How Did Adam and Eve Populate the Earth

Q: How did Adam and Eve populate the earth without brothers and sisters getting married? This may seem like a silly question, but it has been bugging me.

A: The Catholic Church does not side with either monogenism (an original pair of two human beings) or polygenism (more than one couple of people from the beginning of the human race). The Church does not have a stance on this because each theory does not have enough evidence to prove itself correct. This is a great mystery that will probably never be solved here on earth.

Just to explain this a little we’ll start with monogenism, if the theory of monogenism is true then Adam and Eve really were our first parents and every thing that the Bible says in the start of Genesis is completely accurate and brothers and sisters did marry each other. If the theory of polygenism is true than there were multiple couples from the beginning of our race, and the Bible just didn’t mention it so brothers and sisters didn’t marry each other. The funny thing about this is: in Genesis chapter four is the story of Cain and Abel, in this story Cain gets jealous of his brother Abel and kills him. So God banishes Cain from Eden. Now keep in mind Cain and Abel are descendants of Adam and Eve. Well, the Bible goes on to say that Cain marries a wife and has kids, and then it goes down a list of all Cain’s descendants. If you look closely at chapter four you will see that Cain was banished from Eden to the land of Nod, and married a wife in Nod. If he was banished to Nod and married a wife, where did his wife come from? Was she banished from Eden too? Did the Bible not mention every detail? This is probably the biggest part of the mystery of our origin. These reasons are part of why the Church is undecided on this. Without getting into any more detail, I’ll just say if you look at Genesis 1-6 you’ll see these little details that make our origin a mystery. So there is no positive answer to your question. Even great theologians disagree on this subject.

Austin

Confused About Being Catholic

Q: I have been really confused lately and thinking about God. I am a Catholic but I never went to church or CCD. Why does everyone have to live under one person? I don’t think that is very fair. I don’t think I’m an atheist or anything, but I just don’t think I believe.

A: Let me give you an analogy. Millions of people live in our country and we need a leader, or else there would be total chaos. So, we live under the president, but we’re still free. He’s not here to dictate every last thing we do, but to keep everything from going into disarray, to lay down the law. He is the one serving us, but then even the president is following the example of someone else: the founding fathers, the ones that made this country, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, and sacrificed everything for our freedom.

All this is an example of something greater, much greater. The pope is here to lead us, to lay down the law. He is God’s servant here to serve us. And God, He is the one who created us, the earth, everything, He wrote all of creation itself. He gave up his “only begotten son” Jesus, so as to free us from sin, and Jesus; He is the perfect example of who and what we should be.

You’re right though, it is unfair – unfair to God. He has given us everything, and yet we go and break God’s laws, dishonor Him again and again; we murdered His Son. It would be just if He were to utterly destroy us, but God is loving and kind, our God is a God of second chances.

Christian

Did God Make Me

Q: I’ve been brought up to believe in God. Now that I’m getting older, I’m starting to think more about it. I don’t think we evolved from monkeys, but I also don’t think that God made us. What can I do to sort this all out?

A: First of all, it is natural that as you get older you will start to question the things you believe in. This happens because we (young adults) want to make decisions on our own, and not just believe something because our parents told us to believe it. As you go through this time, keep an open mind and an open heart. Be careful not to begin to question your faith, and then give up on it simply because that’s easier, or that’s what everyone else is doing. At some point, God will reveal Himself to you, so follow what is truly in your heart.

Tom

Figuring Out Beliefs

Q: I used to be best friends with this guy when we were kids. We both changed a lot in high school, and now we aren’t as good of friends. He became a hardcore Christian, and I’m still trying to figure out my beliefs. He is always trying to save me or have people from his Fundamentalist church come and talk to me. How can I tell him that I want him to back off a little, without being a jerk about it?

A: I would approach him, and just explain that you are doing a lot of searching right now. Tell him that you would appreciate his prayers during this time of your life but that you need to figure things out for yourself. Let him know that even though you may benefit from talking to him or his friends, you’d like to be the one who asks for information in your own way and time.

Ashley

Practicing and Studying Wicca

Q: I’ve been raised as a Roman Catholic against my will, baptized when I was too young to understand. I never really believed in God. Then I stumbled upon the religion Wicca. I’ve been practicing and studying this for about three months. In secret, of course. How do I tell my parents?

