I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 4-7.

Before I continue with what my thought experiment means for understanding this passage there is something important I want to point out, actually two things.  At harvest time, Cain presented some of what he had harvested as an offering to God, while Abel presented the best portions of the firstborn lambs.  Cain then got upset because God was more pleased with Abel’s offering.  Why was God more pleased with Abel’s offering?  The passage does not make it clear, but I believe the difference was that Cain just offered some of his harvest, while Abel offered the best of his increase.  Then, when Cain was angry, God gave Cain a piece of advice we should follow ourselves.  If we do what is right we will be accepted by God.  As importantly, if we do not do what is right it will leave time for us to do what is wrong.  Let us fill our time doing what is right so that we do not have time to sin.

Now continuing my thought experiment, although now I will extend it to the idea that for the most part the Bible is true.  So, if the Bible is true, the flood story is true.  Which would mean that everything we know about what happened before that comes through Noah and his family.  It would also mean that the our oldest common male ancestor can be no further back than Noah, while our oldest common female ancestor could be Eve.   Interestingly enough, modern genetic science posits that the common male ancestor of all living humans was significantly more recent than the common female ancestor of all living humans.  I also find this interesting.  God had already established a list of animals which were the only ones approved for human consumption.