Just thought I'd way in on the Adam & Eve story. God does say they would die if they ate the apple, and they did die. Just because they died hundreds of years later (according to the Bible) doesn't mean they didn't die. As is common with a literal interpretation of that account, Adam and Eve brought death into the world with the eating of the apple. Thus, before they ate the apple, Adam and Eve (and all living things) were immortal. By eating the apple, they lost their immortality, condemning themselves to death.
That's how I've understood it without the need for "spiritual death". God doesn't say anything about spiritual death, this is true, but he also doesn't say they would die immediately upon eating the apple.
That's how I've understood it without the need for "spiritual death". God doesn't say anything about spiritual death, this is true, but he also doesn't say they would die immediately upon eating the apple.
