Dear all,
I was learning the other day that this is something all Roman Catholics are required to believe, here is a quote from Pope Pius the XII:
"When, however, there is question of another conjectural opinion, namely polygenism, the children of the Church by no means enjoy such liberty. For the faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains either that after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parents of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now, it is in no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled that which the sources of revealed truth and the documents of the teaching authority of the Church proposed with regard to original sin which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual Adam in which through generation is passed onto all and is in everyone as his own" (Humani Generis 37). I got this quote from
http://www.catholic.com/tracts/adam-eve-and-evolutionWhat does the Orthodox Church teach about Adam and Eve, in comparison? Are we also required to believe in their personhood, or is it theologoumemnon -- a matter of opinion and open to disagreement? I for one have found it very difficult to accept after a recent understanding about what science currently teaches.
I'm just not sure how such an immense variety among humans can come from only 2 people, as the mutation among the genes would not be possible today at such a rate. Scientists are currently telling us that we all descended from several different humans who migrated out of Africa some 150,000 years ago or so. Most of us can be traced back to what they have called "Mitochondrial Eve", but I don't think they mean that in the Biblical sense of the woman "Eve". Wikipedia says that Mitochondrial Eve is estimated to have lived around 200,000 years ago according to here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrial_EveI look forward to your replies!
