Did Adam and Eve really exist? If so, are we all descendants from them, and how could the different races arise?
The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:4-8 about the creation of Adam and Eve. There is discussion among Christians about how exactly to understand that. Some read it literally, others allow for more poetic interpretation. However, the Bible clearly teaches in several places that there was one man, Adam, from whom we all descend. In Acts 17:26 we read: “And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.”
Ancestors
So yes, Adam and Eve really existed and everybody living on earth has them as their ancestors. Adam and Eve must have had a wide variety of genes. As their descendants, after the time of Noah, spread over the world to various places, the gene pool got narrower in each population and differences between groups, among which skin color, arose.
Reasons to hold to the truth
For two reasons it is important to hold to the truth that we all descend from Adam and Eve. First, it reminds us that really there are not different races, but we all belong to the same race: the human race. Colors may differ, but we belong together.
Second, only if we are all descendants of Adam, we all need Jesus. The Bible says that “sin came into the world through one man” (Romans 5:12). We are all sinners because we are descendants from Adam. That is why we need Jesus. His death on the cross opened the way to heaven for us. “…as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men” (Romans 5:18). Adam brought death into the world. Jesus brought salvation and eternal life.