1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Why did he create evil when he could pick and choose what he created and what he did not? This surely suggests that god thinks evil should exsist - but why?
2006-07-17 13:56:45 · 15 answers · asked by marc k 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
to Jim Darwin, there is also things called 'free thought' and 'healthy debate' and also even one phrase broadening horizon. Pandora was a nice girl, troubled, but nice!
2006-07-17 14:02:21 · update #1
Warning - I'm not a religious nut.
The tree in the garden of Eden represents an allegory of man becoming man rather than animal. This is found in virtually every religion.
Prometheus brought fire from the gods, and we became like them. Eve took the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and we became like God. Even scientists imagine this as an event (probably a long string of events) where we became aware of ourselves, became capable of good and evil, and were clearly no longer animals.
The notion thrums through all of civilization, and it belongs in any self-respecting religion.
Either all of that, or the Bible is a literal document and God is a sicko trying to torture us with all these pitfalls. Whichever way you want to read that.
2006-07-17 14:02:45 · answer #1 · answered by Steve W 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Would there not be goodness if everything and all were inately and completely good? For if all were the same, all would not have anything to campare with and therefore not be "good" as we know good to be. It is paradoxal, yet if cosmic duality does not exist then what does-just the one that is nothing. Knowledge may bring forth answers, but once realized can not be taken away. If one has NO knowledge of good or evil then neither good nor evil exists to the one lacking in knowledge & since there were only 2 humans, neither of which KNEW of good nor evil, goodness had yet to "exist" to those 2 humans.
2006-07-17 14:04:19 · answer #2 · answered by Nik 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because it's a widely-known but little-accepted fact that God is a bastard and loves nothing more than to torment his flawed creations with temptation and sin that leads to a torturous afterlife, or a mortal life of abstinence to get into an eternal paradise.
Or not. As I said, God is a bastard and may well choose not to exist at all.
Either way, a lot of people are getting screwed.
2006-07-17 15:00:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think we can actually state that it was the tree itself that was evil, a tree is simply a tree and has not the power to be good or evil in and of itself. I think the tree was put there so that there was something for man to obey or choose not to. They only had to obey one command and they failed, how much more do we fail every day........man still falls for ~Satans lie, you can be like God, look around and tell us that's not obvious.
2006-07-17 22:11:52 · answer #4 · answered by good tree 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was not an evil tree. The act of eating from it was evil. As Adam and Eve both found out paying dearly with their lives.
2006-07-17 14:02:04 · answer #5 · answered by Bimpster 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The tree was not evil....re-read....it was the tree of KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL.....Adam and Eve were innocent, like children. Don't we protect our children as long as possible from evil to protect their innocence?
God did not create evil. He creates only good. He DID create free will, and misuse of free will led to evil entering the world.
2006-07-17 14:51:33 · answer #6 · answered by Mommy_to_seven 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a metaphor about the transition from ignorance to awareness of one's own mortality.
The churchies will say "The Bible has metaphors? No, it has to be taken literally at all times!" and then go on to talk in metaphors.
2006-07-17 14:01:31 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was a symbol of God's right to determine and set the standards for man as to what is "good" (approved by God) and what is "bad" (condemned by God).
2006-07-17 14:03:28 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
well let me see...God loves us so much that he gave us free will between good and evil. He wants us to love him unconditionally without any pressure. You wouldn't want somebody to love you because you have money or whatever that might tainted love.
2006-07-17 14:09:45 · answer #9 · answered by papageorgeo510 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a matter of chose, God wants man to serve him freely
2006-07-17 14:01:10 · answer #10 · answered by old man 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