Many people tend to frame the creation narrative in terms of how the world was created and fall into debates about creationism and evolution. The problem with this is that Genesis 1 primarily intends to show us why God created the world, not how. Don’t forget that Scripture is historical, but it is religious history.

Creationists hold to a literal interpretation of the seven days of creation. Many also believe that evolutionists are anti-Christian. However, properly understood as nothing more than a natural theory as to how the earth has aged, evolution poses no problem with regard what the Church teaches. But when evolution attempts to explain the origin of the world without God (e.g. Darwinism) it is no longer acceptable. In other words, the Church tells us that we must hold to the fact that God is the origin of all things…period. He created the world out of nothing. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host (stars, nebulae, planets) by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6). Creation is not the result of blind chance. It is the result of God’s creative act.

We know that Cain’s offering “wasn’t good enough” because Scripture tells us in Genesis 4:5 “but for Cain and his offering he (God) had no regard.” Cain gets angry and kills his brother out of jealousy. His offering wasn’t accepted because he didn’t offer the right kind of sacrifice. We can presume from the fact that they are even offering sacrifices that they knew how and what they were supposed to do. They were to offer a blood sacrifice as a sin offering. (See Lev. 17:11 for an explanation of the relationship between sacrifices for sin and the offering of blood.) As a “tiller of the soil” (Gen 4:2), Cain brought forth a sacrifice that glorified his own labors as opposed to offering the sacrifice God required. This is why his sacrifice was not acceptable. So it wasn’t even that “his heart just wasn’t in it”, he wasn’t even making the kind of sacrifice that he had been told to.

For more information on this topic see pages 78-79 in “A Father Who Keeps His Promises.”

The short answer is “We don’t know for sure because Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly.” We do know from Genesis 4:1-2, 25 that they had Cain, Abel and Seth. Then in Genesis 5:4 it says “and he (Adam) had other sons and daughters.” Certainly they had a whole bunch. Don’t forget that God commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply, and subdue the earth” (Gen. 1:28) We know there was consanguinity (incestuous marriage) in the Old Testament which was then licit, but is now opposed to canon law so there certainly a lot of people being born. (For more information on this, see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04264a.htm.)

We know from Genesis 5:4 that Adam and Eve had lots and lots more children than just Cain, Abel and Seth (especially since they lived so long). Don’t forget that God commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply”. Presumably, their offspring began to intermarry and that is how Cain found his wife. To intermarry so closely now would be against canon law, but it was the only way for humanity to perpetuate itself then. For more reading on this topic, see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04264a.htm.

The short answer is “We don’t know.” Many have speculated, but there is no clear proof of an exact location. Most likely it was located in the Middle East. Scripture is vague on this question giving us this description of its location “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.” (Genesis 2:8-14 RSV) For a more in-depth look at the topic take a look at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14519a.htm

Genesis 3:15 – “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." This verse is called the Protoevangelium (the “First Gospel”) The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes reference to it in paragraph 411:

“The Christian tradition sees in this passage an announcement of the "New Adam" who, because he "became obedient unto death, even death on a cross", makes amends superabundantly for the disobedience, of Adam.³⁰⁵ Furthermore many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the woman announced in the Protoevangelium as Mary, the mother of Christ, the "new Eve". Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.”

Adam and Eve were not “simpletons”. Rather, they were created in a state of “original holiness” and “original justice” and enjoyed a relationship with God that is only surpassed by what we will experience in the new creation with Christ. (CCC 374). Not only that, we know that Scripture tells us they were created in the “image and likeness of God”. They had special dignity. They were the crown of creation. Indeed, he gave them dominion over all creation. Also, they were free from the disordered desires that cause us to sin. (See CCC 377) In other words, they didn’t have our weaknesses and were, in fact, superior to us as preternatural beings. Given that they were more virtuous than us, they certainly had the ability to recognize sin more easily. Sin darkens our intellect and weakens our will and so makes it easier for us to fall into trouble. Saintly people are saintly because they have a very clear understanding of sin and shun it. The same can be said about Adam and Eve. They were in communion with God to a degree that we have not experienced and as such had the ability to know right and wrong.

Did they understand the ramifications of their actions, the answer is an unequivocal “yes”. They knew that if they ate of the fruit they would die. Otherwise, God’s warning of death should they disobey would be meaningless. (See Genesis 2:17) They had to know if they were acting rightly or wrongly.

For a deeper study on the creation narrative take a look at the lesson that is on our website at http://www.salvationhistory.com/online/beginner/class1_lesson2_1.cfm.

Also, see these Catechism references: CCC 374, CCC 355, CCC 357, CCC 375

Since the Sabbath was the sign of the covenant God made with creation, and especially man, we are called to “remember” and “keep” it. (Ex. 20:8) As the crown of creation, mankind, specifically Adam, was called to two things from the beginning: Given that Adam was created in the image and likeness of God, to be in union with God’s royal, so to speak, family, he was to exercise a royal dominion over the rest of creation. (Gen 1:26-31) Adam was also to attain to priestly holiness.

