Would you put a gun in a room with an 8-year old and tell him not to play with it?

Question

If not, why does God put the tree in the Garden of Eden?

Linz: Ok...for you I'll make a switch.

airlines: A tree can't kill you, but apparently it can damn you to hell. I'd rather just die than burn.

Answer 1

how are you comparing a child with an adult? the adult should know better. whats done is done, there is no changing what happened in the past. we can only change our present! we need to quit worring bout the garden of eden and just learn from it.

Answer 2

They were not 8 years old. Adam was in the garden for a long time before Eve was created. That is why he said, "at last!" He had been there long enough to name all the animals. It has been said that 99% of the original animals are extinct today. So that took some time.
they were not born but made so they were perfect and he was smart not some cave man. He had a perfect working brain.
Physocologist today say never raise a child in a house where nothing is unattainable for him. Everything he sees is his.
When he grows up he will be selfish and greedy. That is why big familys seem to be more giving than only children.
He knew as the human family grew he would have to institude laws for the people. Eventually he would have to tell Adam "no". That is the same with our children, eventually we have to say "no", you can't have that. That is mine and you may not have it. How would Adam cope with that?
He had an adult brain and some say he was probably at least 30 or 40 years old when Eve was created. Going by the fact that Jesus and others begin their ministry at 30. Which is when people really begin to be a more adult thinking person.
He was to be the padriac of the whole human race, the leader so to speak. But in a forest of numerous trees and he lacked for nothing he was told one tree he couldn't eat from.
It was not a hardship. It was a simple lesson. It was not the fruit. It was the power. He wanted the ability to decide for himself what was good and bad.
so mankind has had 6000 years to decide what is good and bad for himself. So how is it is working for us?
He gave humanity what they wanted. He also needed time to prove Satan a liar. He said, "just because you created them doesn't give you the right to tell them what to do. They will learn from their mistakes and decide for themselves what is good and bad." We know this angel had a bad motive to start with but a lot of the angels agreed with him. 1/3 of the angels were cast down that was a lot of rebellion.
It was not a small test it was a big thing they did that ecohoed into the heavenly realm.

Answer 3

Maybe, but if I did, it would be because the child had grown up with guns in the house and had their seriousness impressed on him on a nearly daily basis (OK... probably not even under those circumstances, even if the gun was certifiably unloaded).

An yes your point is well taken: is subjecting an "innocent" to a lethal temptation the act of a rational being?

A corollary question is what parent would design a situation where the only two choices were life or death for their children and neglect most of them while giving a select few instructions on the choice, as god evidently did.

Edit:
I'm astounded at the number of people that don't see the similarity of the two.

Second Edit:
It's interesting to note that evidently "nakedness" was evil but before they ate the fruit they were naked and god was ok with that.... So was god ok with with evil if you don't know the difference?

Answer 4

You know, these absolutely simplest bits of plain old fashioned logic are the very ones that simply whip the carpet out from under the legs of the "passionate believers". Hehehe I just had an amusing visual of me putting a plate of pork chops on the coffee table and walking out the room leaving my four dogs there, turning around just as I pass through the door and saying "Now, now, good doggies, don't touch"

While we're at it, why don't we pause to wonder why the heck this all-wise, all-knowing sky-god would even bother to put inside each of our noggins a most incredible computer that actually has the power to expand to receive more data, the more it is used, if it wasn't meant for us to use it at all!
What's that I hear? Ohhh, thaaaat's right. I'm not supposed to question anything. I'm just supposed to do what I'm told. Why not have just created us to be a bunch of robots programmed to do certain things only... mainly of course, tell the Mysterious Invisible Superbeing how wonderful he/she/it is 24/7?

Answer 5

i don't see what god putting the tree in the garden of Eden has to do with putting a gun in the room with an 8 year old. where is the relevance? and no, it would be very stupid to put a gun in the room with an 8 year old. they are very curious at that age and it would be a potential for disaster. and why would even ask such a question when the answer is obvious?

Answer 6

So you're saying that grown-ups only have the mentality of 8-year-olds? Most grown-ups know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. Sometimes we choose wrong, which is sin. That's what happened in the Garden of Eden.

Answer 7

believe it or not, there are 8-year olds that know the damage that a gun does, and would completely understand why they should not play with it, and therefore, leave it alone.

i understand the corellation, and believe that if someone else had played the roles given to adam and eve, there may have been a different outcome.

but, since it's just a fictional tale, i guess, a couple of humans that had obeyed commands and resisted, or at least not fell for deception and temptation, wouldn't teach us how bad and sinful we are just for existing.

Answer 8

The gun analogy makes no sense, for NO ONE in their right mind would do such a thing! For one thing, Adam and Eve weren't 8 years old! God created them as adults. The issue with Adam and Eve involved unconditional love and respect for God. God put the tree there so that Adam and Eve could CHOOSE to obey and therefore experience unconditional love from Him. You put the gun with an 8 year old, then catch him/her playing with it, you're not going to "love" them, you're going to PUNISH them for disobeying BECAUSE you love them! (if you're STUPID enough to put a gun in a room with a kid in the first place) Adam and Eve were MATURE enough to understand the warning God gave them when he said, "If thou eat of this tree, thou shalt surely DIE..." The child in your analogy wouldn't be old enough to understand anything concerning your warning with LOVE. It would only be done in FEAR. That's the difference! God set the tree there to test Adam and Eve's love; you're putting the gun in the room to test the child's fear of authority, for you ALREADY have their love!

Answer 9

Bad analogy. It was more like you putting a bunch of 'Christmas presents' under the tree and telling your kids NOT to open them until Christmas. IF they open the presents early, they get the coal and horse manure within. If they wait, they get the real presents hidden in the closet.

Somebody simply couldn't obey.

Answer 10

Yeah, I mean, if you're going to have something that causes all the sin in the world, make it more fun than an apple. At least make it a cheesecake or something. And God should have known better to allow talking snakes in his garden.