ACCORDING to the HOLY BIBLE, CAIN DID NOT MARRY HIS SISTER

My opponent wrote: "A natural reading of Scripture would lead one to believe there was nothing here until Cain came. " No, it means that the people who lived there before Cain arrived were wanderers. Hence the need for Cain to build a city (a city is defined as a place where a minimum of 10,000 people live, or perhaps a minimum of 100,000 [one-hundred-thousand] people live, depending on the definition you use). Would you prefer to use 10,000 people or 100,000 (one-hundred-thousand) people as the definition of a city? I'll leave that decision up to you: Get a dictionary and look it up, and let me know which number you prefer. "My opponent says that Cain took part in a wedding ceremony, which is not recorded in Scripture." His wife is mentioned, which necessitates both a marriage and a wedding ceremony, actually. "Why would Cain need to have a wedding?" Because he had a wife, and because he was married. Marriage necessitates a wedding ceremony, as you know. " Was it even implied?" Yes, when it mentions Cain's wife: Stop playing dishonest games, okay? "Also, please tell me where the Bible says Cain's wife was not from Eden." It states that he met his wife after he left Eden. " Genesis 4:16 says Cain knew his wife after he left." Exactly! =) "The presupposition here is that Cain was married beforehand." No -- Cain's wife is not even mentioned until after he left Eden. You made up the above statement, and it does not appear anywhere in the scripture. As much as you may want them to be, your words are not scripture. " We don't know when Cain killed Abel, or if either of them were married." If you actually don't know those things, then you are unqualified to speak on the subject of when Cain was married. " It seems evident from this passage that Cain was indeed married when he left Eden though. " You just made that up, and it is patently false: The actual scripture states that Cain met his wife after he left Eden. Your words are not scripture. My opponent says that Cain's decendants did not build the city, then he goes on to say Cain's decendant (Enoch) helped him do it. The Bible does not say who helped in building this city."" Okay, that was my fault for not being clear enough: I meant that Enoch's descendants did not build the city. You are very clever to point out the fact that Cain's son Enoch was his descendant, but Enoch is only ONE of his descendants, and my word was "descendants." In fact, Cain's "descendants" did not help build that city, but I will let you have that point nonetheless. The fact is that the Holy Bible states clearly that Cain and his son Enoch built the city, and it does not mention any of Cain's descendants other than Enoch helping the two of them build it. Now, a city is defined as a dwelling place for at minimum 10,000 people (or a minimum of 100,000 (one-hundred-thousand) people, depending on the definition you want to use). Where did the other 9,997 (or the other 99,997) people come from? If it was just Cain and his wife and his son Enoch living there in the Land of Nod, as you seem to think, then there would have been no need to build a city there. A simple hut would have been sufficient for the three of them. However, there were clearly at least 10,000 (or 100,000) people living in the Land of Nod at the time that the city was built. All of those people, except Cain and his son Enoch, were clearly unrelated to Cain, and unrelated to Adam and Eve. Cain's wife, clearly a native of the Land of Bod, was also unrelated to Adam and Eve -- except by marriage. "random numbers claiming a city is "10,000 people,"" There is nothing "random" about the number 10,000. The number 10,000 is very specific and easy to pin down, so I don't know where you got the idea that the number 10,000 could somehow be "random," but if you don't like that number, then we can agree to define a city as being a dwelling place for a minimum of 100,000 (one-hundred-thousand) people instead. Please settle on one of those two numbers, because those are the standard minimum population numbers in order for a place to be classified as a city. Look up the word "city" yourself, and you will find that some dictionaries insist that 100,000 (one-hundred-thousand) people are required in order for a place to be considered a city. However, I took the more conservative number of 10,000 (which is actually better for your case than the other number listed in the standard definitions). If you would rather go with 100,000 (one-hundred-thousand), that is fine with me! In either case, there were clearly at least 9,997 people living in the Land of Nod at the time that Cain arrived there, all of whom were totally unrelated to Adam and Eve. "when we have no reason to believe 10,000 people even existed." The Holy Bible clearly states that there was a city there, built by Cain and Enoch. A city is at least 100,000 (one-hundred-thousand) people