Question:
Not to worry, I am not about to provoke a heated exchange regarding religion. This is only a question about Adam and Eve that, oddly enough, has never occured to me until today. It's such an obvious question that I'm really surprised that I've never heard it asked before.
The question is this:
When Adam and Eve had children, how did their children have children?
Oh Jor-el, I just can't help myself, the answer is the regular way. And my reasoning behind that response is they didn't have invetro back then, or surrogents, or sperm banks).....
I know I'm bad......
I'll go sit in the corner now and think about what I wrote.....:(
I guess I wasn't clear with my wording. I should've asked:
If Adam and Eve gave birth to two boys, Cain and Abel, as the Bible says, who did the boys mate with to have children of their own? Was there another woman around besides Eve? How does the Bible handle this delema ? Do I really need to know the answer to this? Not really, but I thought I'd ask anyway.
The story seems to get even more confusing. Supposedly, Cain kills Abel out of jealousy (Abel's gifts to God were better than Cain's) before either Cain or Abel had any offspring. Then Cain goes off and becomes a wanderer. Then up pops Seth, Adam and Eve's third son. So now you got Cain wandering around by himself, a newborn boy Seth, Adam, and Eve. That makes 3 males and one woman.
All of sudden, Cain has two sons of his own, Lamech and Enoch. Now we're up to 5 males and still one woman. Lamech has 3 sons, Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain. 8 males, still one woman.
What's wrong with this picture?
Hi
My point of view is:
If we try to understand everything bible says , we would
get so confused.
Many facts were actually a tale.
The case of Adam and Eve , they were like a myth.
They were created to be the first man and woman to ilustrate facts that came until today.
Same thing with the apple and the snake .
It doesn't mean we can not eat apple today .
They were an example to illustrate the story.
It was just something for us to remember the act of sin.
Adam and Eve were the first ones to be remembered as we do today . But at the same time , other lives were created as well.
Some people don't even believe Adam and Eve existed.
There are too many controversies about the authenticy of Bible.
However , FAITH is the base of all religions and their followers.
Existed or not , they still represent most of our beliefs.
It's natural to question those things.
We can not prove everything bible says.
But it's an education passed on.
I personnaly don't need to see the proof for everything Bible says, but, I try to get the meaning of it. What they want to say using those characters and those words.
From there , I just reflect .
Does it make sense???
:D
Vini
Its a touchy subject with most people :D
Vote Monkeys........defeat cynicism
You're right, Kiwigirl.
After some thought, it might not be a good idea to bring up this subject in this forum.
Forget this thread. Make believe I didn't ask.
----Thank you very much for your excellent response, vini68,
but let's end this thread here.
Hey ....! don't forget this thread til I answer.....
Cain took off and wandered up to the land of Nod....how many years later? who cares.....there he found himself a female .....I have heard that it was related by scholars/ministers that an Adam and Eve were simultaneously created in the five races.
Which would answer some questions....and make some happy with that answer.......
Hey Jor-El,
funny you should ask this, my pastor was talking about something like this just a while ago!!
In bible times, there were many more characters than were mentioned! Not every single person who ever lived is included in the bible!! So Adam and Eve probably had more kids and stuff!!!
The not-so-important characters werent included!!
(or at least this is my pastors theory!)
OK, then I guess my next question is, when Cain wandered up to the land of Nod and found himself a female, where did that female come from. Was God creating more people ?
Where did these "not-so-important" characters come from? Did God create them from thin air or were they the offspring of Adam and Eve?
haven't they said and proved that we all sprang from the same dna as an African female?
I read or heard that somewhere....don't know anything about it tho......
Yes, I read that somewhere also, Sally.
When taken as metaphor, I find this whole Adam and Eve and the Garden of Paradise story extremely fascinating and intriguing.
It's almost like there's a part of the puzzle to this metaphor intentionally left out.
Returning to Cain, who is out wandering around as mom and dad sit at home with little Seth. Cain eventually wants children of his own as his father did. He looks around, sees no other woman on the entire planet except his mother to mate with - did Cain return home to do the unthinkable act or did God create another woman for Cain? That's the only two options that I can come up with.
Let's kick this up a notch.
Say Adam and Eve had fifty healthy boys and fifty healthy girls.
Who did those brothers and sisters of one family unit mate with?
There were no other families on the entire planet. I can't arrive at any other logical conclusion, but the big "I" word. In this case, it was a son and his mother. That's it. If there was another female besides Eve, how did she get there? Created by God or another female offspring of Cain's parents, which would make her Cain's sister !!! Still horrible !!!
