The fall

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What caused Eve to take the fruit of knowledge?


  • Total voters
    7

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,844
13,558
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#41
I'm going to stick my neck out and say that Adam and Eve didn't have any awareness of the difference between good & evil prior to eating from the tree. Hear (or read) me out on this:

God is the ultimate standard of good. He is the bar against which ALL other things are measured. And everything/everyone falls short of God by default, because they are merely created.

Adam & Eve indeed disobeyed God, but they had no knowledge or awareness of the existence of evil as such (before they ate the fruit). The Scripture say that their "eyes were opened" once they ate.

What it comes down to is that Eve believed the serpent instead of God (although she didn't perceive that the serpent's words were deceptive). And Adam chose to eat the fruit that his wife gave him. They both were effectively choosing that day whom they would serve (cf. Joshua 24:15).

Eve also "added to" what God had said when she answered the serpent. God never said (at least according to Scripture) that they should not touch the fruit; only that they should not eat it.

$0.02

:cool:
God told Adam he could 'freely eat' from the garden except for the one tree. clearly Adam had free will and was able to decide for himself what he considered 'good' to eat.
Adam named every living soul. clearly Adam had an intuitive sense of what was a 'good' name vs. what was a 'bad' name.
Woman saw the tree of knowledge of good from evil was 'good' for food. clearly she knew what 'good' meant vs. 'bad'
Woman considered the tree 'desirable for wisdom' -- clearly she knew the difference between undesirable/desirable and discerned the goodness of wisdom vs. the evil of folly. she was deceived about which was which at this point, but the text makes it inescapable that she 100% had these concepts and understood them.
God gave Adam the job of tending the garden. clearly Adam knew what was good for the garden and what was not good, or he would not be able to do 'his job'
God gave them commands and held them accountable for transgressing those commands. clearly they had the capacity to understand these commands and the understanding that obeying God was good but disobeying Him was evil. clearly God does not punish them for disobedience when they are such mindless idiots that they can't even comprehend whether disobedience is wrong or not.

i'm sorry but your view that they are mindless imbeciles with no comprehension of even the most basic ethics, less understanding than a toddler, is ridiculously absurd. it contradicts the scripture and makes God unjust & evil. it's basically the lie of Satan. it is a most regrettably common view taught all over in the vast majority of todays modern churches, and i'm not surprised you're repeating it here, but it's absolutely rubbish IMO
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
60,334
29,582
113
#42
Definitely an invitation to speculate the simplicity out of the narration
What occurred to me is that whatever the reason Adam ate, it seems obvious he loved his current life more than the life God promised him through obedience... and it struck me, that that very same problem remains a major deterrent, even among present-day Christians. It seems simple enough to understand in terms of man putting his own will ahead of God's will... as if man could possibly know better than God :censored::giggle:
 

calibob

Sinner saved by grace
May 29, 2018
8,268
5,516
113
Anaheim, Cali.
#44
Well why did you/we sin today or the other day? :) Satan is not just another angel. He is full of wisdom. Look what one fallen angel has done. Satan rebellion against God. Man gave in to temptation... a lie.
Never been a sinner, I've never sinned
I've got a friend in Jesus.

So you know that when I die, he's gonna set me up
to the spirit in the sky
(Start riff here)
 
Jul 11, 2020
539
97
28
#45
God told Adam he could 'freely eat' from the garden except for the one tree. clearly Adam had free will and was able to decide for himself what he considered 'good' to eat.
Adam named every living soul. clearly Adam had an intuitive sense of what was a 'good' name vs. what was a 'bad' name.
Woman saw the tree of knowledge of good from evil was 'good' for food. clearly she knew what 'good' meant vs. 'bad'
Woman considered the tree 'desirable for wisdom' -- clearly she knew the difference between undesirable/desirable and discerned the goodness of wisdom vs. the evil of folly. she was deceived about which was which at this point, but the text makes it inescapable that she 100% had these concepts and understood them.
God gave Adam the job of tending the garden. clearly Adam knew what was good for the garden and what was not good, or he would not be able to do 'his job'
God gave them commands and held them accountable for transgressing those commands. clearly they had the capacity to understand these commands and the understanding that obeying God was good but disobeying Him was evil. clearly God does not punish them for disobedience when they are such mindless idiots that they can't even comprehend whether disobedience is wrong or not.

i'm sorry but your view that they are mindless imbeciles with no comprehension of even the most basic ethics, less understanding than a toddler, is ridiculously absurd. it contradicts the scripture and makes God unjust & evil. it's basically the lie of Satan. it is a most regrettably common view taught all over in the vast majority of todays modern churches, and i'm not surprised you're repeating it here, but it's absolutely rubbish IMO
I agree with your line of thought.

