is it about Adam and Eve, who left no archeological footprint. The first family of us all is Noah, his wife, and his children. Now, there is a family that left visible traces throughout the world.
All social morality today is ultimately dictated by our beliefs about the first family. Who we are and why we are here goes back to the first family. For instance, those who believe that God created humans as male and female, on purpose and with purpose, are today called binary. We believe in two genders. Those who believe that humans evolved by random chance can also describe their sexual orientation as non-binary, which is open to unlimited possibilities. Our daily life is constantly being impacted by beliefs about our origins. Although the ties between morality and history are subtle, they are inescapable.
Believing or not believing in the first family has so many consequences that it is impossible to list them all, let alone discuss them in depth. Three subjects pop into mind, which are barely the tip of the iceberg.
- The genetic health of early man
- The Soulishness of man
- The skill set of the first family
Take a moment to consider how these three beliefs affect our world today.
- The Genetic Health of Early Man
John Sanford was a Cornell University professor for 30 years, inventor of the gene gun and genetic immunization that are widely used today. I heard him speak two years ago and was thoroughly impressed. His book Genetic Entropy explains that, according to current science, the genome is degrading, not improving. The rate of decline in fitness is 1% to 5% per generation. Since the decline follows a classic biological decay curve, that means that the first family was unimaginably healthier than we are today. It means that the human race cannot be more than 300 generations old, which equates to about 6000 years. We need to start thinking of Noah as a superhuman, which creates an entirely new scenario for our beginnings.
- The Soulfulness of Man
S Joshua Swamidass is another Christian geneticist who is attempting to interpret current trends in DNA research. Unfortunately, Swamidass does not question the long ages of secular belief about human evolution. This creates an impossible problem for him when he tries to reconcile evolution from animals with a created Adam and Eve. He believes that there is both a pre-Adamic race that evolved from animals and the present human race that came from Adam. William Lane Craig agrees with him but is very troubled by the problem of animalistic humans existing at the same time as created humans. What happens when they unite and have children? Do the children have God’s image? Do they have a soul? Others, such as Behe, argue that you cannot merge belief in the Bible and belief in evolution.
3. The Skill Set of the First Family
Another area of sharp divergence is the intelligence and abilities of early generations. Volumes have been written describing early man as a bungling buffoon. The story changes dramatically for Noah. According to the Bible, Noah lived for six hundred years before the flood, and profited from a civilization that was 17 centuries old. He would have been home-schooled by the best people of his day, which would be the equivalent of college degrees in every discipline. He only lacked resources and manpower in the new world. Our following posts will explore Noah and his children as the first farmers, miners, potters, and explorers. The facts of archeology confirm how they excelled in all areas, as we shall see.
It should be obvious that civilization began in the Near East, downhill from the mountains of Ararat, and it began from the first family, the family of Noah.
References
Genetic Entropy by Dr. John C. Sanford, 2015, FMS Publications
Evolution news org/2020/02/beh-and-swamidass-debate-evolution-and-intelligent-design-at-Texas-am/
The Genealogical Adam and Eve: The Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry by S. Joshua Swamidass, 2019 IVP Academic
Darwin Devolves: The New Science About DNA That Challenges Evolution by Michael J. Behe, 2019 Harper One
2 thoughts on “The First Family”
Bro. Jerry – This short article is very good. Succinct. Riveting. Thought provoking!!!
Thanks, Gene. That’s very encouraging. It has been a challenge to write and edit on the road from my phone, but I’m trying to keep up. I took your good advice to add references.