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Scripture, it would seem, gives a sort of “begat” history as to how many thousands of years ago Adam and Eve lived–10, 20, 30, 40 thousand years ago?
Is there something about my question that makes folks like you run away from it?
The “begats” have a purpose originating in divine inspiration to instruct the Jews (and Catholics) about our origins (in general) and to teach theology.
Genesis 1,1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (this from memory).
See? It’s a theological writing, right off the bat. It assumes or demands faith, right off the bat. It’s obvious that the person who wrote Genesis was not there for the events that are described.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that Genesis is a figurative account, based on pre-historic real events.
It is not a history book or a science book, as we understand them in the modern sense.
I picked up a book of “best” sermons on sale once, and there was a sermon about Genesis and the account of Creation, credited traditionally to Moses (but disputed).
You have to read Genesis chap 1-4 maybe to appreciate this. Moses was living in Egypt and was exposed to the pagan idol worship there. The Egyptian creation story told how the universe was created when an egg with wings was flying around and then hatched.
The point of Genesis is to reveal that the sun and moon and animals that were worshiped in Egypt were NOT gods, but they were objects of creation. Genesis lays out the fundamental belief that God is the creator – as well as other points.
It takes a lot of study to parse out all the lessons embedded in Genesis.
For example, I was up late last night with insomnia and mulling over these same chapters in Genesis. I don’t claim that this is an original thought, but here goes. Look at how God speaks in Genesis 1 – he gives these commands and they are immediately carried out to completion. On and on. We get to the account of Adam and Eve and God gives a command to them, to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What do you know? They disobey God.
There you go. That’s the main dilemma of the whole Bible, that mankind disobeys God. One of the repeated lessons in the Bible is that we ARE to obey God.
The purpose of Genesis is theological.
EWTN and these forums involve all kinds of people, who are “running away” from your question only in your perception. There is no duty here to answer anybody’s question, in particular.
But, it is a demand of Christian charity and evangelization to do so. We all have different gifts, time constraints, interests, etc. and there’s the chance that the “right people” are just not looking at your question.
May I mention that there is a bit of a “tone” in your question, disparaging people here and there. Perhaps that has something to do with a low response to your question.
These forums are so large now, after a couple years, the same questions get asked over and over, and people get worn out answering the same questions over and over.
From your point of view, it’s overwhelming to try to do a search and find exactly what you’re looking for.
But, it is worth answering your question if you are honestly and earnestly looking for the truth.
EWTN, as they note in their website, overwhelmed with questions. I tried to submit a question and all the mailboxes were filled and wouldn’t accept any more.
The Bible has that character that it draws us in to good questions like yours. It’s good to pray to the Holy Spirit who inspired the writing. Also, briefly, try to learn patience and maintain respect for others.
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