2010-11-28, 09:52 PM
Okay, arguing from a theist perspective here:
I completely disagree with R_O. The apple did not "contain" knowledge. It was a simple apple, and there is no theological basis that the apple contained anything. The tree itself was "Of Good and Evil", but that does not signify anything for the fruit. From good fruit comes good, and bad fruit comes bad (Luke 13:6-9), but both can come from the same tree as man is both good and bad and does good and bad. Furthermore, continuing to call it an apple further shows your own ignorance. It's only by tradition that it is an apple and again the fruit being an apple has no theological basis. Viewing this passage as simply "sin" is myopic, as the entire passage deals with man's relationship with God.
In Genesis 2, God gives A&E a reason not to eat of the fruit, "For you shall surely die" (Gen 2:15). Man was created of God. Just as a baby comes from the mother's womb, so man came from God. There is an intrinsic nature of being between man and God. As a child knows his mother, so does Man know God. Eating of the fruit destroys the divine bond between man and God. Notice that after the woman ate of the fruit, neither of their eyes were open. It was only after the man ate of it as well that the bond was broken. God has a special relationship with man, because man is of God. The woman was created from Man. It was only when the man ate of the fruit that the entire bond was broken. The action of breaking the bond (Adam eating the fruit) meant that they were aware of the fact that it was possible to break the bond with God, and it was at this time that they felt the need to cover themselves, showing fear (Gen 3:7-10). Breaking this bond causes spiritual death for Man, as he then becomes aware of his spiritual destitution as a widow feels for her husband.
Although this piece of scripture does talk about sin, it is not the most encompassing detail. The main idea behind this scripture is that sin breaks man's bond with God, and breaking this bond leads to not only eternal damnation (Gen 3:14-24) but also a desire for man to regain this bond with God through Jesus (John 10:30).
So, in short, because man was born with the ability of choice, man had the ability to break their bond with God. Upon breaking this bond they feel shame and fear and blame others and must repair the bond through belief.
I completely disagree with R_O. The apple did not "contain" knowledge. It was a simple apple, and there is no theological basis that the apple contained anything. The tree itself was "Of Good and Evil", but that does not signify anything for the fruit. From good fruit comes good, and bad fruit comes bad (Luke 13:6-9), but both can come from the same tree as man is both good and bad and does good and bad. Furthermore, continuing to call it an apple further shows your own ignorance. It's only by tradition that it is an apple and again the fruit being an apple has no theological basis. Viewing this passage as simply "sin" is myopic, as the entire passage deals with man's relationship with God.
In Genesis 2, God gives A&E a reason not to eat of the fruit, "For you shall surely die" (Gen 2:15). Man was created of God. Just as a baby comes from the mother's womb, so man came from God. There is an intrinsic nature of being between man and God. As a child knows his mother, so does Man know God. Eating of the fruit destroys the divine bond between man and God. Notice that after the woman ate of the fruit, neither of their eyes were open. It was only after the man ate of it as well that the bond was broken. God has a special relationship with man, because man is of God. The woman was created from Man. It was only when the man ate of the fruit that the entire bond was broken. The action of breaking the bond (Adam eating the fruit) meant that they were aware of the fact that it was possible to break the bond with God, and it was at this time that they felt the need to cover themselves, showing fear (Gen 3:7-10). Breaking this bond causes spiritual death for Man, as he then becomes aware of his spiritual destitution as a widow feels for her husband.
Although this piece of scripture does talk about sin, it is not the most encompassing detail. The main idea behind this scripture is that sin breaks man's bond with God, and breaking this bond leads to not only eternal damnation (Gen 3:14-24) but also a desire for man to regain this bond with God through Jesus (John 10:30).
So, in short, because man was born with the ability of choice, man had the ability to break their bond with God. Upon breaking this bond they feel shame and fear and blame others and must repair the bond through belief.