Unless I'm mistaken, there is no mention of who Cain's "wife" was in the Bible. That's the missing piece.
Even when I think of the Garden of Eden - I find this story absolutely fascinating when taken as metaphor. Imagine you and your mate living in the Garden of Eden. You wake up in the morning and after you eat a piece of fruit, what do you do for the rest of the day? Cook something? No - there's no need to. Go to the mall? No - there are none. Go to work? No- there is no need to. Clean something? No - there's nothing to clean? make some clothes? No - there's no need to wear clothes? Start a hobby?
What would you or I do all day long in the Garden of Eden without going out of our minds after a week or so of that ?
Well, I previously said that I would like to end this thread. I guess it didn't happen. Sorry.
Does anyone care to continue with this or should we make this post the end of the thread?
Any theologians out there?
kimberlyjoy,
When you get a chance, ask your pastor if he knows who Cain's wife was.
I'd like to get to the bottom of this. It's is buggin' me to no end.
Thanks,
Jor-EL
Originally posted by Jor-EL
[B]When you get a chance, ask your pastor if he knows who Cain's wife was.
I'd like to get to the bottom of this. It's is buggin' me to no end./B]
Mrs. Cain. :D
Seriously, though. I'm not a theologian, but pretty knowledgeable about the Bible. I think the possible answers have already been given:
1). God created more people
2.) Cain married his sister
I lean towards #2. Somebody already said that the Bible doesn't record every person and every event. So, Adam and Eve could have had more kids (not recorded) who moved around and were "fruitful and multiplied." If so, Cain would have married his sister or niece or other not too distant relative. We are not given any timeline on how many years passed and it appears that there was greater longevity before the Flood.
While gross today, marriage to family members was not so uncommon in Biblical times. The same type thing would have had to happen after the Flood with Noah and his family.
The Bible is not only a book of history, it is a book of faith. Sometimes we have to accept by faith what we can't figure out....
Makes me think of another question...Did Adam and Eve have bellybuttons? :confused: :D :eek:
Originally posted by khorath
Makes me think of another question...Did Adam and Eve have bellybuttons? :confused: :D :eek:
Thanks for that response, khorath.
I still think it very very odd that Cain's wife is not mentioned.
Another question while we're on a roll:
What is the name of the very next woman mentioned in the Bible after Eve.
Adam and Eve (as far as I've read so far) had 3 sons.
Cain had 2 sons. I know that one of those sons had 3 sons.
A lot of males. When does the Biible start to mention another female?
Genesis 4:19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
Another practice generally frowned upon today.......
These two names of females are listed right after Cain "knows" his wife of unknown name.
The Hebrews were generally a patriarchial society - I think that's why not too many women are listed. I don't think it is anything against women, because those that are listed do some awesome things - things that would put most men to shame. So, I do not think it is anti-women, just the nature of their society...
Interesting !
Lamech was one of Cain's sons and is regarded as the prototype of violent attackers. The other was Enoch. I read that Enoch supposedly built the first city. Can you tell me anything further about Enoch?
One of the deepest questions from this discussion....
Did Adam and Eve have belly buttons.......
Yes! of course they did, where else could they stick their bubble gum.....
I know Jor-El, back to my corner........
My Daughter is 38, but 35 years ago when I was trying to get her settled down for the night she kept asking questions. One was:
" If God made Adam and Eve, and God made all the animals and all the trees and flowers and grass and food and stuff, Who made GOD?" My answer was " We don't know... God just is and we have to trust that".
A few nights later we were going through the same thing again and after the um-teenth time I'd told her to be quiet and go to sleep, she said " But Mom, I know who made God!" ....."You Do? I asked" Of Course! She replied. "It was the Faerie God Mother!"
Good one, merkinsmom !!!
I don't know, you got Creationists on one side of the fence, you got Evolutionists on the other, who's right? Naturally, I can't swallow the whole notion of this Adam and Eve thing. I find it interesting in an odd sort of way to think about as a metaphor for the human race and the way we are as opposed to the animal kingdom, but that's the extent of it.
On the other hand, sometimes I think science is groping around in the dark.
Big science questions: What was there before the "BIG BANG"?
Will there be an end to the entire universe? If so, what will be after it?
If there's an edge to the universe, what is on the other side of it?
Analysing the Bible is far too complicated for me. Much of organised religion is making more out of a belief than necessary.
I prefer to keep it really simple: I try to live by one rule and rule rule only. Treat others as I'd like to be treated. End of story. What more does a person need to do in this life than that?
If I'm judged in the afterlife and that is not acceptable for reward into Heavan (or whatever the reward is), then I don't think I want to be there anyway.
