[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: I need help with a paradox. not a trick question, I do not know the answer
Try to imagine this as part of the answer to this question.
There was this girl that I kind of liked growing up in Pennsylvania. After
awhile I found out that she was my cousin's cousin (Is this 2nd cousin?). The
towns I grew up in and near were about 2000-4000 people each. And we both lived
in them. Now because we and our families both lived there for a long time, even
though we could not see any direct blood relation, I'm sure there was one
between her family and mine.
You see, especially in rural populations even in the US, when you marry someone
local, unless one of the families is new to the area you will most likely marry
a somewhat distant relative (maybe even have the same grandparents 5 or 6
generations back on one side.) This happens all the time, and as long as there
is some distance between blood relation, it is normal and fine.
Now I did find out when I was 17 that I was adopted, and since I was born in
Manhattan, I was probably not closely blood related to hardly anyone at all
where I lived in rural Pennsylvania. (But for moral and social reasons, it would
still be wrong for me to marry my sister who I grew up with, or any other closer
relative than a direct cousin included. Wanted to make this point.)
So in my hometown's case, you have about 6000 people in the area, I would reckon
that if you go back about 6 or 7 generations, you'll find that my hometown only
came from a pool of about 25000 that far back, but if you do the math like you
have been it would probably seem that there should be much much more for all
those people.
Anyways, the numbers I am using are just guesses, but I suppose that your family
(on both your parents sides) has deep roots in the area where you grew up you
grew up, I would bet that there is some real intertwining of the family tree
especially when you hit the 5th generation back and further. I would even
venture to say, that unless your parents are both from remote corners of the
world, that once you get back to the 10th generation, you most likely will have
more than a few people that are the same on your mother's and father's side.
Why don't you try to fill in your family tree and see how far back you can go
until you have the same person on both sides of the family. I would be
interested.
Up until sometime in the 1900's, it was more common for a person to marry into
there own ethnic group (for instance, 2 French people or 2 Italians get married,
and since they are from the same gene pool there most likely will be a common
link on both sides of the family somewhere since those 2 countries became
independent countries.)
But nowadays, with divorces like crazy, half siblings at an uncontrollable rate,
as well as the modern ways of transportation where you can be across the world
in one day, or move across the country in a few days, there is hardly much close
intertwining here in America anymore it seems. I live in Seattle now, and the
girl that I like, well I just wonder how far back we could go until we were
related. My biological father is supposedly from CA, so that gets me to the west
coast at least, but my mother was from VT or NH or something up in New England.
Well they met in NYC.
If you look at Jesus' 2 separate genealogies in the gospels in the new
testament, this may even be a good example. I have heard of a few explanations
of why these genealogies are different. #1 One of the genealogies is through
Joseph, and one is through Mary. Now usually you trace through the father, but
because Joseph wasn't his biological father they listed another for Mary. But
then again, since back in biblical times it was common for one man to have many
wives, you were identified by who your mother was for instance, all of King
David's children were still children of the king, but they were set apart from
each other by there mothers.) #2 One genealogy was the blood line, and the other
was actually the kingship or the throne line. #3 One is the royal line, one is
the priest line, since Jesus was both King and Priest. Remember these were
distinctly separate in Old testament times.
I wonder which is the proper explanation, but back to my point... they are both
different a few generations back, but the same if you go far enough back. Either
way, since they are both obviously different genealogies, you can still see them
intertwined back some generations. I just looked and the lineage intersects at
King David. One side goes through Solomon, and the other genealogy goes through
Nathan, another of David's sons. When the both get to Joseph (Jesus earthly
father,) they both say that Joseph had a different father (one says Heli, one
says Jacob) but either one of the above 2 that I mentioned is true or else Jacob
was his father and Heli was his grandfather on his mother's side (or vice
versa.) Anyways, it's debatable unless someone has figured it out.
The genealogies are in Luke 3 at Matthew 1 at bible.gospelcom.net . (This is an
awesome reference you can use as a concordance to, with about 8 different
versions of the Bible in English as well as other languages too. It's a handy
tool. The only message I ever gave in church, I used this to look up verses by
certain words.)
Another point... The whole nation of Israel descended from Jacob, so if a
daughter of Israel and a son of Israel were married they both have Jacob's blood
somewhere in them (If the tribes in Israel married within there tribe, which I'm
sure some people did, then you have even closer relations.) And God said that
Abraham would be father of many nations and he is. All of the Arab nations and
probably others too are also Abraham's descendants. Now that is going pretty far
back I understand too. Everyone on Earth now descended from Noah, because only
he and his sons and wives were on the ark. I'm sure daughters of Noah's sons
were married to son's of Noah's other sons.
Above all, be glad you can trace your tree at all... I don't even know my
biological parents names or there family names or local areas. My last name was
Rogers before (but was that after my mother or father? they weren't married.)
Anyways, genealogies are endlessly debatable. All I am sure of is that I am a
son of Abraham, because I am in God's family.
God bless,
Joe <><
---------------
Unsubscribe by going to http://www.actwin.com/MediaNation/OtR/
Follow-Ups: