Lets just say that they never ate the fruit from the forbidden tree(which shouldnt have been there in the first place, but whatever). How were they supposed to be sin free?
I mean what if they lied or did something else that's considered a sin? How were they supposed to know if they didnt know the difference between right and wrong?
Cause then he'd be mad at them for something else when they would have had no way of knowing since they were oblivious to the difference between what is right and wrong, or good and bad.
2007-12-19 07:54:04 · 23 answers · asked by nastyagnostic 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Thats exactly right.
The existence of the serpent in the garden, and God's knowledge of it being there refutes the whole doctrine of free will.
Without a knowledge of good or evil, Eve was not equipped to determine whether she was being tempted or led astray. If you don't know good from evil, then you don't know right from wrong, and God allowed her to be tempted into sin without equipping her with the ability to stop it.
Free will cannot exist because God allowed Eve to be tempted by the greatest lier and tempter in history, when she couldn't ever determine whether what he was telling her was good or bad.
This story damns the theory of a loving God.
The knowledge of Good and Evil DOES dictate a knowledge of good and bad. If you don't have the ability to tell the difference between good or evil, then you can't pass judgment on what is right and what is wrong.
2007-12-19 08:00:16 · answer #1 · answered by ɹɐǝɟsuɐs Blessed Cheese Maker 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The "knowing" difference between good and bad was more than knowledge. The temptation was "to be like God, who knows" ...
I think Satan tempted the man with the lie "You will decide what is good and what is evil. Not God, but you."
There is no crime if a law does not define it. Their only law was to leave that tree alone, the only possible sin for them was to eat from that forbidden fruit.
2007-12-19 08:07:45 · answer #2 · answered by Darth Eugene Vader 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Therein lies the true definition of Sin. It is "willfully turning your back on what you perceive to be God's will." As long as you do not purposely turn you back on what you perceive to be God's will, are you really sinning? Many theologists will say No. Since Adam and Eve became aware of what is right and wrong, they became able to determine what is the will of God and, hence are able to sin.
From God's perspective, two choices were available:
1. The ability to recognize right and wrong. When wrong is chosen, against the will of God, it's a deliberate smack in the face.
2. Not having the ability to determine. Wrong deeds are not done on purpose (or as an offense to God), and are more like childish mistakes not meant to hurt anyone. Thus, never actually acting against God.
2007-12-19 08:03:04 · answer #3 · answered by Master C 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you don't take the story literally, it makes much more sense. Adam and Eve HAD to disobey God and eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree for humanity to progress.
2007-12-19 08:00:45 · answer #4 · answered by ♛Qu€€n♛J€§§¡¢a♛™ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Adam and Eve knew the difference between right and wrong. They knew eating the fruit was wrong and they knew it was wrong to blame someone else.
The Bible uses the word "know" in the sense of it being part of who you are--your personality and character. When it say a man "knew" his wife, it meant physical knowledge--they had been intimate.
God did not want sin or evil to be part of mankind's inherent character.
Look around. You can imagine what it would be like if mankind did not "know" evil.
2007-12-19 08:05:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
They wouldn't have lied, because they wouldn't have known to lie. If they didn't know good from bad, then why would they think to cover the truth with a lie?
Bad wasn't there then. Bad is the absense of good, so once they ate from the tree, some good was lost.
2007-12-19 08:04:21 · answer #6 · answered by Ashley S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The story was not meant to be taken literally.The forbidden fruit was actually from " The Tree on Knowing". Knowing in the bible means to procreate.
2007-12-19 08:15:45 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah...which also gets into the question of why he punished them for eating the apple in the first place, since, without having had a taste of the apple, they wouldn't know right from wrong in the first place, making it so that they needed to eat the apple in order to realize that eating the apple was wrong...God just loves his mind games....
2007-12-19 07:58:26 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
You're asking a question that even Christians don't know the answer to: What would life have been like if they hadn't disobeyed God?
One interesting take on it is CS Lewis' book Perelandra.
2007-12-19 08:01:23 · answer #9 · answered by slinkywizzard 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
God specifically asked them to not eat from tree of knowledge and they did, it called free will something he gaves us and no one can ever take away we make choices everyday right or wrong WE STILL MAKE THEM NO ONE ELSE.
2007-12-19 08:03:20 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