The question is this:
When Adam and Eve had children, how did their children have children?
Answers:
Oh Jor-el, I just can't help myself, the answer is the regular way. And my reasoning behind that response is they didn't have invetro back then, or surrogents, or sperm banks).....
I know I'm bad......
I'll go sit in the corner now and think about what I wrote.....:(
Answers:
I guess I wasn't clear with my wording. I should've asked:
If Adam and Eve gave birth to two boys, Cain and Abel, as the Bible says, who did the boys mate with to have children of their own? Was there another woman around besides Eve? How does the Bible handle this delema ? Do I really need to know the answer to this? Not really, but I thought I'd ask anyway.
Answers:
The story seems to get even more confusing. Supposedly, Cain kills Abel out of jealousy (Abel's gifts to God were better than Cain's) before either Cain or Abel had any offspring. Then Cain goes off and becomes a wanderer. Then up pops Seth, Adam and Eve's third son. So now you got Cain wandering around by himself, a newborn boy Seth, Adam, and Eve. That makes 3 males and one woman.
All of sudden, Cain has two sons of his own, Lamech and Enoch. Now we're up to 5 males and still one woman. Lamech has 3 sons, Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain. 8 males, still one woman.
What's wrong with this picture?
Answers:
Hi
My point of view is:
If we try to understand everything bible says , we would
get so confused.
Many facts were actually a tale.
The case of Adam and Eve , they were like a myth.
They were created to be the first man and woman to ilustrate facts that came until today.
Same thing with the apple and the snake .
It doesn't mean we can not eat apple today .
They were an example to illustrate the story.
It was just something for us to remember the act of sin.
Adam and Eve were the first ones to be remembered as we do today . But at the same time , other lives were created as well.
Some people don't even believe Adam and Eve existed.
There are too many controversies about the authenticy of Bible.
However , FAITH is the base of all religions and their followers.
Existed or not , they still represent most of our beliefs.
It's natural to question those things.
We can not prove everything bible says.
But it's an education passed on.
I personnaly don't need to see the proof for everything Bible says, but, I try to get the meaning of it. What they want to say using those characters and those words.
From there , I just reflect .
Does it make sense???
:D
Vini
Answers:
Its a touchy subject with most people :D
Vote Monkeys........defeat cynicism
Answers:
You're right, Kiwigirl.
After some thought, it might not be a good idea to bring up this subject in this forum.
Forget this thread. Make believe I didn't ask.
----Thank you very much for your excellent response, vini68,
but let's end this thread here.
Answers:
Hey ....! don't forget this thread til I answer.....
Cain took off and wandered up to the land of Nod....how many years later? who cares.....there he found himself a female .....I have heard that it was related by scholars/ministers that an Adam and Eve were simultaneously created in the five races.
Which would answer some questions....and make some happy with that answer.......
Answers:
Hey Jor-El,
funny you should ask this, my pastor was talking about something like this just a while ago!!
In bible times, there were many more characters than were mentioned! Not every single person who ever lived is included in the bible!! So Adam and Eve probably had more kids and stuff!!!
The not-so-important characters werent included!!
(or at least this is my pastors theory!)
Answers:
OK, then I guess my next question is, when Cain wandered up to the land of Nod and found himself a female, where did that female come from. Was God creating more people ?
Answers:
Where did these "not-so-important" characters come from? Did God create them from thin air or were they the offspring of Adam and Eve?
Answers:
haven't they said and proved that we all sprang from the same dna as an African female?
I read or heard that somewhere....don't know anything about it tho......
Answers:
Yes, I read that somewhere also, Sally.
When taken as metaphor, I find this whole Adam and Eve and the Garden of Paradise story extremely fascinating and intriguing.
It's almost like there's a part of the puzzle to this metaphor intentionally left out.
Returning to Cain, who is out wandering around as mom and dad sit at home with little Seth. Cain eventually wants children of his own as his father did. He looks around, sees no other woman on the entire planet except his mother to mate with - did Cain return home to do the unthinkable act or did God create another woman for Cain? That's the only two options that I can come up with.
Let's kick this up a notch.
Say Adam and Eve had fifty healthy boys and fifty healthy girls.
Who did those brothers and sisters of one family unit mate with?
There were no other families on the entire planet. I can't arrive at any other logical conclusion, but the big "I" word. In this case, it was a son and his mother. That's it. If there was another female besides Eve, how did she get there? Created by God or another female offspring of Cain's parents, which would make her Cain's sister !!! Still horrible !!!
Unless I'm mistaken, there is no mention of who Cain's "wife" was in the Bible. That's the missing piece.
