Why would god put the forbidden fruit tree in the garden if he didn't want us to eat from it?

Question

Why would god being such a nice guy as he supposedly is put temptation in front of adam and eve? Why test humanity and then get pissed his idea of "free will" backfires? Sounds to me just like god was really bored and needed someone to bully. The whole idea of the garden is as nice as someone putting Jim Beam in front of a recovering alcoholic or telling a 6 year old not to do something.

Answer 1

Yes it seems cruel doesn't it - if God created man in his own image, then why did he need to test them for bugs? Surely if he is all-knowing and perfect, then he would have to have known that they would be swayed by temptation. It is difficult to say whether or not Adam and Eve were educated about the concept of temptation. But I don't believe that we should be born with the sins of other people. We are all held accountable for our actions, but when are the provokers of temptation held accountable?? It's a story that tries to explain the origins of temptation and shame by giving these concepts physical manifestations (snakes etc) to help us RELATE to the stories. I mean it all sounds a little bit too convenient to me that we were made in "God's" image. How would we know whether we were or weren't? Greek fables (which are older than Christian doctrines) existed for thousands of years, with exactly the same purpose - to identify human traits, explain them through story (and fantasy) to try to help us understand the human condition better. That's my personal take on it. I respect that some people believe that the bible is a fact book but it seems more like a fable book to me. Helpful but not necessarily history.

Answer 2

Those that wrote the bible knew that it is not a perfect world so they had to have some way to end the dream and bring it into what is real.

God did not wright the bible. No he did not. The bible was written by humans and re written many times by other humans.

It is a translation of other writings so it was up to the translaters to decide what it said. Every time the Bible is re written it is changed so by now it is not possible to know what was actually said in the old writings.

The language used in the King James version of the bible is far from what it would have been in the area where it supposedly came from. Also the scribes that translated the bible for king James would not have put anything in the book that the king did not like.

Do not just believe because someone said you should. Religion is the most effective way of brain washing people. It is legal as well. Beware of how some use the word of god. Take a good look at what is happening in parts of Asia. Really think about it.


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Answer 3

I think Adziwa has nailed it on the head in such an eloquent and simple way of conveyance. If God is Immortal and Omnipotent, therefore, He exsists at the end and beginning of everything, using these 2 points as 2 boundaries. God must exist at all points along it. Therefore, he must know all the possibilities, that making that decision, either way, if man was to take of the Tree of free will, God's only solution after that would be to try and influence his children, and if God knew everything, he would fully understand that a belief outside oneself, man made belief and institutions, could only restrict the growth of his children. Therefore, I propose, given the natural order of everything to be born, to live and to die, and since we are now in a time where ppl are, sadly, moving away from religion..... is it not, possible when the swing goes to the extreme of no belief at all, the backlash from any natural order would be to start to develop a belief in themselves, which would be more in keeping in 1. the development of us as a race, 2. as individuals and 3. would we not be closer to God in what and who we are in the universe. A Father isn't a father if He doesn't expect, or at least consider the notion, His child will choose, even if it means, possible disappointment. Therefore, God wouldn't be God, if He didn't. No parent would be a parent, if they didn't. And, God is Our Parent Father, and we do choose, and disappoint. But, we should be happy and grateful that we Have That Choice. To Choose! That is the essence of Christianity and God's original plan. Hugs and headbumps

Answer 4

Hi, it`s amazing how this is so misunderstood by today`s enlightened society(nothing personal) but first let me say this,Adam& Eve were quite special, unique in fact, they were far above us in many ways.
they had the gift of integrity which means they were not subject to thier passions as we are,they had full knowledge of thier place in God`s creation,and the ability to communicate directly with God, they were not in any way simple minded pawns but could understand the rules God set by His own authority,they had all this and more.
now how were the early Hebrews to understand this concept and be able to relate it to the generations if we today, do not fully comprehend it, if you stay at this simpl level it fails to satisfy the adult mind seeking to connect with the idea of good and evil.
regardless of the symbolism the fact remains that obediance to God`s will was at stake here or obediance to self.
Adam and Eve had a free choice just as the fallen Angels had and they choose to go it alone without God and discovered that cut off from the Creator nothing can be in balance.
therefore the tree is the test of obediance that was fair and right and could just as easily had a very different outcome.

