THE BIBLE TELLS HOW GOD CREATED MAN AND WOMAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE AND PLACED THEM IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN 10:00, 03 Jun 2025Updated 11:19, 03 Jun 2025 Scientists believe they may have finally

cracked whether Adam and Eve, the first two humans according to the Bible, truly existed. The Bible tells us that Adam and Eve were created by God and lived in the Garden of Eden. They are

central to the belief that all humans descended from this original pair. Despite scepticism around the biblical tale, there is an increasing amount of evidence suggesting parts of the story

could hold some truth. Astonishingly, archaeologists have discovered signs that Eden might not only have been real, but also the cradle of civilisation as we know it, The Daily Mail

precise indication of where this mythical garden might be located, reports the Mirror US. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, states that a river flows through Eden and splits into four

tributaries: The Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. Article continues below The age-old tale of Adam and Eve's divine creation could be up for debate, as experts question

the true origins of humanity and the biblical Garden of Eden. While the Tigris and Euphrates rivers still flow through Iraq, the exact locations of the Gihon and Pishon remain a mystery,

casting doubt on their existence. Scholars suggest the fabled paradise might have been in Mesopotamia, aptly named 'between rivers' in Ancient Greek, encompassing parts of Syria,

Turkey, and Iraq. Professor Eric Cline from George Washington University supports this theory in his book 'From Eden to Exile', where he aligns scriptural texts with archaeological

findings, writing: "This makes some sense from a textual point of view, because not only does the biblical account say that the garden lay 'in the east', meaning to the east

of Israel, but it also mentions the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in connection with the Garden of Eden." Mesopotamia is often hailed as the cradle of civilisation, where the

domestication of plants and animals sparked the Neolithic revolution some 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. This monumental shift saw hunter-gatherers settle down into agricultural societies and

give rise to the first permanent human communities. Professor Cline said: "This area may have also become somewhat of an agricultural paradise for the local residents following the

invention of irrigation during the fourth millennium BC." In a twist that seems to support biblical narratives, scientists are convinced that all living humans share a lineage from a

single woman. Dubbed 'Mitochondrial Eve', she is considered the matrilineal ancestor whose DNA is a common thread in modern humans. The existence of this universal ancestor is due

to the likelihood that over time, many female lineages will cease. Although Mitochondrial Eve wasn't the inaugural human, her mitochondrial DNA survived when other female lineages did

not, passing it down through generations. By the same token, researchers have deduced the existence of a 'Y-chromosome Adam', accounting for the Y-chromosome present in every

living male today. Critics of the theory that we all descend from a single first couple argue that our shared DNA with ancient ancestors doesn't necessarily mean those individuals were

contemporaries, let alone a couple whose children's lineage survived through the ages. Yet, Dr Joshua Swamidass of Washington University is not dismissing the possibility of mankind

having common forebears, as highlighted by the case of Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosome Adam. In Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Dr Swamidass wrote: "Many individuals are

each individually ancestors of 'all the living'." He went further to suggest that it's plausible for humans to share ancestors who are universally acknowledged,

including those known in scripture as Adam and Eve: "All humans alive descend from each of these universal ancestors. The same can be said for all alive in AD 1, or all alive when

recorded history begins. Two of them could be a particular couple, named Adam and Eve in scripture, from whom we all descend." Dr Swanidass stops short of claiming Adam and Eve's

historical existence as fact but rather posits that evolutionary biology does not rule out such an occurrence. However, Dr Swamidass underlines the complication posed by the presence of

earlier human species before Homo Sapiens, acknowledging that our species was not the first to walk the Earth. Professor William Lane Craig, a philosopher at Houston Christian University,

presents a bold argument that Adam and Eve were the first individuals to embody the true essence of humanity. To support his claim, he cites key criteria such as the capacity for abstract

thought, technological innovation, and the use of symbols, suggesting that the emergence of the first genuine humans predates the advent of homo sapiens. In an article published in First

Things, Professor Craig writes: "Adam and Eve may plausibly be identified as belonging to the last common ancestor of Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals - usually designated as Homo

Heidelbergensis. Article continues below "Adam plausibly lived sometime between around 1 million years ago to 750,000 years ago - a conclusion consistent with the evidence of population

genetics."