What skin color was the first?

[Teritos]

I have met white Christians who claimed that all people were originally white and that black people are children of the devil and I have met black Christians who claimed the opposite. Both use the Bible to prove their statements. I ask myself the question, what skin color really was first; what do today's science and the Bible say about it?

 

[The Hammer]

I have met white Christians who claimed that all people were originally white and that black people are children of the devil and I have met black Christians who claimed the opposite. Both use the Bible to prove their statements. I ask myself the question, what skin color really was first; what do today's science and the Bible say about it?

I'd ignore the biblical aspects of it, and focus on the scientific consensus around the emergence of skin color.

Human skin color - Wikipedia

 

[Rival]

I think God made us with all kinds of skin hues from the start.

 

[MatthewA]

That is a teaching that comes from Mormonism.

It was written somewhere in one of their books about how that God cursed a certain people who were of Cain; and they were changed into being black.

(This might require some digging but have been taught about it from someone who was once Mormon and also used their books as a reference of the teachings that once were - Not sure if they are used today still for teaching or not)

Also on the other hand of which skin color was first; I do not care; skin color is skin color; and underneath we all bleed red. In saying this as a Christian believer believe that respect should be given to all persons no matter their skin color ~ Some may disagree with this; that is okay. (Do not see the point in fighting over skin color myself)

 

[exchemist]

I have met white Christians who claimed that all people were originally white and that black people are children of the devil and I have met black Christians who claimed the opposite. Both use the Bible to prove their statements. I ask myself the question, what skin color really was first; what do today's science and the Bible say about it?

The bible says nothing useful on the subject, nor would one expect it to.

The evidence from science is that modern Man (Homo sapiens) most likely originated in Africa. It seems to me likely that white skin was an evolutionary adaptation to the lower levels of sunlight in Northern Asia and Europe (to maintain vitamin D synthesis in winter), as white skin would be an evolutionary disadvantage in the sunnier climates of Africa, closer to the Equator. But I have not read any research on this.

 

[SalixIncendium]

The first skin color was blue...obviously.

 

[Rival]

The first skin color was blue...obviously.

Nah man, it was green,

 

[Vinayaka]

I have met white Christians who claimed that all people were originally white and that black people are children of the devil and I have met black Christians who claimed the opposite. Both use the Bible to prove their statements. I ask myself the question, what skin color really was first; what do today's science and the Bible say about it?

Well, let's get rid of one myth here. True or False: Dark-skinned People Don’t Need Sunscreen | Winchester Hospital

 

[exchemist]

Well, let's get rid of one myth here. True or False: Dark-skinned People Don’t Need Sunscreen | Winchester Hospital

Though it does say dark skin is more tolerant than white, as one would expect.

 

[ChristineM]

Forget the bible, look to science for answers to scientific questions

Dark skin evolved after loss of body hair as a protection against UVB in homo ergaster, homo sapiens inherited it

When homo sapiens began to migrate north with a less intense sunlight and less UVB their skin began to lighten

Ain't evolution great???

 

[74x12]

I have met white Christians who claimed that all people were originally white and that black people are children of the devil and I have met black Christians who claimed the opposite. Both use the Bible to prove their statements. I ask myself the question, what skin color really was first; what do today's science and the Bible say about it?

Short answer: I don't know. I believe Adam and Eve were the first people. Some people believe that the garden of Eden was in the inner earth. In which case does that mean they were light skinned because lack of sunlight? But there would have to be light in the garden of Eden for plants to grow so I doubt that. If the garden is in the inner earth it doesn't prove anything either way.

Others claim that Adam was made from red earth which made his skin red. However, I'm not sure that it works like that. It may be true; but it's not necessarily the case that the color of dirt would dictate the color of one's skin. Really the color of one's skin is due to the amount of melanin which is genetic. So again it doesn't prove anything either way.

I don't believe skin color denotes the children of Satan. Rather the actions people do.

The fact is every skin type has advantages and disadvantages. As you point out with your graphic darker skin is better in areas with a lot of sun exposure because it resists burning. On the other hand lighter skin is advantageous in areas with little sunlight throughout the year. The reason is that it absorbs vitamin D faster from less sunlight.

