Struggling with the origin of races

Over the years, one of the questions we’ve heard people ask over and over again is "Where did all the races of people come from?" That is one of the reasons we developed the "One Blood" book, and various articles and booklets that deal with this issue. I also developed some talks that cover the topic of the "Origin of Races’" and "The Biblical Answer To Racism" etc. A high school student wrote to us to share how this topic came up in his high school class. As he relates what happened in the classroom, I thought it would be good for you to read his account of what happened.

Hello… I’m a 15 year old student attending High School. In my World Geography class my teacher started talking about the Australian Aborigines. Soon he asked us how did they get there. At first no one answered, and then he said quote "There are so many theories out there, that I don't know which one is true, but one of them is that they crossed on a land bridge just like the Native Americans did. I don't know if I should use that term, it's probably not "politically correct" these days. If the theory that they crossed on a land bridge is true, then why do they look so physically different from us? Why do people on one part of the world are so physically different from people on the other side?" Then he started saying stuff about how Indians hardly grow any facial hair, because they have a different bone structure in their face... Then he said " I don't know....evolution...I don't know....but my questions still is why are people so physically different? This brings me to this question: "Where did man come from?"

Most if not all of my classmates said Adam and Eve, but then my teacher said quote, "I don't know if that’s true or not, but I'm gonna go with it. If that’s true, then why do we all still look physically different? Why do we find, Asian people on one continent, Black people on one, and White people on one? Now don't get mad at me, I'm just putting this out there (he said this several times), but God must be a Racist. I mean he put one race here, and one race there, without them coming together."

This is just another illustration of how important it is for AiG to get information out the public—there is such a lack of knowledge dealing with these issues. The student then decided to do what he could regarding this issue:

At this point I just had to say something, so I asked him could I get up and talk about this subject. I talked about if Adam and Eve were brown they could have children of different colors [shades], I asked the class what if Noah’s Flood was the cause of the continents splitting apart. I went on about the "Fountains of the Deep", I mentioned Volcanic Activity, talked about Noah’s three son's and how all the world came from them, I talked about the Tower of Babel, and how God split up the languages. Right now I’m amazed that I actually did that. I usually don't say anything when a teacher brings up millions of years, and evolution, but after he made that comment I just had to say something. Now all of this brings me to my question: Are people really physically different from each other? And if they are is it significant? I’ve read articles on this site [AiG’s Web Site], about skin color not being all that different, but I don't remember reading anything about people being physically different. Please help me with my question.

The Answers department will send information to this young student and help him concerning the details. This young man may not be an expert, but he did his best to represent the biblical view to his teacher and classmates. He was obviously influenced by the AiG Website—how we praise the Lord for the effect of this website around the world.

We do have great resources available through the web site on this issue of the origin of so called “races.” (One Blood, Origin of the Races booklet, Where Did the Races Come From DVD)

Mimicking the Creator

An interesting article from Discovery news gives just one more example of how scientists try to copy what God has already done:

Dishwashing soap could become a thing of the past. Researchers have found a quick and inexpensive way to structure plastic so that it mimics the properties of the lotus leaf, which has a remarkable nonstick surface. The technique not only creates a self-cleaning, water repellent surface — for a range of applications from frost-free glass and boat hulls to solar energy panels — it also produces microscopic air pockets in the surface of the material, making it silky smooth to the touch.

"You have less contact with the plastic and more with air, so the material feels like silk," said Ph.D. student Max Groenendijk of the University of Twente in The Netherlands.

Mimicking the self-cleaning lotus leaf is the goal of a few research labs around the world. The leaf has millions of microscopic pillars and a waxy surface that repels water droplets and encourages them to pool into bigger drops…

The rest of the article is at http://dsc.discovery.com.

Home from Texas

By the time you read this, the AiG conference team will be home from Texas. I am currently in Houston’’s George Bush International airport waiting for my two-hour flight home. I spoke three times this morning (Sunday morning) to around 2,000 people, while Dr. Terry Mortenson spoke to all the teens and Buddy Davis spoke to many of the adults in their Sunday schools. There were lots of great testimonies after we spoke.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken