God the Mother and the Mitochondrial Eve

This past weekend, on June 23rd, the New York Times published an article entitled “Why Do We Inherit Mitochondrial DNA Only From Our Mothers?” And as the title says, it explores the reason we only receive mitochondrial DNA from our mothers. Scholars from around the world had also discussed the topic at an international Bible seminar on God the Mother and the Mitochondrial Eve held in late 2013.

Biologists had always believed our DNA resided only in the nucleus, the control center of our cells. But in 1963, Swedish scientists discovered there is also DNA outside the nucleus. This is the mitochondria, which provide energy to our cells. Although mitochondria only account for a small portion of our total DNA, cellular respiration and cellular function require mitochondria. Dr. Elias Caicedo of the Health Department in Esmeraldas, Ecuador explained at the Bible seminar that “Mitochondrial inheritance has allowed scientists to find 36 syndromes, disorders, and peculiar phenotypes associated with mutations in the mitochondrial genome.”

The Mitochondria is essential for human life to exist. But as Dr. Caicedo clarified, “The human mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother.” Children inherit the DNA in their cells’ nucleus—known as the nuclear DNA—from both parents. However, the mitochondrial DNA comes only from the mother. Dr. Caicedo explained, “Mitochondria exist both in a sperm and the egg. But when a sperm fertilizes an egg, only its nucleus enters, and the tail and its mitochondria are destroyed.” As a result, only the mother can pass on the mitochondria to her child.

So why did God create things in such a way? Why do we only inherit mitochondria from our mothers?

God the Mother & the Mitochondrial Eve

The New York Times explained, “You inherited your mitochondrial DNA from your mother, who inherited hers from her mother and so forth. Maternal inheritance also gave rise to the idea that there exists a ‘Mitochondrial Eve,’ a woman from whom all living humans inherited their mitochondrial DNA.”

Only now, scientists are discovering this law of nature, which has already been explained in the Bible for thousands of years. The Bible teaches that through the creation, we understand God’s divine nature and invisible qualities (Romans 1:20). Then, what can we understand about God through the mitochondria and the Mitochondrial Eve?

God created Adam and Eve as the first man and woman.

In the creation, Eve’s role was to give life. Thus, her name means “life.” God created Eve to be the mother of all who live. But what does this really mean? We can understand if we see who Adam represents.

Biblically, Adam represents Christ—God the Father. So naturally, his wife Eve must represent God the Mother. The book of Revelation explains this even further.

The Spirit (God the Father symbolized by Adam) and the Bride (God the Mother symbolized by Eve) give our spirit eternal life. Although Christ could have granted eternal life 2,000 years ago, He waited until God the Mother appeared because Mother is the main life-giver.

Mother Is Life

Through the creation, we realize mothers are essential for life. Not only humans but as the New York Times explained, “It’s well known that the transfer or mitochondrial DNA from mother to offspring, often called maternal inheritance, occurs in humans and most multicellular organisms.” In roundworms, the paternal mitochondria “have an internal self-destruct mechanism that gets activated when the sperm fuses with an egg.”

All of God’s creation speaks of God the Mother—even something as detailed as our own mitochondria. There is no scientific explanation as to why the paternal mitochondria self-destruct. Likewise, God the Father alone could have given us eternal life but He chose not to. God’s will is for us to receive eternal life from both God the Father and God the Mother. The “Mitochondrial Eve” lets us know that God the Mother does exist; She is the one who can give mankind eternal life.