By Andy Hale

My parents recently jumped on the wave of Ancestory.com and 23 & Me. From a familial perspective, we know where my dad’s side of the family hails. We are as about as Welsh, English, and Scottish as they come.

The mystery in our family is my mother’s genealogical linage since she was adopted. We have met her biological mother, but not her biological father.

With the wonders of modern technology, we have discovered that portions of my mother’s genealogical map stretch to French Canada and Scandinavia.

Among our billions of ancestral connections, how is it scientifically reasonable that we all could be descendants from a single couple who lived in the past 10,000 years? But that is precisely the argument that Dr. S. Joshua Swamidass argues this week on the CBF Podcast.

“The claim that Adam and Eve, ancestors of us all, were de nova created is neither a scientific claim, nor is it a scientific conclusion. In this sense, it is an improper hypothesis. It is, nonetheless, a well-specified hypothesis that science can test with evidence,” said Swamidass.

Dr. Swamidass serves as a scientist, physician, and associate professor of pathology and immunology and biomedical engineering at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. He is also the author of The Genealogical Adam & Eve: The Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry.

Subscribe or Livestream

CBF’s podcast shares stories from across the Fellowship and innovative practices of those working to renew God’s world. The vision is to share ideas, stories, and innovations from ministers, authors, and practitioners.

Join this award-winning audio podcast by subscribing in iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or Facebook.

Sponsorship

This podcast episode is brought to you by Fuller Seminary, The Center for Congregational Health, and Baptist Seminary of Kentucky.

Listener Support 

We are inviting you, the listeners, to join us in connecting with the Podcast. Become a monthly listener supporter and receive some perks, including name recognition on the Podcast, questions for upcoming guests, free books from the Podcast, joining the Podcast for an interview, and a VIP experience with the General Assembly Podcast guests.

There are five levels of listener support, starting at $5 per month…learn more and become a supporter today at www.cbf.net/podcastsupport.

Andy Hale created and hosts the podcast of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Hale is the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, following eight years as the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton and five years as CBF’s church start specialist. Follow on Twitter @haleandy