A question of Adam and Eve

Mr. Dictator

A Chain-Smoking Fox
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So I've read up quite a bit on the old story of the Apple, Adam, and Eve and such, and I can't seem to grasp one thing I see as important in it all.

Besides the fact that God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, why would that be a bad thing to do?

I suppose what I mean is, why would God not want his creation to know the difference? Also, if they did not know the difference between good and evil, how could the very act of disobedience of God be seen as good or evil from their eyes?

Also, it seems that gaining knowledge from a plant led to the idea that all plant-based knowledge is deemed as evil in the west.

Could it not have been God's intent that we eat from it? After all, the snake was in the garden, which supposedly couldn't house evil inside, so God allowed the snake to be there as a tempter at the very least it seems.
 
God was afraid that with knowledge mankind would one day rival his power and surpass it.
 
Did evil even exist before the snake?
 
God was afraid that with knowledge mankind would one day rival his power and surpass it.

That would seem impossible, though. Since God would be the creator of all, he would of course possess far more intimate knowledge than we could imagine.

My own theory is that God could have wanted us to have knowledge so that we could be the stewards of his creation. Sentience and self-knowledge are necessary to that as you would have to be able to think inwardly in a world where God is not present externally (Christians of course will say that God is everywhere, which would have to be true in a sense, but he obviously doesn't leave many external cues to the correct actions to take. We do have the ability to process information and come to a conclusion that would line up with what many would say are God's wishes).

This would mean that we are not at all antagonists to our fellow man, but instead creates a possible network of mutual reliance that we haven't fully tapped into in my opinion. Also, it would mean we are not conquerors of nature, but groundskeepers.

Of course, this is just an interpretation and not meant to be taken as my pure stance. Just brainstorming.

Did evil even exist before the snake?

It would have to, just not in our cognitive abilities before eating the fruit. It was merely the fruit of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil. Meaning, in my opinion, the ability to discern to the two and make decisions.
 
That would seem impossible, though. Since God would be the creator of all, he would of course possess far more intimate knowledge than we could imagine.
Well we are on the verge of creating life, something that Christians believed was only in the power of their God.
It seems that their God has some competition. As the saying goes; Mankind created God in their image. That implies that they can also destroy him.

It would have to, just not in our cognitive abilities before eating the fruit. It was merely the fruit of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil. Meaning, in my opinion, the ability to discern to the two and make decisions.
IIRC Lucifer and his followers fell before God created humanity. So yeah evil was there from the beginning.
 
Why are you trying to make sense of that story in the first place?

Because its the reasoning for how we got where we are in this world for a very large amount of people? Its probably best to discuss it to some extent?

Plus, even as a nonbeliever, I think its never a bad idea to put yourself in the shoes of a believer and think from their perspective every now and then. You can't really properly have a discussion with someone if you never go to their turf every now and then.
 
As we all know, humans aren't capable of resisting evil. By knowing about evil, it becomes impossible to avoid becoming evil.

My two cents, anyway.
 
As we all know, humans aren't capable of resisting evil. By knowing about evil, it becomes impossible to avoid becoming evil.

My two cents, anyway.

Then how does evil persist in this world?

Also, why is it that the knowledge of good and evil is taken for granted as inherited? If I drink lots of milk and get strong bones, my children would still have to drink a lot of milk to get the same effect.
 
We must destroy the evil that Eve put in our species. When this happens armageddon can begin, and Satan and Christ can do battle. Then the faithful will be brought to heaven and live eternity in happiness.
 
We must destroy the evil that Eve put in our species. When this happens armageddon can begin, and Satan and Christ can do battle. Then the faithful will be brought to heaven and live eternity in happiness.

I thought she brought knowledge of evil into humanity, no evil itself. You don't have to be evil, just because you know about it.
 
We must destroy the evil that Eve put in our species. When this happens armageddon can begin, and Satan and Christ can do battle. Then the faithful will be brought to heaven and live eternity in happiness.

Eve couldn't have known what she was doing before eating the fruit though. I especially don't see why Eve should bear the brunt even if she did though, because it would mean Adam committed an equal "sin" also by putting a woman between him and God.

And after the evil is gone, armageddon can begin? That seems a little redundant.

Am I the only one who prefers life with the ability to distinguish between good and evil to mindless paradise?
 
We must destroy the evil that Eve put in our species. When this happens armageddon can begin, and Satan and Christ can do battle. Then the faithful will be brought to heaven and live eternity in happiness.

like this?

 
So I've read up quite a bit on the old story of the Apple, Adam, and Eve and such, and I can't seem to grasp one thing I see as important in it all.

Besides the fact that God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, why would that be a bad thing to do?

It doesn't matter. The story is an allegorical explanation of why humans are the only animals capable of distinguishing good from evil: we did something bad a long time ago to God and he put the "good & evil" curse on us as a result.

I'm not sure why the details don't really make sense, but I suppose this was probably the best story floating around at the time.. or the most popular one maybe?
 
It doesn't matter. The story is an allegorical explanation of why humans are the only animals capable of distinguishing good from evil: we did something bad a long time ago to God and he put the "good & evil" curse on us as a result.

I'm not sure why the details don't really make sense, but I suppose this was probably the best story floating around at the time.. or the most popular one maybe?

It does not matter to a nonbeliever, but it very much does matter to a believer. Especially one who takes it literally. Since we all live on this same planet, a dialogue on the meanings of the most popular story of how we came to be both good and bad to us is important.
 
It does not matter to a nonbeliever, but it very much does matter to a believer. Especially one who takes it literally. Since we all live on this same planet, a dialogue on the meanings of the most popular story of how we came to be both good and bad to us is important.

I suppose, but I don't think it matters to them either. "The Lord works in mysterious ways", etc.
 
You should pray and read Revelations. Prepare your minds and body to accept the lord as your savior from Satan!
 
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