Isnt it considered a bit extreme to punish Adam & Eve with death for eating a piece of fruit?

Question

How do christians explain this extreme punishment.
of course it wasnt just Adam & Eve that got punished either. According to the bible, we all got punished.

Answer 1

Well, that's the jewish god of the OT - all into punishment and wrath. Like a spoiled brat.

Answer 2

I never saw the story of Genesis as literally true. I never consider alot of the Bible as literal truth, some of it is allegory.

In my view, the story of the Garden of Eden wasn't a literally story, but was an allegory making a point.

What is the "Fruit"? It's the tree of knowledge, the knowledge of Good and Evil. The difference between the two. When Adam and Eve are created, they are innocent. They don't have the ability to do Good, they aren't able to do Evil. They have no idea of what these concepts are, they don't exist for them. At this point, there isn't any real difference between them and the beasts around them.

When they ate of the fruit, they gained knowledge, understanding of what is Good, what is Evil. They became more than animals, BUT there is a price tag. Their innocence is lost, they are no longer able to stay in paradise, Eden.

The point of the allegory isn't literal, it's that with all knowledge, there is a price. A loss of innocence, a change deep inside, and that what is once learned can't be unlearned. When you know, not just believe, not just think, but when you know that certain precepts are true, your whole world view shifts and changes, and you can't go back, your innocence is gone.

Answer 3

CJunk,

God, didn't punish Adam and Eve with death. If you read what He actually said, they committed suicide. He said that they could eat of any tree in the garden, except for one. He said that "On the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die". They knew full well, that if they did eat the fruit of that tree, they would perish, and so they didn't. That is, until they got a little false guidance from a certain reptillian individual. The reason that they perished, is the same reason we do today. We are all mortals. We come from the factory with a "best used by" date on us. God, has given us the awesome gift of free will. We get to choose whether we want God to be our Father, or not. If we do come to God, as humble children, and invite Him into our lives, He sends His Spirit into us, and bonds with us. We become new creatures, part mortal, part Immortal. Our old values of materialism and fear, begin to die out. Love and Wisdom, become the foundation of all our choices. We have embarked on the Path of Eternity, and we are never the same again. If we do not choose to make God our Father, and recieve His Spirit, we expire, so to speak. That way, the Universe doesn't get filled up with self centered, spiritually ignorant, sinful, bringers of pain and suffering. The result of obeying God's Commandments, is that we stop hurting ourselves and others. By the way, you can be a Child of God, and still have fun. I do.

Answer 4

It wasn't eating a 'piece of fruit' for which they were punished. The Bible doesn't specify what type of fruit it was, despite popular conceptions that it was an apple. It was 'the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge'. The punishment was for disobeying God's orders that they could partake of all the fruits in the Garden of Eden but no that particular one. As they disobeyed this order they were expelled from the Garden of Eden and became mortal.

Answer 5

As long as we are asking about the sin and the punishment let's put it into context:

Genesis 3:
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"


Can you imagine? They were able to hear God walking in the garden---they heard Him call their name. They were living in unison with Him and then this snake in the grass comes in and tells the woman that she will have all this knowledge if she eats the fruit. So she eats it and then she gets her man to eat it. And what happens "the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew they were naked."

Can you imagine---there was no shame, no guilt, no death right up until that moment. Then Eve wrecks everything because she listens to that snake in the grass. They sew fig leaves together and then start playing a game of hide and seek with God. It has been that way ever since.

Answer 6

It seems that if Adam and Eve hadn't ate the fruit, they would have existed in the Garden of Eden forever. And we wouldnt be here. Since they ate the fruit and got kicked out and then could have children, we are here. I think it was God's master plan to people the earth.

Answer 7

1) the punishment was for disobeying God, not for eating fruit.

2) We got punished because the sins of the parents are passed on to the children, much like DNA.

Answer 8

No it was the entire universe that was supposedly punished. They pissed it off and it starts to kill everything. Now that is very logical is it not!?!??? Oh, and this is that loving and peaceful god that they are always talking about. Does not sound peaceful and loving to me. It gets pissed and kills everything that exists, sounds more like humans trying to explain life and make something powerful and scary.

Answer 9

Yes it is considering they are promoting eating 5 pieces of fruit and veg a day! B4stards!

*** Message to Homeboy*****

You need to quit copy and pasting stuff people ain't gonna read! Get a life!

Answer 10

God didn't punish Adam and Eve. They chose to try and punish God...and chose their own fate.

Answer 11

you don't know what you're talking about...they weren't punished with death, they just had to leave the garden of Eden..they lived a long time after that...if you're going to try and create trouble, you should at least know what you're talking about and have the facts right.