What was so bad about eating an apple?

Question

According to the Bible, Original Sin is the scourge of humanity, by which it was necessary for Jesus to be crucified in order to save us from eternal damnation. What is this terrible Sin we supposedly inherited from remote ancestors named Adam and Eve? They ate an apple. It was an apple God told them not to eat. Why were they forbidden to eat an apple from that particular tree? Because God said so, that's why. Doesnt' that mean that God is on a power trip, such that He makes an arbitrary rule and punishes an entire race of people after only two people violate the rule? Is that not the behavior of a tyrant? It was a completely arbitrary rule because eating an apple is not violent or harmful to anyone. The tyranny is reinforced by the threat that anyone who does not believe the story is damned to hell.

Apple, fruit, whatever!

Some of you are corroborating my point by saying that God demands/deserves obedience.

The God I believe in is NOT a tyrant.

Just because I don't buy into your mythology does not make me "the serpent."

Answer 1

It was an apple from the tree of knowledge. Eating the apple gave them human awareness that set them apart from the animals. So with that came the responsibility. Or something like that I don't it just a story dude.

Answer 2

God can't be on a power trip. He is God, and entitled to our respect and reverance. You are thinking on level terms, which is not applicable to this scenario. God is our creator. The creator creates the rules and laws, especially the physical ones. The tree may or may not have been of apples, but that is not important. The main thing is that there had to be a way to tell whether humans were remaining obedient or not. The substance was not as important as the demonstration. They were told, outright, not to do a certain thing, but they did not listen. It is no different than telling someone not to kill. In a perfect state, the whole point was that they "did," instead of "did not," and what they did was not the matter inasmuch as the fact that they went ahead with something they weren't supposed to do. Jesus had to come to earth and sacrifice himself, a perfect human being, because Adam was perfect, but his perfection was lost with his deed. So, a perfect life had to be given for a perfect life. Before Jesus sacrifice, livestock was sacrficed on a regular basis. Such had to be done so only by a high priest. Since the sacrifice was far from being a perfect human, and was in fact just symbolic, that is why it continually had to be done. After Jesus death, we can now find forgiveness through sincere, heartfelt repentance, if we ask for such in his name. You can easily look up Israelite history in terms of what and how the sacrifices took place. Not even a king could replace the high priest in this ceremony. The rule was not "arbitrary," because it was simply made to gauge whether or not humans were remaining obedient. A simple rule had a complex purpose.

Answer 3

There is no proof that the fruit was an apple, this is custom due to the lack of knowledge. It is more likely that fruit was a fig or similar to the natural types found in the area.

As for the sin, God had forbade the eating of the fruit for obedience. Very simple, God made a rule and Adam was to follow it. When Adam taught this to Eve, she didn't understand as Adam did because she added not touching the tree. So when she ate, she didn't sin. But when Adam ate, he understood that he had disobeyed God, thus sinned.

As for "Original Sin", there is none. The sin of eating the fruit, Adam was punished when God said the earth wouldn't give up its bounty anymore so that Adam would have to toil, work the land. "Original Sin" is a catholic myth. A tool of guilt to use against people to force them into accepting thier teachings.

Answer 4

You're missing the obvious symbolism. The apple represents knowledge or to a further extent consciousness, awareness. God basically said to the first 2 "here you go, everything you need, just stay away from the fruits of the tree of knowledge".
Having been enticed by the snake and some would argue by God (as she did create everything) into sampling the forbidden fruit, the 2 had to accept the consequences of their actions. They had to accept all that goes along with awareness (guilt, hate, regret, and love, happiness and joy and sorrow) God casting the 2 out was like HER saying OK now you have to accept the responsibility for everything you do.
Even if as you so eloquently querie that GOD is on a power trip, so what. SHE created all of this and that means SHE gets to create the rules.

Answer 5

Dear what you know is not true. The bible says that God told them not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil not the apple tree (Gen 2.17). God is not on a power trip, he made some rules as your mother and father have at your home. He can do that because He is God and we are ONLY His creation, so we don't have that privilege of questioning the One who made us. Check your heart, I think it's rebellious that you don't want to obey the one who made you and gave all of what you have. That's what Adam and Eve did, disobeying. I think you owe Him an apology and thank Him for your life and every think with it. God only wants what is good for you like your parents (actually more than your parents do). That is why He gave Jesus to Die for You (oh rebellious one). And now your questioning His rights and powerful might. How could you? Your just a dust in His eyes and yet He loved you with all His heart. Yes, even though you question Him, He still loves you and patiently waits that one day you will understand Him (as God and father).

Answer 6

That was a tree of life. They had also a free will in the garden of Eden. They had a plenty of fruit to eat, everything was provided to them. Eve listened the serpent, and to Eve the serpent was dazzling. Serpent told her that she does not have to listen no God. She did not obey God, and she asked Adam to take an apple from that forbidden tree.

So, you call God tyrant??What a nerve...Serpent is talking even today!! What about going to God and ask for His wisdom? And ask Him to help you to understand? Do not be like Eve...you know that story!

Answer 7

I believe that the apple that Eve hes eaten was not the kind of apple like you maybe thinking of.The fruit that GOD was talking about was a sinful doing, for example: every time you do something sinful you are eating the bad fruit and the only way to clean it out of your sprite is to read your BIBLE because it is the good fruit, JESUS CHRIST the fruit of life, the word whom became living flesh.

Answer 8

Well, why did they need to eat that one apple? They had the entire garden at their pleasure...why was it so important that they eat that one apple, the only thing God had told them not to do. The blame was not on God for saying not to eat the apple, it was on Adam and Eve for being jealous of God and wanting His power even though they were mere humans. It was not enought to walk with God and talk with Him, they wanted to have His power...that was what did it. The apple was just a symbol.

Answer 9

Jehovah God created Adam and Eve as perfect humans,placed them in a beautiful garden paradise.They had everything they could need or want.The garden contained every tree containing fruit imaginable.All Jehovah asked in return was obedience.He also warned them what would happen if they disobeyed.And by eating from that tree they showed they were not thankful for all that God had given them.They were saying:"Nobody can tell us what to do.We are going to do just as we please."
God is not to blame for their disobedience.He gave them everything,even the gift of free will.They were free moral agents who could make their own decisions.Unfortunately for all of mankind they made a bad decision.
Had they obeyed and proved faithful,no doubt Jehovah would have given them everlasting life.But they failed the test and we all lost out.Until God in his selfless love for his human creation allowed his only begotten son to come to earth as a perfect human being to pay the ransom price to buy back mankind from enslavement to sin and death.
As imperfect human beings,we cannot and will not ever be able to fully grasp or understand the perfect justice,love,power and wisdom of Almighty God.So to you it may seem tyrannical,but Im sure if you studied God's word you would discover a loving,merciful,gracious God who wanted and still wants only the best for us.And the Bible promises in God's due time,paradise will be restored and so will mankind be restored to perfect health once again.

Answer 10

They (Adam and Eve) also believed that this piece of fruit (never says apple) would put them on equal footing with God. They we're not content with simply being the children of God but wanted to be gods themselves. Through the acts of pride, disobedience and discontentment they set themselves in opposition to God and thus separated themselves from God. This is what all of mankind has done and this is why it was necessary for the redeeming work of Christ to take place. It is God's merciful effort to bring back those who have fallen away.