I personally believe that the soul is capable of reasoning. He has the ability to think, interpret, know, understand, explain and form opinion about things existing and happening around him and take decisions by choosing between alternatives. This is the way God made him.
 
Nov 15, 2020
1,897
362
83
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
#47
Genesis 3:6 doesn't say "who was with her" it says she ate, she gave to her husband "with her," and he did eat.
there are 3 events there -- her eating, her giving fruit to Adam, and Adam eating. there may be any space of time between these events, and in fact we know there are spaces of time and unrecorded events because God judged Adam because he listened to her -- but gave no record of her speaking to him.


And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you
(Genesis 9:9)
compare this -- God makes a covenant with Noah and his descendants 'with him'
does this necessarily mean that everyone descended from Noah was standing beside Noah when God said this? that includes me & you -- were we there? so 'with your seed after you' isn't saying we're all congregated together on Mt Ararat; it's saying we are all joined together in the covenant. it's 'with Noah' in the inclusion of the covenant, not 'with Noah' in space & time.


so i think that knowing Adam wasn't deceived, he can't have been standing beside her when she was, or when she ate. she eats, and death enters into her. she goes to Adam. she says something to him. he makes a decision and she gives him fruit. now he has fruit 'with her' - and he eats, and then he is in transgression 'with her' -- the 'with her' doesn't necessarily have reference to being in proximity to her while she is deceived by the Serpent and taking from the tree; it can be referencing 'joining her' in eating the forbidden fruit, and i think that all the other details we know about this indicate that he wasn't.

not arguing that Adam didn't sin; of course he did. but for Adam to be standing right beside his wife watching the serpent deceive her, watching her take and eat the fruit, and say or do nothing about it, Adam has to be either a enormous idiot or equally deceived, and he is neither. Woman was first in transgression, and Adam was not deceived. if Adam is guilty of failing to stop her, then Adam is first in transgression because in that case he would have failed before she ate: she thinks she can't even touch the fruit, so if we accuse Adam of allowing her to eat, then he's guilty from the moment she reaches out her hand, but she's not guilty until she eats. this contradicts scripture, because we know she was first in transgression -- and we know Adam wasn't fooled.

but God does not hold him accountable for Woman's sin -- tho Adam himself in his confession takes her sin on himself ((a figure of the last Adam who was to come)). God holds the Serpent responsible; that is who is cursed. Adam & Eve are both guilty of transgression and suffer the results of their transgression, but He does not curse them.
I quoted gen 3 v 6 using the KJV, with a bit of my wording, in a conversational manner.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,844
13,558
113
#48
I quoted gen 3 v 6 using the KJV, with a bit of my wording, in a conversational manner.
in the KJV you will notice "who was" is italicized, indicating it is not part of the actual text but an interpretive addition by the translators. i.e. it is not translation it is inserted words they thought would make the text flow better in English.

if you have a paper copy of the KJV it's a good idea to get yourself a black marker and cross out everything italicized.
 

calibob

Sinner saved by grace
May 29, 2018
8,268
5,516
113
Anaheim, Cali.
#49
Genesis 3:6 doesn't say "who was with her" it says she ate, she gave to her husband "with her," and he did eat.
there are 3 events there -- her eating, her giving fruit to Adam, and Adam eating. there may be any space of time between these events, and in fact we know there are spaces of time and unrecorded events because God judged Adam because he listened to her -- but gave no record of her speaking to him.


And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you
(Genesis 9:9)
compare this -- God makes a covenant with Noah and his descendants 'with him'
does this necessarily mean that everyone descended from Noah was standing beside Noah when God said this? that includes me & you -- were we there? so 'with your seed after you' isn't saying we're all congregated together on Mt Ararat; it's saying we are all joined together in the covenant. it's 'with Noah' in the inclusion of the covenant, not 'with Noah' in space & time.


so i think that knowing Adam wasn't deceived, he can't have been standing beside her when she was, or when she ate. she eats, and death enters into her. she goes to Adam. she says something to him. he makes a decision and she gives him fruit. now he has fruit 'with her' - and he eats, and then he is in transgression 'with her' -- the 'with her' doesn't necessarily have reference to being in proximity to her while she is deceived by the Serpent and taking from the tree; it can be referencing 'joining her' in eating the forbidden fruit, and i think that all the other details we know about this indicate that he wasn't.

not arguing that Adam didn't sin; of course he did. but for Adam to be standing right beside his wife watching the serpent deceive her, watching her take and eat the fruit, and say or do nothing about it, Adam has to be either a enormous idiot or equally deceived, and he is neither. Woman was first in transgression, and Adam was not deceived. if Adam is guilty of failing to stop her, then Adam is first in transgression because in that case he would have failed before she ate: she thinks she can't even touch the fruit, so if we accuse Adam of allowing her to eat, then he's guilty from the moment she reaches out her hand, but she's not guilty until she eats. this contradicts scripture, because we know she was first in transgression -- and we know Adam wasn't fooled.

but God does not hold him accountable for Woman's sin -- tho Adam himself in his confession takes her sin on himself ((a figure of the last Adam who was to come)). God holds the Serpent responsible; that is who is cursed. Adam & Eve are both guilty of transgression and suffer the results of their transgression, but He does not curse them.
 