A: Struggling with your faith is a natural part of life, only made more difficult when you feel completely detached from what you have been raised to believe. When I graduated from high school, I spent a period of time in a form of religious limbo – not really sure what to believe or where to find the faith I wanted. During that time, a good friend of mine asked me if I had even bothered looking at the faith that I was so adamant about running away from. As it turns out, I found all of the answers I needed and more simply by taking what had always been my parents’ beliefs and embracing them as my own.

I think the first step you need to take, before walking away from the Roman Catholic faith you have been baptized into, involves looking deeper into what the Roman Catholic Church believes and preaches. What does the Church teach that you agree with? That you disagree with? Why is it hard to imagine that God really is out there? (On this note, St. Thomas Aquinas has some wonderful books to read if you’re interested in some good food for thought.)

Struggling with your faith is something that almost everyone goes through, but not something anyone should go through alone. Talk to your parents about their beliefs and why they chose to raise you Catholic. Ask your friends where they stand on their journey towards faith, and talk to a priest or youth group minister at your local church about any questions that come up. Before you denounce the Catholic faith, look a little harder – you just might realize there’s more you believe in than you thought.

Maureen D.

Catholic Politicians and Personal Beliefs

Q: I’ve heard Catholic politicians say that religion is a private matter and should have nothing to do with public policy. Is it okay for them to ignore personal religious beliefs when making laws?

A: No, it’s not okay. No matter what we do, whether it is politics or anything else, God and our religion should be a priority. For example, many politicians say that abortion is a personal thing, and that it is up to you if you want to murder an innocent child. This is wrong. To go and defy all moral laws and one’s own religion like that is plain wrong. No matter your reasons, nothing can justify such an act. Your “personal religious beliefs” are important and you should never compromise them to get elected or for any reason. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta once said, “I believe that politicians spend too little time on their knees. I am convinced that they would be better politicians if they were to do so.”

Christian

Dealing with Doubts

Q: Lately I have had a lot of doubts about everything that I stand for as a Christian. Everything in my life seems to be going lousy. My family is always yelling. I don’t think my mom and I can ever have a peaceful conversation. I don’t understand why all this is going on. A friend of mine said that it isn’t my fault and that my mom is just going through stuff and I should understand. She said all I have to do is have faith. I pray all the time, but it doesn’t work. Everything is just so overwhelming at times and I don’t know what do to.

A: A lot of people doubt their faith at times in their lives, especially when their lives seem to be full of pain or dismay. Questioning your faith is not wrong or something to be ashamed of – it shows that you’re human. Imagine how empty your faith would be if you simply believed it because someone told you to believe. The thing to be careful of is the temptation to throw away your faith when times are hard. Just because you can’t see God’s answers to your prayers doesn’t mean He’s not listening.

In his book, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People, Rabbi Harold Kushner references the Book of Job from the Old Testament in order to explain suffering in this world. He notes that in the story of Job, the reader makes three assumptions: 1) God is an all powerful being, in control of everything that happens in the world; 2) God is a just God, who gives every person what they deserve; 3) Job is a good person. The problem that comes up is that only two of these are plausible at one time – if Job is a good person, and God is in control of everything that happens, then God cannot be a just God for letting Job suffer the way he does. Likewise, if God is a just God and is in charge of everything that happens, then Job cannot be a good person. Kushner’s resolution is that maybe God is not in charge of everything that happens in this world. Kushner points out that instead of seeing God as in charge of the suffering in our lives, as One who controls the bad things that happen to us, we must start seeing God as experiencing with us the suffering in our lives, as One who gives us strength to pull through when we have none.

Life wasn’t meant to be easy, and nobody can claim that it’s fair all the time. Everyone suffers at some point in his or her life. The trick is to learn how to work through the chaos around you. Some people listen to music, others take long walks, and others turn to creating art when they feel overwhelmed. One thing that I have found very helpful in dealing with hard times in my life is talking about it with someone I trust, such as a friend, a teacher, a priest. By not talking about what’s bothering you, all of that pain and anger is bottled up deep inside of you, which will only keep you unhappy in the future.

Maureen D.