Mid range skin tones are the overall most adaptable and light skin seems to be an adaptation for people living in more overcast northern climates whereas very dark skin seems to have been an adaptation for people living in very hot areas of the globe.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I think God made us with all kinds of skin hues from the start.

Very democratic thinking -- not so great science.

 

[Valjean]

I think God made us with all kinds of skin hues from the start.

Why? Why would God choose to create a small population of African plains apes with multiple skin hues?


Here's an interesting study:
First modern Britons had 'dark to black' skin, Cheddar Man DNA analysis reveals

 

[1213]

I have met white Christians who claimed that all people were originally white and that black people are children of the devil and I have met black Christians who claimed the opposite. ...

I don’t think Bible says the colour, but, perhaps we should assume all are actually black, some are just brighter than others.

 

[Secret Chief]

The rift valleys of Africa are described as the cradle of mankind, so black is the colour.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I have met white Christians who claimed that all people were originally white and that black people are children of the devil and I have met black Christians who claimed the opposite...

That is an embarrassing reminder of the recent past. The truth is that many Christians did buy something like that big fish story, not just Mormons. It was a corporate lie that some men were born less equal, but this came to be thought of as related to skin color only in the late 18th and early 19th century. The slave trade made use of the new idea of Evolution to suggest that blacks must be in some lesser evolutionary stage. At the same time slavers, slaves and slave owners sought to convince slaves that they were inferior morally to white people. They sought to claim that Africans were from Ham, Noah's misbehaving son. They then used it as justification for treating blacks as different from whites. It was actually not a Christian thing to do, and the Christians and churches which stood by as it went on have put a shame onto Christianity that will never be forgotten. I think that is where the claims come from which you have heard.

I'd say it is evidence that there is something very wrong in Christianity. The churches failed to stop this quickly. They even bought into it. They are supposed to be the ground and pillar of truth.

 

[Heyo]

Forget the bible, look to science for answers to scientific questions

Dark skin evolved after loss of body hair as a protection against UVB in homo ergaster, homo sapiens inherited it

When homo sapiens began to migrate north with a less intense sunlight and less UVB their skin began to lighten

Ain't evolution great???

When Homo Sapiens moved north, Homo Neanderthalensis was already there (and possibly lighter skinned). It is quite possible that we inherited the fair skin (and red and blond hair) from them.

 

[RabbiO]

Nah man, it was green,

Mauve. Definitely mauve.

 

[exchemist]

That is an embarrassing reminder of the recent past. The truth is that many Christians did buy something like that big fish story, not just Mormons. It was a corporate lie that some men were born less equal, but this came to be thought of as related to skin color only in the late 18th and early 19th century. The slave trade made use of the new idea of Evolution to suggest that blacks must be in some lesser evolutionary stage. At the same time slavers, slaves and slave owners sought to convince slaves that they were inferior morally to white people. They sought to claim that Africans were from Ham, Noah's misbehaving son. They then used it as justification for treating blacks as different from whites. It was actually not a Christian thing to do, and the Christians and churches which stood by as it went on have put a shame onto Christianity that will never be forgotten. I think that is where the claims come from which you have heard.

I'd say it is evidence that there is something very wrong in Christianity. The churches failed to stop this quickly. They even bought into it. They are supposed to be the ground and pillar of truth.

Not in any way to excuse it, but churches have got co-opted, seduced or intimidated by centres of power throughout history, whether it be the Church of England supporting the class system in the c.18th and 19th* or the Chinese forcing the Catholic church to let the state appoint bishops in the c.20th.

* There is a verse in the children's hymn "All things Bright and Beautiful" that is omitted today that goes like this:
" The rich man in his castle/The poor man at his gate/God made them high or lowly/And ordered their estate."

(But I see, on looking it up, that some wag with a sense of social justice came up with an alternative, thus: "The rich man in his motor/The poor man on his bike/God did not make them different/He made them both alike.")

 

[Twilight Hue]

I have met white Christians who claimed that all people were originally white and that black people are children of the devil and I have met black Christians who claimed the opposite. Both use the Bible to prove their statements. I ask myself the question, what skin color really was first; what do today's science and the Bible say about it?

Depends on the environment. It seems most are from Africa so I take either the first humans were dark skinned or butterscotch