Nov 15, 2020
1,897
362
83
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
#50
in the KJV you will notice "who was" is italicized, indicating it is not part of the actual text but an interpretive addition by the translators. i.e. it is not translation it is inserted words they thought would make the text flow better in English.

if you have a paper copy of the KJV it's a good idea to get yourself a black marker and cross out everything italicized.
why would I cross out any of the text in the KJV. ?
 

calibob

Sinner saved by grace
May 29, 2018
8,268
5,516
113
Anaheim, Cali.
#51
Genesis 3:6 doesn't say "who was with her" it says she ate, she gave to her husband "with her," and he did eat.
there are 3 events there -- her eating, her giving fruit to Adam, and Adam eating. there may be any space of time between these events, and in fact we know there are spaces of time and unrecorded events because God judged Adam because he listened to her -- but gave no record of her speaking to him.


And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you
(Genesis 9:9)
compare this -- God makes a covenant with Noah and his descendants 'with him'
does this necessarily mean that everyone descended from Noah was standing beside Noah when God said this? that includes me & you -- were we there? so 'with your seed after you' isn't saying we're all congregated together on Mt Ararat; it's saying we are all joined together in the covenant. it's 'with Noah' in the inclusion of the covenant, not 'with Noah' in space & time.


so i think that knowing Adam wasn't deceived, he can't have been standing beside her when she was, or when she ate. she eats, and death enters into her. she goes to Adam. she says something to him. he makes a decision and she gives him fruit. now he has fruit 'with her' - and he eats, and then he is in transgression 'with her' -- the 'with her' doesn't necessarily have reference to being in proximity to her while she is deceived by the Serpent and taking from the tree; it can be referencing 'joining her' in eating the forbidden fruit, and i think that all the other details we know about this indicate that he wasn't.

not arguing that Adam didn't sin; of course he did. but for Adam to be standing right beside his wife watching the serpent deceive her, watching her take and eat the fruit, and say or do nothing about it, Adam has to be either a enormous idiot or equally deceived, and he is neither. Woman was first in transgression, and Adam was not deceived. if Adam is guilty of failing to stop her, then Adam is first in transgression because in that case he would have failed before she ate: she thinks she can't even touch the fruit, so if we accuse Adam of allowing her to eat, then he's guilty from the moment she reaches out her hand, but she's not guilty until she eats. this contradicts scripture, because we know she was first in transgression -- and we know Adam wasn't fooled.

but God does not hold him accountable for Woman's sin -- tho Adam himself in his confession takes her sin on himself ((a figure of the last Adam who was to come)). God holds the Serpent responsible; that is who is cursed. Adam & Eve are both guilty of transgression and suffer the results of their transgression, but He does not curse them.
Er, which translation? I copied these from biblehub just a couple of moments ago;





Bible > Genesis > Chapter 3 > Verse 6


Genesis 3:6
Parallel Verses
New International Version
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

King James Bible
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Darby Bible Translation
And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a pleasure for the eyes, and the tree was to be desired to give intelligence; and she took of its fruit, and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

World English Bible
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.

Young's Literal Translation
And the woman seeth that the tree is good for food, and that it is pleasant to the eyes, and the tree is desirable to make one wise, and she taketh of its fruit and eateth, and giveth also to her husband with her, and he doth eat;​


in the KJV you will notice "who was" is italicized, indicating it is not part of the actual text but an interpretive addition by the translators. i.e. it is not translation it is inserted words they thought would make the text flow better in English.

if you have a paper copy of the KJV it's a good idea to get yourself a black marker and cross out everything italicized.
I learned that doin Old testament studies. Very early;

. 3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,844
13,558
113
#52
Er, which translation? I copied these from biblehub just a couple of moments ago;





Bible > Genesis > Chapter 3 > Verse 6


Genesis 3:6
Parallel Verses
New International Version
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

King James Bible
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Darby Bible Translation
And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a pleasure for the eyes, and the tree was to be desired to give intelligence; and she took of its fruit, and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

World English Bible
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.

