And now regarding thy question, "How is it that no records are to be found concerning the Prophets that have preceded Adam, the Father of Mankind, or of the kings that lived in the days of those Prophets?" Know thou that the absence of any reference to them is no proof that they did not actually exist. That no records concerning them are now available, should be attributed to their extreme remoteness, as well as to the vast changes which the earth hath undergone since their time.

Merkurian posted:

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Later, Cain traveled to the land of Nod, took a wife, and had children. Where did these people come from?

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Jedi Merkurian posted:

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So I was reading Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, and I came across this:

And now regarding thy question, "How is it that no records are to be found concerning the Prophets that have preceded Adam, the Father of Mankind, or of the kings that lived in the days of those Prophets?" Know thou that the absence of any reference to them is no proof that they did not actually exist. That no records concerning them are now available, should be attributed to their extreme remoteness, as well as to the vast changes which the earth hath undergone since their time.

Here's my reaction: "preceded Adam...*record screetch* Ummmm....what?"

So then I started re-reading Genesis, and many more questions came to mind. First, when Cain slew Abel and was exiled, he feared for his life and was given a mark that promised God's wrath upon any who attacked him. Who was Cain afraid of?

Later, Cain traveled to the land of Nod, took a wife, and had children. Where did these people come from?

Where they other children of Adam and Eve? Well, according to Genesis, Adam and Eve bore Cain, then Abel, then Seth. No daughters were born to Adam and Eve until after the birth of Seth, and Seth was not born until after Cain's exile.

Then it occured to me that perhaps Adam and Eve were the first homo sapiens, and that the inhabitants of Nod were a more primitive form of human. When the children of Adam & Eve mated with these primitive humans, homo erectus IIRC, perhaps the homo sapien genetic code completely over-wrote the more primitive one. This also might be the basis for the Baha'i belief that the "missing link" will never be found, because there isn't one; maybe when a sapien mates with an erectus, the result is always another sapien.

I don't know much about genetics, and this is all speculation on my part. I'd be interested to hear other thoughts on the matter.

Happy Easter

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nancyallen posted:

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I'll read the thread in full later so this may have been already answered. Tell me if I am out of line in asking this, but as a theist how do we answer the challenge of people such as Darwin Bedford who not only speak about their hatred of religion but often present misrepresentations of religion as fact?

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Jedi Merkurian posted:

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Something to bear in mind is that some folks aren't looking for a debate. They're wanting to make an opposing point-of-view look as foolish as possible. If that's the case, they won't let something as trivial as facts dissuade them. Moreover, if you get ugly with such a person, you'll only serve their cause. Such folks are also very adept at pushing people's buttons, so it's very easy to find yourself getting ugly before you realize what's happening.

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Faces of Silas posted:

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Forgive me if this has already been addressed. There is a significant gap in human history that can not be satisfactorily explained through either evolutionary theories or Biblical accounts. That’s my considered opinion. Man’s “origin” is a mystery that will likely remain a mystery for quite some time. As I understand it, the literal translation of the ancient Hebrew texts, relative to Genesis (and many other chapters), is radically different from the traditionally accepted Christian understanding. The first seven days referred to in Genesis are actually a description of human’s development of a system of justice and the acquirement of knowledge pertaining to the physical surroundings, including the universe. For some reason, it was determined that those with “the knowledge” (the elite) would keep it secret from those who were not privy to it (the ignorant) because the knowledge would be more than they could possibly comprehend. That’s another topic altogether. When it comes right down to it, even the elite did not appreciate what they “knew.”

It is the leap from a “cave dwelling varmint” to a civilized animal in the historical timetable that seems out of place. There was a natural progression, a sudden rapid acceleration in development, then a return to the previous developmental trend. This explanation may not make sense because it’s difficult to articulate in a few words. It is almost as though there was intervention from an influence outside this world during the “evolution” of humans.

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DorkmanScott posted:

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It's also worth noting that this door swings both ways.

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Faces of Silas posted:

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There was a natural progression, a sudden rapid acceleration in development, then a return to the previous developmental trend. This explanation may not make sense because it’s difficult to articulate in a few words. It is almost as though there was intervention from an influence outside this world during the “evolution” of humans.

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