ONE RACE: DNA says humans are 99.9 percent the same

I love God. I love exploring big ideas and deep philosophical questions. I love seeking a deeper understanding of what’s going on here on our beloved blue ball and how it all fits in with the larger story that The Author is writing. I also love science. I love how new information can stretch the mind and explain things.

Now I’m not one of those people who believes that science and God are “mutually exclusive.” I don’t think you HAVE to choose. What I DO think is this: If you refuse to choose between science and God — if you accept that both can coexist — well, it opens up new doors into your faith. At least it does that for me. It makes me expand my idea of God. It makes me connect dots that may not usually get connected — but once connected, they make me say, “Of course!”

Take for example the National Geographic Channel’s special “The Human Family Tree.” In a nutshell: Geneticists collect DNA samples using oral swabs from a diverse group of people in Queens, New York. With it, they can trace your lineage back THOUSANDS of years. To be clear: It won’t give you specific data about your personal lineage; but it will tell you that somewhere along the way, your DNA has genetic markers that match genetic markers of people from central Africa, New Zealand and Central Asia. Check your local listings to find out when it’s airing again. It’s worth watching.

Among the more interesting concepts (and I’ve only seen the first half):

• Everyone alive on Earth today are descendants of “Genetic Adam” and “Genetic Eve” who are from Central Africa.
• Drastic climate changes once narrowed the human population down to about 2,000 people. We were an endangered species.
• There are more than 3 BILLION genetic markers that we all share. Only a handful account for the differences of pigmentation that we call “race.” Watch this video:

“The genetic changes responsible for our varying shades of color are miniscule. Just a handful of mutations out of the 3 billion letters that make up the human genome form the basis for our entire concept of race.” Let’s add this up:

Science says we’re virtually identical, genetically.

Jesus says “As you do unto the least of these, you do also unto me,” which implies that he viewed us all as part of a larger whole.

It’s time we start counting the ways we’re alike instead of the ways we’re different . . .