If Adam and Eve didn't understand "good"and "evil"?

Question

before eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, why was god so angry with them? How could they know that it was "wrong" to disobey god before they understood good and evil?

If you don't know what WRONG is, how can you know it is WRONG to disobey god? Just because he said don't do it doesn't mean anything to a person with no concept of RIGHT and WRONG.

Even if they understood "no" in the sense of "don't do it" how could they possibly understand the consequences?

Answer 1

This is true enough but it is my understanding as well that even if they did not understand as you put good and evil. Before asking what the meaning of the text is, we should ask how the text intends to communicate this meaning to us.

Hebrew narrative is sparse in its use of words. Every word is chosen carefully to convey the intended meaning. it engages not only theology, but also philosophy, science, sociology, anthropology, and more in a form that is thoroughly artistic.

If God didn't want humans to revolt against him, why did he put the second tree in the garden? Because right at the heart of what it means to be human is to have the freedom to choose.Since we choose freely, we are fully responsible for the choices we make.We are made in God’s image—and the God of the Bible is a God who chooses.

They were young in spirit and in the "Garden of Eden" which was a place of spiritual growth. One day this tree was placed in their garden. God let them know it was there. God told them they would die. But I do not belive it was in the literal since. It was to die as innocent as a child and becoming a spiritual adult. They were told they would no longer live in Eden.

They made their own choice. God was waiting for that moment. You honestly think he didn't think they would eat from the tree. He knew they would it was a matter of time.

When that day came he talked to them just as a Father would talk to his child. It was hard to watch your children grow up before your eyes. When they grew into the full likeness of God. God told them what would be in store for them on the next journey. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side [e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Genisis 3:21-24

Then they had children of their own. To grow and teach to become into his own. To make choices good or bad. It is the price of having a child. To know that someday they will start to make their own choices. Good or bad you will still love, and share with them. Just like God did with them.

I hope this helps shine the light on this for some.ooh eep sorry for the long read.
As always,
Seek,Discover,Love

Answer 2

That's a funny question to ask, because there's a difference between knowing good and evil versus recognizing good and evil.
Just because you may know good and evil doesn't mean that you'll recognize either good or evil.
You can convince yourself that you're doing good, but how do you know for certain that you are not doing evil?
Like wise the other way around.
God said to Adam do not eat from the tree for if you do you will surely die.
When did God tell Adam that if he eats from the tree he will sin? People assumes that.
People to this day sins and don't know they are doing so. Also, to this day people don't recognize when they are doing good or evil, they only assume they do.

Answer 3

They disobeyed God because they had free will to do so. Free will is not sin. Free will was given to them by God. The act of choosing to eat the fruit, which was disobedience and the fact that they choose Satan's lie instead of God' truth was the sin.

After eating the fruit, they found out what sin is and they learned that sin (they now had the knowledge) has consequences. God had already told them this.

The same with us. To be tempted is not a sin. We have the free will to choose to sin or not. To act on that temptation is sin.

Answer 4

This symbolizes our moving from non-physical, perfect creations, into a state of separation (The Fall). This is what was meant by, "Now you must dig in the dirt...sweat of the brow...give birth..." because before, we had but to think it, and it would be instantly created. Adam and Eve were not two people. They are symbols of our perfect life in the Edenic state.

Of course it is ludicrous to create beings, fill them with a nature rife with urges, and desires...curiosity, none of which they can understand, then punish them when they make mistakes, as if they had been created just to BE punished.

"God" is no outside agency, that compels...God is in and through and as, everything that lives. We are free to discover ourselves, and all our demands to be isolated, produce nothing but illusions. We remain as created. Nothing has, or can, change.

Answer 5

The answer is very simple. God knows that they will disobey and despite that he left the tree of knowledge there. Why? because he wanted them to sin so that they can rely on him for salvation. Pretty selfish huh?

Answer 6

Of course the story is an allegory of man's corporate rebellion against God, but let's work with it.........

They knew that to eat of the tree was against God's will. In fact, imagine a workld where EVERYTHING was 'legal' except this one thing - eating of this one tree. So what does man do - CHOMP.

Then he discovered what real evil was....before that man only knew good.

Hope this helps - imho anyway.

Answer 7

God is a righteous God. The tree of knowledge of good and evil represents more than simply a tree. Consider the two trees in the midst of the garden. One the knowledge of good and evil the other the tree of life. These two trees are unlike any trees we know of today. The serpent which spoke unlike the serpents we know today. we must consider that these things represent something spiritually. The tree of knowledge of good and evil God warns Adam in the day you eat of it you shall surely die. The tree of life we understand gives eternal life if they eat of it the will live forever.
Why would a tree that gives knowledge kill Adam? Disobedience to God?
What could these trees represent spiritually?
The two natures of God?
God is both righteous and merciful. could the tree of knowledge of good and evil be God's righteousness and the tree of life be God's mercy?
What does man have that represents God's righteousness?
How does man know good form eveil?
God's law.
What does the tree of life represent God's mercy?
What do we have that represents God's mercy? Jesus Christ.
Jesus said I am the living manna that falls form heaven those who eat of me will never die.
When man ate of the law he could not live up to God's perfect righteousness and in this way the law was death to man
The wages of sin is death.
The law is not evil but good but man could not be perfect and does inherit death.
It is the reason God provided the tree of life that those who had inherited death could through the atonment live forever with God. This story is of man's fall and God's plan of salvation.
The serpent(Satan)did trick man into thinking he could be like God.
The serpent (Satan) did trick man inot thinking he would not surely die..god was not a righteous God that would simply overlook sin.
Man did inherit sin and death and God did provide a tree of life salvation for those who accept the aotnement God provides.

Answer 8

Along those lines I was also wondering last night, were we ever meant to be happy? I mean, why create people just to make them suffer. If you look at your life, has the majority of it been happy or sad? What's the point, was God just experimenting with us for his own entertainment? I am a Christian, but when my health deteriorates, I really get down in the dumps.

Answer 9

He told them that it was evil. That is how they understood. Also God knew they would eat from the tree. He wasnt angry with them. It was all part of his plan.

Answer 10

They knew that God told them not to eat of the particular tree. Eve repeated the same instruction to the serpent, therefore she knew it was off limits. They disobeyed God, and showed their guilt by hiding from God.