DD has some questions

[norksinmywaistband]

As I was just putting her to bed she asked me who was the first child on earth. Remembering back to my childhood I said well Adam and eve were the first man and woman and they had DC called cain & abel.
She then asked if they were both boys -yes
next question was -So who did they have babies with then?

She has just turned 5, How have I not questioned this until now?
I don't have a bible in the house, so anyone care to explain.

Its all glossed over. After Cain kills Abel, he leaves and goes to the land of Nod (seriously ) and 'knows' his wife and they have a son (Enoch). Meanwhile Adam and Eve have Seth (which is why Seth is traditionally used for a son born after the death of an older child). Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters and Seth had a son but I don't think any wives are mentioned. Its deliciously vague. There musthave been wives about somewhere, possibly in the Land of Nod.

It does seem delightfully odd.

At least I seem to have covered the childbirth thing properly with DD, wierd I didn't even consider it until she asked the question

so, was god creating other people in other places then? after he made adam and eve?

Personally I believe Adam and Eve may well be symbols... metaphors???

meltedchoc - I agree that the bible should not be taken as a literal historical account.

I could have gone down the road of explaining evolutionary theory to a five year old but it was bedtime and tbh I couldn't be bothered to go there.

I do have spiritual beliefs but have always believed the bible to be a guide rather than historical fact, however I still find it slightly odd, when I think about it.

I had EXACTLY thge same question from my 5yo DS a couple of months back - not in a biblical context though just generally so I did try to explain evolutionary theory. I probably made a complete hash of it as it was Friday tea time and I had just, finally, sat down with a cuppa and if I'm honest I'm a bit hazy on how evolution really works anyway!

he seemed happy , if a little confused, at the answer

You've got to love the questions though, haven't you?! (DS's most recent - 'who will be my family in heaven?')

Am glad I found this thread so I can answer DS2 when he askes me.

Can anyone help me with this one, though?

"Mummy, why did Jesus have to die?". He's 4 so am a bit worried about explaining sin, the trinity etc but he seemed to accept it but if anyone can tell me what they've said, it'll help cos I like to explain in different ways for him. He knows (some of) the difference between Islam and Christianity already.

A lot of Christians think that Adam & Eve is not a true story.

Unless you believe the earth is 6,000 years old, the more modern theological viewpoint is that God created the universe including the conditions over which species would evolve, including becoming man.

At some point in evolutionary history, according to Catholic theology, God endowed our ancestors with a soul. Prior to this point that God decided to give people souls there were only apes.

The story of Adam being created directly by God and Eve from his rib, if you follow modern Christian theology as informed by science, cannot be a literal truth.

I am not quite sure how exactly the Adam and Eve story functions if treated purely as a metaphor, and not as literal truth, but I'm sure the church has an answer to that also.

Basically:

God created the earth, and the conditions for evolution; we steadily evolved from single-celled creatures into apes, and when we had finally evolved enough to be humans in the image of God, God granted us all immortal souls.

Jesus died to save us. He paid our debts to God.

An analogy is this: your brother is fallen on hard times and steals something from a shop. In court he is ordered to pay a large fine. You know he cannot afford to pay it, so you pay it for him, as forgiveness for the wrong he has done.

Wrongs must be punished, and Jesus died in order to take the punishment for the sins we have committed. Jesus was sacrificed by God because God loves us and wants us to be with him, and by sending his son to die for us, he paid all of our debts to Him.

SomeGuy, that's perfect. Thank you.