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Then he (HE) made man in his image.

Let me ask you, and I'm serious about this question because I don't know.

Did God simply snap his fingers to create a physical earth, or did he make it in layers?

And did He simply think an adult Adam into existance? Or did he create Adam as an infant, and then nurture him into adulthood by teaching him how to hunt and survive?

What about Eve?

Did God instruct her on how to procreate?

Did He help Eve physically deliver Cane and Abel, and even cut the umbilicle cord, since there were no doctors around to help?

And where did Cane and Abel find wives to marry?

How was it that a city East of Eden was already formed when Adam and Eve were the only ones God created?

I'm serious about some of these questions, and when I read these comments on FR claiming some inside knowledge as to how this amazing universe came into being, my curiosity is peaked and I want to know more.

I am also interested in another question that literal six day creation brings up. If the earth, the universe and all life on it could not possibly have been created over an extended period of time, but rather all at once, why does the Bible say that it actually did occur over an extended time, rather than all at once? After all, six days and 15 billion years are both extended times, only differing in degree. Why didn't God just create everything without ANY time passing? Why did He create everything in six days and in stages when He could obviously have just spoken the word and everything would have immediately been created? Through an understanding of relativity and big bang cosmology, it's possible to give at least one answer to this question. Relativity tells us that in a reference frame with a large gravitational field, time passes more slowly. That is if two observers measure the duration of an event, observer A who is in a high gravitational field will measure a shorter time than observer B who is in a low gravitational field. Big bang cosmology (combined with conservation of mass-energy) tells us that the entire mass/energy content of the universe was initially present in a very tiny volume of space. This would lead to enormous gravitational fields. Perhaps God, as an observer in this high gravitational field reference frame of the early universe, measured a duration of six days for creation whereas we in our low gravitational field reference frame measure this duration as 10-15 billion years.

I'll use the NIV translation of the Bible because it's wording is easier to understand. There are some things that we simply don't know. I could guess and theorize, but that gets a lot of people in trouble. In the end, many of the questions left unanswered are born of pure curiosity. The book of Genesis isn't a blueprint for creation. Why would it need to be? Do we plan to create a new heaven and earth? As I said before, what's important is to recognize who created. Not how. I'll attempt to answer as many of your questions as I can. Please understand that these are still MY readings of scripture and you should ultimately check it out for yourself.

Did God simply snap his fingers to create a physical earth, or did he make it in layers?

I suppose you could say that he created earth in "layers". The first words in the Bible say that "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." STOP The earth remained formless, empty, and dark for an undisclosed period of time. We don't know how long the earth remained at this stage before God went about creating light, land and sea, the heavens, and life. This may explain the apparent discrepancy in the earth's age that many point out. I simply don't know. Let me also point out that God spoke things into existence.

And did He simply think an adult Adam into existence? Or did he create Adam as an infant, and then nurture him into adulthood by teaching him how to hunt and survive?

The Bible says that God created Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. I don't know if Adam was an infant or an adult - it doesn't say.

What about Eve?

The Bible says that God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, he removed one of his ribs, and he made Eve out of that rib. At this point, you could speculate that God made Eve as an adult. It doesn't make sense for him to bring Adam an infant and say, "Here's your wife". But this is just speculation, the Bible doesn't say either way.

Did God instruct her on how to procreate?

I don't know.

Did He help Eve physically deliver Cane and Abel, and even cut the umbilical cord, since there were no doctors around to help?

In Genesis 4:1 Eve says, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth (or have acquired) this man".

And where did Cane and Abel find wives to marry?

There are several theories floating around that attempt to answer that question. Here's mine: Look at Genesis 1:26-31. This is the sixth day and God creates man and woman in his own image and gives them dominion over the earth. THEN go to Genesis 2:7. God creates Adam. Notice that Genesis 1:26 says, "let us make man". Now notice that Genesis chapter 2 refers to Adam as "the man". In other words, I think that the Bible supports the idea that God created other men and women before Adam and Eve came along. The Bible mentions the creation of man on the sixth day but it doesn't mention the creation of Adam and Eve until after the seventh day (when he rested). Why? The first people were created to establish the first of seven dispensations. The first dispensation was Innocence. (The seven dispensations are Innocence, Conscience or Moral Responsibility, Human Government, Promise, Law, Church, and Kingdom) Adam and Eve were used to establish the Edenic Covenant, or test of obedience. If this sounds too kooky let me know. I'm trying to keep this condensed, but I'll elaborate if need be.

How was it that a city East of Eden was already formed when Adam and Eve were the only ones God created?

See the previous explanation.