This is in response to a comment from my last "Think about it" post.
I am no scientist. I've done well in science courses that I've taken and I like Discovery Channel as much as the next person, but my degree is in music (or will be in May). I make no claims about having any sort of expertise in any field of science, but it doesn't take a scientist to figure this stuff out. It was not science that convinced me that there is no god. Science did, however, play a role in convincing me that Mormonism was bullshit (see previous post), and it also makes it pretty clear that the Genesis account of Adam and Eve cannot possibly be literal.
We evolved, just like all other life forms on this planet. It's true that evolution does not disprove the existence of God, but with regard to the Adam and Eve story, just think about it. What is the likelihood that at some point in evolution there were suddenly (remember, there is no sudden in evolution) two humans, exactly two humans, male and female (and where's the cutoff line for what's human and what's not?) and then God swoops in and points out a couple of trees and tells them not to eat from one of them but they do it anyway (to say nothing of the talking snake)? I have to concede I have no proof that this didn't happen, but I find it highly, highly unlikely. But as a couple of my readers rightly point out, the writers of the Bible obviously did believe the story was literal. And if they were mistaken about that, what else were they mistaken about?
As for it not mattering whether Eve ate first or Adam, maybe it doesn't matter to our wonderful, perfect, loving God, but it obviously did matter very much to many of His servants through the ages. If a human botched up the story somewhere along the line, it seems awfully cruel of God to make half the population pay for that mistake for centuries.
If you want empirical evidence from a scientist, use your Google. Spencer Wells is a great place to start, or you can rent The Journey of Man from Netflix.
And just to keep everyone happy, I'll offer my answer to my previous question post regarding whether or not Neanderthals were capable of sin. Were neanderthals capable of cruelty, brutality, jealousy and fornication? Undoubtedly. Were they capable of sin? No, because there is no such thing.