by some definitions, and by others, a city is at least 10,000 people. Which number would you like to use? I am fine with either one, but you can't rationally deny the fact that the word "city" refers to a very large number of people, and that the Holy Bible uses the word "city" to refer to the living quarters that Cain and his son Enoch built. Please look up the word "city" yourself, and settle on one of those two numbers -- either 10,000 or 100,000 (one-hindered-thousand): That is what the word "city" means. "My opponent then goes on to say that all of Nod never met Adam or Eve, nor did Cain's wife." Adam and Eve never went to Nod, and neither did anyone from Nod ever travel to Eden. Therefore they never met. "There was no-one with which he could mate." That's because Adam was in Eden, not in the Land of Nod. "Adam named Eve what he did because she was the mother of all men." That is patently untrue: For one thing, Eve was not Adam's mother, although Adam was clearly a man. Therefore she could not possibly have been the mother of "all men." " This means all of mankind came from Eve." Adam did not come from Eve, so that is also a patently false statement. Cain's wife, who was native to the Land of Nod, also did not come from Eve. Adam and Eve had no female seed until after Cain had already left Eden. In fact, it is doubtful as to whether Adam and Eve ever even had any daughter. The 9,997 (or 99,997) people living in the Land of Nod, for whom Cain and Enoch built a city, also did not come from Eve. "The Bible does not indicate how many children Adam had nor when they had them." If that is true, then you have no basis to make any of the claims that you have made in regards to the number or gender of Adam's children, and all of your statements about Adam's children are therefore unreliable. "Cain and Abel are not necessarily the first children," Yes they are. Also, Adam and Eve are not necessarily the first humans. In fact, according to the Holy Bible, Adam and Eve cannot possibly be the first humans, because there were clearly at least 9,997 (or at least 99,997) people living in the Land of Nod at that time, which means that those people also had to have descended from a similarly large group of people -- a large group of people who necessarily predated Adam and Eve. " nor are they necessarily the only ones who lived before Seth." Yes they are. " Genesis 5:4-5 says that Adam had Seth when he was 130 years old. This passage also says that Adam had "many" sons and daughters." That is debatable: The way that verse is worded, it could have been referring to Seth having had daughters, not Adam, because both Seth and Adam are mentioned in that verse, but the person who had daughters is referred to as "he," not specifically as Adam. In any case, Adam and Eve clearly had no female seed (neither daughters nor grand-gdaughters) prior to Cain's banishment. Therefore, Cain's wife could not possibly have been his own sister. "Genesis 5:4 tells us that Adam had daughters" No, actually, it says that Seth had daughters, and in any case, neither Adam not Seth ever had any daughter until long after Cain's banishment, and not until long after Cain met his wife in the Land of Nod, and not until long after Cain had Enoch as his son and built a city with Enoch for the 9,997 (or 99,997) people who were living in the Land of Nod. Therefore, Cain's wife could not possibly have been his own sister. ", but it does not tell us when this happened." If you actually think that it doesn't tell us when it happened, then you are unqualified to make a conclusive statement as to when it happened or when it did not happen. " Is it illogical to think that within the 130 years Adam was alive before Seth that he did not have more children" If you claim that he did, then you are just making it up: Your words are not scripture. "We don't know when Cain killed Abel." If you actually don't know when Cain killed Abel, then you are unqualified to speak on the subject of when it happened or when it did not happen. "This is plenty of time to have more children before Seth is born!" The Holy Bible does not say that he did, though -- YOU are the only one who says that, but your words are not scripture. "that does not give us any clue as to how many daughters were there." If you actually have no clue as to how many daughters were there, then you are unqualified to speak on the subject of how many daughters were there. "Acts 17:26 says we all come from one blood" That refers to Noah and his family, not Adam and Eve. "In conclusion, there is no reason to assume Cain married anyone but his sister," Cain never had a sister, actually, and the Holy Bible clearly states the fact that Cain's wife was native to the Land of Nod. Therefore, Cain could not possibly have married his own sister. Thank you for trying, but sadly for you, the actual scripture contradicts you on every point that you tried to make.