Drich/CG:
Nihilist is pointing out what has long been my whole objection to the Eden fable, and I'd like to expand on it.
The fruit of the tree in question imparts knowledge or good and evil. Prior to eating the fruit, Adam and Eve could not possibly have known that disobedience to God was evil. In fact, they couldn't not have known what they were doing was 'wrong' until after committing the act for which they were punished. It isn't as if they were simply ignorant of the rules, they didn't have the requisite knowledge to know right from wrong. In fact, the concepts of right and wrong would have been completely alien to them. This is roughly like demanding that an infant solve the Three Body Problem and then punishing them for getting it wrong.
It gets even worse. God tells Adam that if he eats from the Tree, he is 'doomed to die'. But we are also told that death and decay came into the world because of Adam's sin, so Adam couldn't possibly have known what the phrase 'doomed to die' meant.
So, not only has God placed temptation in front of two people who were (essentially) ignorant children, but he tells them that if they yield to this temptation, they will be given a punishment they can't possibly comprehend.
To paraphrase the late, lamented Terry Pratchett, God isn't so much a moral lawgiver as a card cheat who won't tell you the rules.
Boru
Nihilist is pointing out what has long been my whole objection to the Eden fable, and I'd like to expand on it.
The fruit of the tree in question imparts knowledge or good and evil. Prior to eating the fruit, Adam and Eve could not possibly have known that disobedience to God was evil. In fact, they couldn't not have known what they were doing was 'wrong' until after committing the act for which they were punished. It isn't as if they were simply ignorant of the rules, they didn't have the requisite knowledge to know right from wrong. In fact, the concepts of right and wrong would have been completely alien to them. This is roughly like demanding that an infant solve the Three Body Problem and then punishing them for getting it wrong.
It gets even worse. God tells Adam that if he eats from the Tree, he is 'doomed to die'. But we are also told that death and decay came into the world because of Adam's sin, so Adam couldn't possibly have known what the phrase 'doomed to die' meant.
So, not only has God placed temptation in front of two people who were (essentially) ignorant children, but he tells them that if they yield to this temptation, they will be given a punishment they can't possibly comprehend.
To paraphrase the late, lamented Terry Pratchett, God isn't so much a moral lawgiver as a card cheat who won't tell you the rules.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
