Adam and Eve are a metaphor, yes we all came from the same region, what is now Ethiopia.
Every culture in the world has a creation myth to explain where they came from to children. Adam and Eve is the creation myth for Christians. A creation myth cannot be proved. The other purpose of a creation myth is to build identity in children. It's helps them recognize the group they belong to, as well as helping them recognize outsiders.
It is true Adam and Eve existed. This is because they were the origin of man although they were created and not born unlike the rest of mankind. This is the only one area that man came from even demographically reasoning.
yes Adam and Eve were real they ate the fruit off of a tree when God told them not to
No they didn't exist. Mankind evolved over time from a species of ape, it's been scientifically proven that they weren't "created".
The human population (early or otherwise) never dipped below 2,000. Some research has numbers like 10,000 or 15,000 which may be more accurate, but I went ahead and picked the lowest. You cannot have a first two humans when there has never been less than 2,000.
Francis Collins, an evangelical Christian who was the director of the Human Genome Project and is currently serving as the director of the National Institutes of Health, has stated that Adam and Eve couldn't have existed with the amount of genetic diversity we have today.
http://kenschenck.blogspot.com/2011/06/francis-collins-on-adam.html?m=1
Haploid mutation occurs at a fairly known rate, resulting in new species; if it's successful, all progeny carry the new trait (hence no diversity). This is why we do not give birth to chimps (or choose your atavistic predecessor). Within the species, diversity occurs as adaptive processes within the DNA/environment/population allow for useful changes (skin color, height, etc).
Or am I miseducated?
Nope, you still need at least 15 breeding females and 8 breeding males to start a viable genetic line. In this case 1+1=genetic abnormalities and the death of the group.
The scientific consensus is that humankind (specifically homo sapiens sapiens) originated from a very small subset of individuals, perhaps as small as a couple dozen or less.
Adam and Eve are not so much names as Hebrew for Man and Woman. Ish and Ishah are man and woman. an original haploid divergence usually occurs in a mutation, and a group mutation has not been demonstrated absent a single environmental cause.
http://www.evolutionpages.com/homo_pan_divergence.htm
Having a BA in Biblical Studies and finishing my MA with a focus on the Pentateuch, I've come to believe what most Old Testament scholars I know believe: that Genesis 1-11 is written intentionally to address incorrect mythological beliefs of other Ancient Near Eastern cultures and was never meant to be read as a linear-history text. Adam is never even named in the text. (The Hebrew word simply means humanity, male, or husband.) Eve essentially means "source of life." Despite most names of popular people in the Bible being used over and over again, Adam and Eve are never used again. Humanity and Source of Life do represent real people--all people--but they are not to be interpreted as historical persons.
If they were not real, then Jesus Christ and the New Testament are frauds and should not be believed. This question about the credibility of the Bible account is one of many challenges that must be met with truth, for only truth will set us free from our doubt (John 8:31-32).
The mythic interpretation of sections of scripture is typical of neo-orthodoxy and has roots back to Origen; it's lots of fun but I am not convinced its the appropriate hermeneutics to apply. To me, you need to understand what the intent of the writer was. I accept as valid in Christianity both your and Jkg's positions.
You will be surprised to know that the Adam & Eve myth of bible was forged from the Hindu scriptures, that was written about 4000 years before the genesis. In that scripture Brahma, the highest Hindu god, made up his mind to make the world and a man and woman. He made the world, and he made the man and then the woman, and put them on the island of Ceylon. First he created a man -- and his name was "Adami", and then a woman -- and her name was "Heva".
Almost all the religions claim similar myth of creation while they differ on the identity of the deity. Why? Is god geographical or tribal? Is there any reason to accept one's claim, and reject the other's? Either all are true or none is. All being obscure & phony, all are equally doubtful.