Even when I think of the Garden of Eden - I find this story absolutely fascinating when taken as metaphor. Imagine you and your mate living in the Garden of Eden. You wake up in the morning and after you eat a piece of fruit, what do you do for the rest of the day? Cook something? No - there's no need to. Go to the mall? No - there are none. Go to work? No- there is no need to. Clean something? No - there's nothing to clean? make some clothes? No - there's no need to wear clothes? Start a hobby?
What would you or I do all day long in the Garden of Eden without going out of our minds after a week or so of that ?
Well, I previously said that I would like to end this thread. I guess it didn't happen. Sorry.
Does anyone care to continue with this or should we make this post the end of the thread?
Any theologians out there?
Answers:
kimberlyjoy,
When you get a chance, ask your pastor if he knows who Cain's wife was.
I'd like to get to the bottom of this. It's is buggin' me to no end.
Thanks,
Jor-EL
Answers:
Originally posted by Jor-EL
[B]When you get a chance, ask your pastor if he knows who Cain's wife was.
I'd like to get to the bottom of this. It's is buggin' me to no end./B]
Mrs. Cain. :D
Seriously, though. I'm not a theologian, but pretty knowledgeable about the Bible. I think the possible answers have already been given:
1). God created more people
2.) Cain married his sister
I lean towards #2. Somebody already said that the Bible doesn't record every person and every event. So, Adam and Eve could have had more kids (not recorded) who moved around and were "fruitful and multiplied." If so, Cain would have married his sister or niece or other not too distant relative. We are not given any timeline on how many years passed and it appears that there was greater longevity before the Flood.
While gross today, marriage to family members was not so uncommon in Biblical times. The same type thing would have had to happen after the Flood with Noah and his family.
The Bible is not only a book of history, it is a book of faith. Sometimes we have to accept by faith what we can't figure out....
Makes me think of another question...Did Adam and Eve have bellybuttons? :confused: :D :eek:
Answers:
Originally posted by khorath
Makes me think of another question...Did Adam and Eve have bellybuttons? :confused: :D :eek:
Answers:
Thanks for that response, khorath.
I still think it very very odd that Cain's wife is not mentioned.
Another question while we're on a roll:
What is the name of the very next woman mentioned in the Bible after Eve.
Adam and Eve (as far as I've read so far) had 3 sons.
Cain had 2 sons. I know that one of those sons had 3 sons.
A lot of males. When does the Biible start to mention another female?
Answers:
Genesis 4:19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
Another practice generally frowned upon today.......
These two names of females are listed right after Cain "knows" his wife of unknown name.
The Hebrews were generally a patriarchial society - I think that's why not too many women are listed. I don't think it is anything against women, because those that are listed do some awesome things - things that would put most men to shame. So, I do not think it is anti-women, just the nature of their society...
Answers:
Interesting !
Lamech was one of Cain's sons and is regarded as the prototype of violent attackers. The other was Enoch. I read that Enoch supposedly built the first city. Can you tell me anything further about Enoch?
Answers:
One of the deepest questions from this discussion....
Did Adam and Eve have belly buttons.......
Yes! of course they did, where else could they stick their bubble gum.....
I know Jor-El, back to my corner........
Answers:
My Daughter is 38, but 35 years ago when I was trying to get her settled down for the night she kept asking questions. One was:
" If God made Adam and Eve, and God made all the animals and all the trees and flowers and grass and food and stuff, Who made GOD?" My answer was " We don't know... God just is and we have to trust that".
A few nights later we were going through the same thing again and after the um-teenth time I'd told her to be quiet and go to sleep, she said " But Mom, I know who made God!" ....."You Do? I asked" Of Course! She replied. "It was the Faerie God Mother!"
Answers:
Good one, merkinsmom !!!
I don't know, you got Creationists on one side of the fence, you got Evolutionists on the other, who's right? Naturally, I can't swallow the whole notion of this Adam and Eve thing. I find it interesting in an odd sort of way to think about as a metaphor for the human race and the way we are as opposed to the animal kingdom, but that's the extent of it.
On the other hand, sometimes I think science is groping around in the dark.
Big science questions: What was there before the "BIG BANG"?
Will there be an end to the entire universe? If so, what will be after it?
If there's an edge to the universe, what is on the other side of it?
Analysing the Bible is far too complicated for me. Much of organised religion is making more out of a belief than necessary.
I prefer to keep it really simple: I try to live by one rule and rule rule only. Treat others as I'd like to be treated. End of story. What more does a person need to do in this life than that?
If I'm judged in the afterlife and that is not acceptable for reward into Heavan (or whatever the reward is), then I don't think I want to be there anyway.
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