Answer 5

Think about it in other terms. What does the church always preach against, in one way or another? Sexual stuff. "Forbidden fruit" is a metaphor. It's just another story, like all of the other tales in that book, because people are looking for answers and when they can't find, them, they need excuses for shifting blame. You've heard the old saying about "going down the garden path". Eve (who supposedly was nude) + the garden + and temptation from an outside source = _________ ??? Do the math!

Answer 6

Not that I think anyone who has answered this question is necessarily wrong, but here's another way to look at it. And I'd just like to point out that I am not a Christian so I'm not being biased here.

What is being 'good'? How do we know what being good is? Surely if the ONLY way we could behave was to be good to each other, ignorant of the idea that we could be any other way, we would not really be being good? To be good, you have to know that there is something that is 'wrong'. To understand that there are 'right' choices, we have to understand that there are 'wrong' choices.

So who gets to judge what's right and what's wrong? Christians believe God does, but even they accept that people have to learn, by making wrong decisions sometimes, what works for them. We are most of us kept from our most base instincts by the knowledge of a) nasty consequences and b) the idea that we wouldn't want this to happen to us.

What this story is perhaps designed to tell us about God, was that he didn't want people who were sheep, mindless disciples doing 'good' because they were too ignorant to do anything else. God gave humans the choice, so that we could each learn for ourselves what the best way to live truly is.

Answer 7

The story of Eden is symbolic. The "tree" of Knowledge and Life are the same tree, as
the tree symbolizes the dimensions as they rise up from us to the where the
Source of Life is.
Eve, being made from Adams "rib", the middle of his body, shows that women are
not above, or below a man, but equal to him in the eyes of our Creator.
The serpent symbolizes knowlegde like the staff of the Medical profession. Two
serpents entwined.
It lets us know we have free will, and make our own choices to do right and wrong.
And that there are outside influences that don't have humanitys best interests
at heart.

Answer 8

God had told Adam that he could eat freely of EVERY tree of the garden EXCEPT for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.
God had the right to make the enjoyment of these conditional. This he did by telling Adam that continued enjoyment would depend upon his not eating the fruit of a certain tree. In doing so, God was not asking anything too difficult of our first parents; just a simple prohibition
(Genesis 2:17) Everlasting life was set before this couple and their offspring, conditioned only on their obedience. It would be a disgrace upon God’s entire family in heaven and on earth for Adam to be so disrespectful as to disobey God.

Consider the Bible’s account about Adam and Eve. Eve knew of God’s command not to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and bad. She evidently did not feel hemmed in by this divine prohibition. When questioned by the serpent, Eve did not complain about her lot, but replied simply by restating God’s command:

By their actions Adam and Eve showed that they did not love their Creator, Jehovah God, with all their heart, soul, mind and strength; they showed that they did not appreciate all that God had done for them

God had given Adam everything for his enjoyment. Adam himself did not make the earth to produce the fine things to eat. He did not create his beautiful companion Eve. He did not make his own body, with the faculties that enabled him to enjoy the things he had. But, while Adam loved and enjoyed the fine life he had been kindly given, he did not follow through in an obedient way.

Eventually Adam came to put his supposed interests above those of his heavenly Father. He thought more of his immediate desires than of the family of God and the offspring that he was to have. Even imperfect humans despise a man who is a traitor to his family and who sells his own children into slavery and death. And that is what Adam did.—Romans 7:14.

Answer 9

He put it there to give Adam and Eve a choice. It's no different than today. We all have choices to make, whether good or bad. God isn't bullying anyone, but simply gives us free will to make the choices in our lives. Whatever we choose, either good or bad, we have to deal with the consequences that come with our decisions. God isn't a vengeful God. He loves us and only wants what's best for us, but we don't always make the best decisions for ourselves. He's not going to deny us the opportunity to screw up our lives if we choose, but will give us the guidance we need to make those tough decisions and stay on the right path.

Answer 10

We are tempted every day of our lives! While I agree that it is a story someone made up, it's a good story with a message and it fills a need. God did want us to eat from the tree... that's why he put it there. It reminds us that giving in to temptation may be pleasurable at the moment, but you must be ready for the consequences that will occur down the road.