Young's Literal Translation
And the woman seeth that the tree is good for food, and that it is pleasant to the eyes, and the tree is desirable to make one wise, and she taketh of its fruit and eateth, and giveth also to her husband with her, and he doth eat;​



I learned that doin Old testament studies. Very early;

. 3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
whoops!

i was going by what i thought i remembered, which wasn't right.
man, i gotta remember that my memory isn't so great :(

thank you for showing me where i was wrong


it is nice to see that kjv doesn't add the 'who was' to 'with her' here; now that i see it i don't know why i was thinking it did.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,844
13,558
113
#53
why would I cross out any of the text in the KJV. ?
because the italicized words are not part of the scripture, they are part of someone's interpretation of what should be in the scripture.
scripture isn't written in English. Hebrew and Greek do not have the same grammatical structures as English. sometimes translators 'fill in' words that aren't actually part of the original text as God gave it, because in order to translate there are necessarily phrases and words that cannot be put 1-to-1 into the strange foreign language that we speak. kjv does a good job of pointing out most of this by putting words in italics that have been added to God's original word.
if you would like to read scripture in as close to it's word-for-word form as you can, but you would not like to learn the original languages and you would not like to read any other version than kjv, then it would be advisable to cross out everything in italics. none of it is literal translation. the kjv translators thought you might like to, in fact, and that's why they were kind enough to identify the words that are not part of the Bible with italics.

up to you. just saying it would be a good idea IMO.
 
Nov 15, 2020
1,897
362
83
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
#54
because the italicized words are not part of the scripture, they are part of someone's interpretation of what should be in the scripture.
scripture isn't written in English. Hebrew and Greek do not have the same grammatical structures as English. sometimes translators 'fill in' words that aren't actually part of the original text as God gave it, because in order to translate there are necessarily phrases and words that cannot be put 1-to-1 into the strange foreign language that we speak. kjv does a good job of pointing out most of this by putting words in italics that have been added to God's original word.
if you would like to read scripture in as close to it's word-for-word form as you can, but you would not like to learn the original languages and you would not like to read any other version than kjv, then it would be advisable to cross out everything in italics. none of it is literal translation. the kjv translators thought you might like to, in fact, and that's why they were kind enough to identify the words that are not part of the Bible with italics.

up to you. just saying it would be a good idea IMO.
in my KJV those words aren't italicized, but a few are.
 
P

pottersclay

Guest
#55
Eve was deceived....tricked

Adam...trusted eve and serpent
 

ewq1938

Well-known member
Oct 18, 2018
5,020
1,268
113
#56
It's important to have extra words when translating from one language to another because language say things differently. I can't think of a single time where any italicized words are misleading and should be removed.


because the italicized words are not part of the scripture, they are part of someone's interpretation of what should be in the scripture.
scripture isn't written in English. Hebrew and Greek do not have the same grammatical structures as English. sometimes translators 'fill in' words that aren't actually part of the original text as God gave it, because in order to translate there are necessarily phrases and words that cannot be put 1-to-1 into the strange foreign language that we speak. kjv does a good job of pointing out most of this by putting words in italics that have been added to God's original word.
if you would like to read scripture in as close to it's word-for-word form as you can, but you would not like to learn the original languages and you would not like to read any other version than kjv, then it would be advisable to cross out everything in italics. none of it is literal translation. the kjv translators thought you might like to, in fact, and that's why they were kind enough to identify the words that are not part of the Bible with italics.

up to you. just saying it would be a good idea IMO.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,844
13,558
113
#57
It's important to have extra words when translating from one language to another because language say things differently. I can't think of a single time where any italicized words are misleading and should be removed.
how about John 8:24, John 18:5, etc?

there is no 'he' in the text; Jesus is identifying Himself as I AM THAT I AM, the YHVH
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,844
13,558
113
#58
Adam...trusted eve and serpent
if Adam trusted Satan wouldn't that make Adam deceived?

same for his wife while she was deceived - whose name is not Eve until Adam heard and believed the promise of The Seed, btw. it's for this that God says, Adam has become like one of Him.
 

ewq1938

Well-known member
Oct 18, 2018
5,020
1,268
113
#59
how about John 8:24, John 18:5, etc?

there is no 'he' in the text; Jesus is identifying Himself as I AM THAT I AM, the YHVH
Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

This makes sense in English.

Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins.

This doesn't make as much sense because it is broken English. To remove "he" the verse would have to read this way to make sense:

Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am THE I AM, ye shall die in your sins.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,844
13,558
113
#60
Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

This makes sense in English.

Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins.

This doesn't make as much sense because it is broken English. To remove "he" the verse would have to read this way to make sense:

Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am THE I AM, ye shall die in your sins.
what Jesus literally says is,

if you do not believe that I AM you will die in your sins