The Human Race – “For God so loved the world” -John 3:16

I would label myself as intensely curious. I am interested in learning about almost any subject. I am a science geek (especially stuff like astronomy, cosmology, theoretical physics), a history geek, a geography and travel geek, an archeology geek, a geology geek, a philosophy geek, a poetry and music geek, and a sports fanatic. Obviously, the way you learn about these various fields of interest is by reading books from the noncasual geeks - the true experts in their various fields. There is only one problem with that, narcolepsy; reading puts me right to sleep. So, I listen to digital books - “Thank you, Audible!” I truly love getting into my car because, every time I do, I enter a new world of knowledge through an Audible book. I have journeyed with Captain Cook through

Polynesia; I have tried to sail to the North Pole, I have explored the North American continent with Lewis and Clark, and I have entered the terrifying walls and furnaces of Auschwitz, all in an Audible book.

My current subject of interest is Genetics. My author of choice right now is Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at Oxford University and founder of Oxford Ancestry. Sykes became very famous for retrieving DNA from ancient bone specimens, most notably the 5,300 year old “Otzi the Iceman” (for fun google him) who was discovered frozen in a glacier in the Alps.

The books that I have listened to are: “The Seven Daughters of Eve” - a book that traces our human genetics all the way back to the continent of Africa, “Saxons, Vikings, and Celts” - a genetic survey of the British Isles; and, “DNA USA” - a complete portrait of the DNA profile of the Americas (from its original Native American inhabitants, who are genetically linked to Asia and who arrived via an ice bridge across the Bering Strait, to the more modern European and African Americans). In these books Sykes takes us back through time and back through the story of the human race. He does not use the tools of archeology, anthropology, language development, politics, wars or even religion. He traces our development through the very, very reliable, and, up to this point, silent witness of our mitochondrial DNA that has been passed down, basically unchanged, from our mothers, and for males, the Y chromosome that has been passed down from our fathers. What a fascinating story is stored up in the history of our DNA. If you are the curious type and somewhat of a science or history geek, I highly recommend these books to you.

One thing that Sykes’s books have taught me is that our current concept of “Race” does not really match with the true story of our genetics. In reality, the hard black and white racial lines that we draw for ourselves, often at great harm to our society, are a myth. Let me prove that first off with just one factual statement that is supported both by genetics and the Bible. We are all ultimately descended from ancestors around Egypt and Arabia. The Bible, speaking of the Tigris and Euphrates as the cradle of civilization (Gen. 2), states this claim, and genetics proves it. Every single person on the

planet today can be genetically traced back to Africa/Arabia.

The new trend in ancestry and genealogy, developed by companies like “Oxford Ancestry” and “23 and Me,” is called chromosome painting. When a person submits a DNA sample to “23 and Me, after a complete DNA profile is performed, the company will return to the customer a multicolored chromosome painting. This painting is comprised of up to 45 different hues of color, all representing DNA that has been passed down to us through our various ancestors. These colors represent people groups and the geographical regions where they came from. As you might imagine, these chromosome paintings all look different. Some are more colorful than others, representing greater ethnic/genetic diversity for that person. As you might imagine, the predominant color on each chromosome painting is often quite obvious and easily predicted. For example, a person who is obviously African American will have more green hues in his or her chromosome painting because, in a chromosome painting, green represents DNA that has been passed down from Africa. This predictable outcome of a dominant color would likewise be true for people who are obviously Native American and those who are European American as well.

What strikes me as amazingly important is that no one has a completely monochrome chromosome portrait. All of our portraits contain various colors. By now millions and millions of these profiles have been collected from people all over the world. The statistical data is overwhelming at this point; genetically we are all related. We really are, as the saying goes, the human race. For example, after listening to Sykes’s books, I now know that, as a multigenerational white male from the south, the statistical data proves that it is highly likely that I will have some green hues of African DNA on my chromosome portrait. That fact excites me; it awakens me to the fact that my African American brothers and sisters in Christ are truly my brothers and sisters in genetics as well; we are all truly related. I sure hope that this fact will not bother any of you, but, if it does, you need to come to terms with who you really are. As Sykes points out in “DNA USA,” we can now literally pinpoint where on your human genome your African DNA resides (assuming you are a “white” person with some African DNA). For example your

African DNA may be responsible for the function of your liver. If true and if you are unsure about having African DNA on your genome, are you prepared to remove your liver? I think not. We must learn to embrace the fact that we are related. Let me leave you with an old song that reminds us that God is, indeed, not color blind. He actually sees and appreciates our diversity, and He knows the various journeys that our ancestors have traveled to bring us where we are today. He loves our unique differences and yet claims us all as His children. We are brothers and sisters, each unique, but all part of one family, and He is our eternal father and loves us all:

“Jesus loves the little children,

All the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white, They are precious in His sight,

Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

Hoping my chromosome map is colorful,