.
• Gen 2:15-17 . .The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden
of Eden, to till it and tend it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying:
Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of
knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for in the day you eat of
it, you shall die.
FAQ: Why on earth would God plant a hazardous tree in an otherwise perfect
environment? Was that really necessary? What real purpose does a tree
serve that has the potential to kill people and alter human consciousness?
Why even create such a tree in the first place?
A: The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was unfit for human
consumption; but it wasn't necessarily a bad tree. When God finished
creating, He looked over His work on the 6th day and pronounced it all not
just good, but "very" good.
Take for example light. God pronounced it good; but in practice light has the
potential to burn your skin and/or cause permanent eye damage: some
forms of light can even cause cancer.
I don't know what that tree's purpose in the garden might have been but I'm
confident it was no more intrinsically evil than toad stools, poison ivy,
lightening, rattlesnakes, scorpions, avalanches, gravity, tornadoes,
typhoons, hurricanes, cactus needles, tsunamis, the solar wind,
earthquakes, electricity, fire, lava, lead, cadmium, and arsenic and hemlock.
Those things are hazardous, yes, but they all fit into the natural scheme of
things.
Gen 2:15-17 is a favorite among critics because Adam didn't drop dead the
instant he tasted the forbidden fruit. In point of fact, he continued to live
outside the garden of Eden for another 800 years after the birth of his son
Seth (Gen 5:4). So; is there a reasonable explanation for this apparent
discrepancy?
The first thing to point out is that in order for the warning to resonate in
Adam's thinking; it had to be related to death as he understood death in his
own day rather than death as modern Sunday school classes construe it in
their day. In other words: Adam's concept of death was primitive, i.e.
normal and natural rather than spiritual.
As far as can be known from scripture, Man is the only specie that God
created with immortality. The animal kingdom was given nothing like it. That
being the case, then I think it's safe to assume that death was common all
around Adam by means of vegetation, birds, bugs, and beasts so that it
wasn't a strange new word in his vocabulary; i.e. God didn't have to take a
moment and define death for Adam seeing as how it was doubtless a
common occurrence in his everyday life.
Adam saw things born, he saw things grow to maturity, he saw things
gradually wither, he saw their life ebb away, and he saw them decay and
dissolve into nothing. So I think we can be reasonably confident that Adam
was up to speed on at least the natural aspects of death; viz: he was
familiar with mortality and he was familiar with immortality.
Death includes not only mortality but also disintegration.
"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the
saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." (1Cor 15:53-54)
In other words; had Adam not eaten of the forbidden tree, he would've
remained in perfect health, but the very day that he tasted its fruit, his body
became infected with mortality, i.e. he lost perpetual youth and began to
age; a condition easily remedied by the tree of life but alas, Adam was
denied access to it..
Mortality is a walking death, and it's slow but very relentless. It's like Arnold
Swarzenegger's movie character; The Terminator-- it feels neither pain nor
pity, nor remorse nor fear; it cannot be reasoned with nor can it be
bargained with, and it absolutely will not stop-- ever! --until you are dead;
really dead, like as in deceased.
_
• Gen 2:15-17 . .The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden
of Eden, to till it and tend it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying:
Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of
knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for in the day you eat of
it, you shall die.
FAQ: Why on earth would God plant a hazardous tree in an otherwise perfect
environment? Was that really necessary? What real purpose does a tree
serve that has the potential to kill people and alter human consciousness?
Why even create such a tree in the first place?
A: The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was unfit for human
consumption; but it wasn't necessarily a bad tree. When God finished
creating, He looked over His work on the 6th day and pronounced it all not
just good, but "very" good.
Take for example light. God pronounced it good; but in practice light has the
potential to burn your skin and/or cause permanent eye damage: some
forms of light can even cause cancer.
I don't know what that tree's purpose in the garden might have been but I'm
confident it was no more intrinsically evil than toad stools, poison ivy,
lightening, rattlesnakes, scorpions, avalanches, gravity, tornadoes,
typhoons, hurricanes, cactus needles, tsunamis, the solar wind,
earthquakes, electricity, fire, lava, lead, cadmium, and arsenic and hemlock.
Those things are hazardous, yes, but they all fit into the natural scheme of
things.
Gen 2:15-17 is a favorite among critics because Adam didn't drop dead the
instant he tasted the forbidden fruit. In point of fact, he continued to live
outside the garden of Eden for another 800 years after the birth of his son
Seth (Gen 5:4). So; is there a reasonable explanation for this apparent
discrepancy?
The first thing to point out is that in order for the warning to resonate in
Adam's thinking; it had to be related to death as he understood death in his
own day rather than death as modern Sunday school classes construe it in
their day. In other words: Adam's concept of death was primitive, i.e.
normal and natural rather than spiritual.
As far as can be known from scripture, Man is the only specie that God
created with immortality. The animal kingdom was given nothing like it. That
being the case, then I think it's safe to assume that death was common all
around Adam by means of vegetation, birds, bugs, and beasts so that it
wasn't a strange new word in his vocabulary; i.e. God didn't have to take a
moment and define death for Adam seeing as how it was doubtless a
common occurrence in his everyday life.
Adam saw things born, he saw things grow to maturity, he saw things
gradually wither, he saw their life ebb away, and he saw them decay and
dissolve into nothing. So I think we can be reasonably confident that Adam
was up to speed on at least the natural aspects of death; viz: he was
familiar with mortality and he was familiar with immortality.
Death includes not only mortality but also disintegration.
"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the
saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." (1Cor 15:53-54)
In other words; had Adam not eaten of the forbidden tree, he would've
remained in perfect health, but the very day that he tasted its fruit, his body
became infected with mortality, i.e. he lost perpetual youth and began to
age; a condition easily remedied by the tree of life but alas, Adam was
denied access to it..
Mortality is a walking death, and it's slow but very relentless. It's like Arnold
Swarzenegger's movie character; The Terminator-- it feels neither pain nor
pity, nor remorse nor fear; it cannot be reasoned with nor can it be
bargained with, and it absolutely will not stop-- ever! --until you are dead;
really dead, like as in deceased.
_