One of the first stories taught to children is that of Adam, Eve, and the Garden of Eden. According to the book of Genesis, they were the first man and woman ever created by God, and were given the Garden of Eden as their home.
God’s Garden of Eden needed someone to watch over it, and so he created man. Adam was fashioned of dust and the breath of God, and placed in the Garden to tend to it. He was encouraged to eat from any tree in the garden, with the exception of one: The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
All the animals God created did not make good companions for Adam, so another human was in order. Taking a rib from Adam and fashioning a woman from it, God gave life to Eve, who would be Adam’s companion and helper. The two of them were keepers of the Garden, and they were completely unashamed under the gaze of God’s love – they were naked, and living a life in paradise.
The Serpent changed all that. He enticed Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, convincing her that it would not lead to death as God had promised. She ate from the tree and then offered the fruit to Adam, who ate it as well. Immediately “their eyes were opened” and they were ashamed to be naked. They covered themselves and hid from God, ashamed of what they had done.
God sensed they had broken His command, and cursed them to a life of hard labor. Eve was cursed to always have pain in childbirth. They were banished from the Garden of Eden, so that they might not partake of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Adam and Eve went on to have children, and their children had children, and thus the world was populated.
Other religions have their own versions of Adam and Eve. Some religions, such as Islam, believe that Adam was a prophet. Others see Eve as the original sinner, and thus the one who cursed men throughout the ages. Many believe that the story of Adam and Eve is a parable teaching those who read it to beware of temptations, but many also believe the story is the absolute truth, and that Adam and Eve were the beginning of life as we know it.
Back to Sunday School