If Adam and Eve didn't get knowledge about good and evil until after they ate the apple then that means they didn't know they were doing anything wrong (or even what wrong was). So why did God punish them/us?
2007-01-30 07:47:40 · 14 answers · asked by thievesstolemypolicecar 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
"God specified that they were not supposed to eat from the tree:
Genesis 2:17
"but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
And Eve made it clear to the serpent she was aware of the prohibition:
Genesis 3:2
"The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
So it was clear that Adam and Eve did know they were doing something they were not supposed to."
Yeah but the serpent told her she wouldn't die. My point is that she didn't know it was wrong to eat the apple or to disobey God.
2007-01-30 08:02:27 · update #1
Interesting aspect of that section. They couldn't have known it was wrong to disabey God until they ate from the tree. It kinda hints that God is evil; he takes pleasure in punishing someone for doing something they didn't know was wrong. It's like ordering Abraham to slaughter his son, and then stopping him at the last minute. Deity or not, that's evil. Maybe we really are made in God's image, and we show that similarity everyday. There is no Satan, God is just displaying multiple personalities, as are we.
2007-01-30 08:08:52 · answer #1 · answered by wiscman77 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
God specified that they were not supposed to eat from the tree:
Genesis 2:17
"but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
And Eve made it clear to the serpent she was aware of the prohibition:
Genesis 3:2
"The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
So it was clear that Adam and Eve did know they were doing something they were not supposed to.
2007-01-30 15:57:30 · answer #2 · answered by parrotjohn2001 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Actually they had knowledge before hand
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
Genesis 3 is when she took the fruit
And also I don't think it was apple, I hope this works
2007-01-30 16:01:08 · answer #3 · answered by E 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As it says in Genesis 2:17, "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" God made it clear to them that they were not to eat the fruit from this tree. He also made it clear to them what the consequences were if they did eat from it. To say that God is evil or that he "trapped" them is a very ignorant statement. God loves us and does not want us to fall into sin... that is why he gives us a list of "rules"/laws of what sin is AND tells us what the consequences are if we do not obey them. Then on top of that he also offers forgiveness when we sin. That sounds like a God that wants us to be with Him in Heaven after death and also to receive the blessings he offers while on earth. But there is this thing called free will and He does not force us to the way He wants. He lets us make our own choices. That to me is the greatest love of all.
P.S.
The Bible never says it was an apple. It only says fruit.
2007-01-30 17:38:53 · answer #4 · answered by ♥ Erin ♥ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two things.
First, being cast out of the Garden was not a punishment but rather was a blessing. Why? Because now they knew the difference between good and evil. Once they had that knowledge, they were capable of sin and being human God knew that they would sin. He cast them out of the Garden so that they would not eat of the tree of life and live forever in their sins.
Second, it not a punishment for us because the whole purpose of this life is for us to be tested to see if we will follow the commandments of God. How could we be tested if we lived in a state where sin and wrong doing did not exist?
It was all part of God's plan from the beginning. Otherwise, why would he put the tree in Garden to begin with?
Because Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of knowledge, God had already created a plan to redeem His children. All of us. This plan was already in place before Adam and Eve were even placed in the Garden. God's plan was to send His only Begotten Son, even Jesus Christ to redeem all mankind if only we would believe on Him and do His will.
From the beginning of time until the death of Jesus, God always commanded his people to offer a burnt offering in order to receive forgiveness of their sins. This burnt offering was to be a perfect, unblemished sheep. This offering was a symbol of Christ, a perfect man who would offer Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
It was not the sacrifice of the sheep that actually brought forgiveness to the peoples before Christ. It Christ that actually brought forgiveness to them. The reason for the sacrifice was for the people to look forward to the day when Christ would come and offer himself as the ultimate sacrifice.
After Jesus was resurrected, sacrifice of animals was no more required because Jesus had mad the ultimate sacrifice. But now a sacrifice of our hearts is required. We must turn our hearts to Him and do as He commanded us.
God had this all planned out from before time started. Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice because He is our brother and He has a perfect love for us. So don't look at Adam and Eve as sinners and dooming us all. If the had not eaten of the fruit, they would still be in the Garden and none of us would be born yet. They were, after all, as little children. They did not have the knowledge to have children. None of us would have been born.
2007-01-30 16:23:32 · answer #5 · answered by rbarc 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is a very interesting question. I think the answer lies in the *knowledge* of good & evil. For example, we tell our young children not to touch the stove, and regardless of their understanding of that action's inherent rightness/wrongness, they obey (or disobey). One could argue that there is no inherent morality in that action other than the avoidance of harm. Similarly, I don't think that Adam and Eve needed to have an understanding of good vs. evil to understand obedience to their Creator.
It says that upon eating of the tree, "their eyes were opened." That indicates to me that they were endowed with some sort of inherent knowledge of morality, or a "conscience."
I think the ultimate distinction is between moral right/wrong and a command. Consider that Cain was held accountable for murdering Abel, yet murder was not specifically prohibited until the law of Moses. There are apparently some laws we simply "have knowledge of" as human beings. These are distinct from the arbitrary commands of God (e.g., worship, observances, etc.).
Hopefully that gives you something to chew on. Great question!
2007-01-30 16:21:21 · answer #6 · answered by Jacob M 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, imagine that serpent did not succeeded in his attempt . Would you exist now here? questionable. Would you imagine that God does not know something? Or can be cheated That presumable God would be questionable too...Matter of punishment originated in fearful and guilty mind. Do you think that God carrying Guilt, for we are created as His image and Likeness? Questionable. Who need that god which as a human carrying disharmony????Life would not be possible with that god. Even we are knowing that if we saying to our kids don't, it will be done in opposite..Do you think that God, an inventor of all of it does not know that? Why would we understand the way God knows and apply it to ourselves? Yes , he created us harmonious or perfect, and we are those whom reluctantly inserted disharmony within, and become of it...It does not mean that harmony is gone...it well mean that it is we are step away from harmony, it is still there in us unused...There is a prodigal son legend speaking of itself...Yes , we know good and evil, but we do not understand that which we know...All of this had been conceived for us to understand that there is no such a thing as good and evil...That would mean to know good and evil....that would exist only for us if we believe in it...well , we have to learn on Earth that which we know being back home....Ingenious creation
2007-01-30 17:09:57 · answer #7 · answered by Oleg B 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well they had been told point blank by God that they were not to eat the fruit from that tree. So while they had no intuitive knowledge of good and evil they did have explicit information on what to do and what not to do. I mean they weren't blithering idiots after all!
2007-01-30 16:01:36 · answer #8 · answered by psycho-cook 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They knew that God told them not to eat from the tree. They didn't know what would happen to them, but they knew not to do it. Before, they could not think for themselves where something was wrong or right, they had to trust God's judgement. That would have been so much easier.
2007-01-30 15:57:05 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
How about ...
"It was a lesson, that's all. Not a punishment, just a lesson.
We chose to learn about good and evil and we simply have the consequences of our decision ... (If there was, indeed, free will). Instead of lingering in the garden, we chose to explore the boundaries ... a beautifully human action ... maybe the trick now is to see beyond good and evil, as well as other dualities, and back to Paradise"
?
Just a thought ... pop it the mix ... or forget it.
2007-01-30 16:23:40 · answer #10 · answered by Dr Bob UK 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