Perhaps it is easier to see how Adam was to exercise dominion over creation since Scripture says that explicitly. Let’s take a look at his call to priestly holiness: Genesis tells us that Adam was called to “till” and “keep” the garden (Gen. 2:15). The two Hebrew words are abodah and shamar. We only see these same words together in one other place in Scripture (Numbers 3:7-8; 8:26; 18:5-6 ) in reference to the duties of the Levites, who were the tribe of priests in Israel after Golden Calf incident in Exodus 32.

The Garden of Eden itself is a type (remember “typology”) of sanctuary and there are many parallels between it and Israel’s tabernacle and temple. For example, all were entered from the East and like the sword-wielding cherubim that guarded the garden entrance after Adam and Eve were expelled, Solomon’s temple is described as having two cherubim guarding the sanctuary.
Adam’s work and worship were meant to go hand in hand. As a son of God, Adam was to be both king and priest. God’s twofold action on the seventh day made this possible. The “blessing” of God made it possible for Adam to be king and God’s hallowing action made it possible for him to be a holy priest. “So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation.”(Gen. 2:3) God’s action on the Sabbath connected these two roles and made them possible. This connection of the role of priest and king is a very important motif as we will see as we travel through the covenants. This role of priest and king is essentially what we are all called to. After the Fall, it is the role that the children of Israel are supposed to play with regard to their brother nations. Noah, Abraham, and Moses display these same characteristics. Most especially in the Old Testament we will see David playing the role of priest/king. Jesus himself is the fulfillment of that role. He is our High Priest and our King. This is why he is called the New Adam. He has restored to humanity what was lost in Adam.

For more information on this topic look at our online Genesis to Jesus Bible study.

By reading the creation story according to the "content and unity" of the entire Bible, we see something else that’s important about the story of creation. We see that the creation account is describing God’s creation of the world as the building of a temple, a holy place where God will dwell and meet His creatures. Like the Temple He later ordered to be built in Jerusalem, the "temple" of creation is a holy place where He will dwell and where men and women will worship and offer sacrifice. We see this in the Book of Job, Chapter 38, where the creation of the world is described in terms of temple building.

In fact, if we compare the creation account with the accounts of the building of the tabernacle and the Temple, we’ll see that both of these holy dwellings are described in terms very similar to those used to describe the creation of the world. For instance, when Moses constructs the tabernacle, God speaks to Him 10 times ("The Lord said to Moses"). It’s no coincidence that God spoke 10 times in Genesis 1 ("Let there be…"). And there are more parallels: God beholds that His creation is good (Genesis 1:31). Moses beholds that his work has been done as the Lord commanded (Exodus 39:43). Compare also Genesis 2:1 and Exodus 39:32 and Genesis 2:2 and Exodus 40:33.

Also: God blesses and hallows the Sabbath when He is done and Moses blesses the tabernacle (Genesis 2:3; Exodus 39:43; 40:9). Finally, both accounts end with a declaration that the Sabbath is holy (Genesis 2:2-4; Exodus 31:12-17). You’ll see the same patterns in 1 Kings 6-8 which describes the building of the Temple. King Solomon consecrates the Temple in the seventh month, on the seventh day of a seven-day feast, offering seven petitions - another not-so-subtle allusion to the creation story. As the Spirit "hovered" over the primordial waters, the Spirit of God fills Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 8:10), as it also did when Moses consecrated the meeting tent (see Exodus 40:35).

In the Temple, it was the "sanctuary," the "holy of holies" that was truly the dwelling place of God, the holiest of places. And in the creation account in Genesis, the Garden of Eden, where God placed the man and the woman, is described in terms similar to those used to describe the inner precincts of the Temple. The Garden was entered from the East, as was the Temple sanctuary. The cherubim posted by God at the entrance of the garden resemble whose posted in the sanctuary of Solomon’s temple (see Genesis 3:24; Exodus 25:18-22, 26-31; I Kings 6:23-29). God "walks" in the garden (Genesis 3:8) as He is said to dwell in the Temple sanctuary (see Leviticus 26:11-12; Deuteronomy 14:23; 2 Samuel 7:6-7).

The creation story is broken into two narratives. Genesis 1 refers to God as Elohim or “creator” and tells us how God brought the world into existence. Through the way the story is told, Genesis 1 shows us how the world was created as a kind of temple. We learn this through the words used and how the creation account is set up. This is certainly how the early Jews saw it. (See the third part of Lesson One in Genesis to Jesus, our online Bible study. You can find it here: In the Beginning : How A Catholic Starts to Read the Bible - III.)

In Genesis 2 we see God referred to as Yahweh, or “lord” and learn how he acted closely and personally, forming Adam out of the ground and placing him in the Garden of Eden. He also gave Adam priestly roles in the Garden of Eden as he was to “till” it and “keep” it, similar language that we see with the Levites later in the Pentateuch. (In other words, Adam was to work in the Garden as a priest, guarding and keeping it.) So, the Garden of Eden is seen as the sanctuary or “holy place” of the temple.