Freewill vs. serpent's interference?

Question

Some christians claims that freewill was the primary cause for Adam/Eve to commit the first sin(even though the serpent intervene so it negates the function of freewill) .....However, if the serpent wasn't present, would Adam /Eve disobey god's word???

note: according to some theist, the serpent was there to test Adan/Eve, but they failed to include that it's still possible to test Adam/Eve's freewill without the serpent. i.e. without any intervention, just god's instruction vs. Adam/Eve's choice.

Answer 1

What many people fail to consider is the fact that Adam and Eve had no knowledge of good and evil before they ate from the tree. They only really knew what they had done afterwards.

Also, if they were so naive and did not understand good and evil, why would they think the serpent was lying to them? It contradicted God, but it said God didn't want them to eat from the tree because it would make them LIKE God. And wouldn't they want to be more like God? Regardless of what the serpent said, they still had no knowledge. They had no reason to suspect that part of God's OWN CREATION would deceive them.

This is really a matter of free will and ignorance...

Answer 2

Of course you are perfectly right but freewill had nothing to do with the serpent . It had everything however to do with the tree that was placed in the center of the garden.

You see although the serpent influenced Eve, the other things that were given to Adam was also sources of influence. So the only thing that could have allowed him to disobey God was to eat of the tree that God told him not to.

The serpent influenced eve but he did not make her sin. That was an act of free will.

There's a popular saying where i live. It says "you can take the horse to the river but you cannot make him drink"

Answer 3

God did create Adam and Eve sinless and holy. both free will and perfection can co-exist at the same time in the same individual. The angels are created pure and holy and they too have been given a will to choose. That's how Lucifer was kicked out of heaven. So to answer your question (if I understood it right) yes Adam and Eve could just as well have fallen into sin/disobedience with the enticement of the serpent.

Answer 4

The problem with speculating with questions like these, is that they never can go anywhere. We have to deal with what the situation is NOW.
To try to go back and say, "Well if there wasnt a serpent," or, "What if Eve didnt eat", or "What if Eve ate, but Adam didnt".
One thing we need to understand is: We are sinners NOW by choice and by practice. God has given us a remedy for that sin. Its up to us to take it.
But to speculate on what might or might not have been, or even have been possbile does us no good at all.
All that really leads people to do, is to think that somehow God could have done it "different" and (secretly in our hearts) maybe it might somehow be HIS fault.
Now, THATS really DUMB!
When God says that He is perfectly Just, then He is PERFECTLY JUST.
Because like I've said before in a couple of answers;
If we think that we can be "right" and somehow God can be "wrong", then we have really gone off the rails.

It is no more possible for us to be "right" and He be "wrong" than it is for an infant to be heavyweight champion of the world.
The fact that such a thought ever even enters our dumb little minds, just shows how bad of sinners we really are.
We are far, far worst than even the worst that WE can imagine.
We are just used to being sinners, and so it doesnt seem so bad.
To a Perfect Being, we must really be disgusting.

But the miracle of miracles is, that He REALLY loves us ANYWAY.
And DIED for us.
THAT truely IS Amazing Grace!


....theBerean

Answer 5

A/E had free will. Eve could have told the serpent to buzz off
and she could have ignored what he said. She CHOSE to believe the serpent instead of God. This is an example of the misuse of free will.

I'm sure at some point, with or without the serpent, there would have been opportunities for disobedience, but we'll never know if the would or wouldn't have.

Intervention does not negate the operation of free will.

Answer 6

quite often when you go to an idea or concept through people or events in fiction or fantasy it lacks completness .Nothing beats reality and possibly that's why they say experience is the best teacher . Even the greek and roman mythology although designed specifically for explaination did not suffice entirely.In reality there are no talking serpents and free will is still limited by circumstances be it one abilities or ones environment. free will may not be a gift from a deity but just the nature of existence where we have choices for even animals that are not supposed to have a soul make choices .

Answer 7

Whether the serpent had been present or not, Adam and Eve had the opportunity to choose to eat or not eat the forbidden fruit. The serpent was merely a messenger.

Given that the tale is a metaphor for human behavior, I believe that it says that temptation is always present, and that we choose to respond to it.

Answer 8

God gave us loose will so as that we could decide for to stay and have faith what we could desire to. How is God understanding what you will decide for predetermination? Is here prophecy or predetermination? in case you observed somebody leap off a bridge, do you have a difficulty predicting that they'll hit the water? in case you had time to jot down that down in a e book in the previous they hit the water, could that be predestination? No. That individual made a call to bounce, you purely take place to understand the outcomes which you assume, for this reason, prophecy. it is not that confusing to understand.

Answer 9

Obedience was the test. First test , last test? who knows.

Jesus took the sins of the flesh. Crucified the flesh. Spirit living on.

Answer 10

The whole thing is entrapment, pure and simple, and would be thrown out of any decent court.