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WillyPete,
You're right about the Genesis account...it does "appear" that some things are completely out of order. However, I think this can be easily explained. First, Genesis was probably written in Arabic, although no one really knows for sure. This language is very difficult to translate into other languages, because there was no punctuation. No commas, periods, question marks, paragraphs, etc. These were added in later.
Second, you have to look at the "context" or the overall "message". It is generally agreed upon by Biblical students, that there are a few "time lines" in the Genesis account. In other words, the author wrote down a few accounts of the same story, perhaps a general overview of the creation and then another account which tried to filled in the details. This is why some things seem to be repeated and/or out of chronological order.
Would God command Adam & Eve to "fill the Earth" before he created them? Well if you believe in God, you have to believe that He's smarter than that.
As to childbirth; once Adam & Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, God punished Eve by saying the childbirth would be painful. This would seem to indicate that childbirth prior to this involved no pain; why else would it be considered a "punishment", unless God was taking something away?
There are many religions in the world that believe that the original "sin" was Adam & Eve having intercourse. This seems to fit in with what you are saying, however it does seem to contradict God's original commandment.
What about the theory of Adam's first wife, Lillith? This would also seem to explain why Eve isn't mentioned by name until later.
MoJo
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