The Garden of Eden story is largely symbolic. Early man was like a child with a huge propensity toward curiosity. Since all that God created was Good, He wanted man to embrace the Good and not even address the concept of evil. Think about it; as a child if you were never exposed to anything bad or evil, would it not be all good and pure until someone told you different? That's why I think children are innocent until shown or told otherwise. This helps me to understand Adam and Eve.
Thankyou for what you said. I feel along the same way. The tree of knowledge of good and evil leads to judgement. If you do not judge anything is evil, then everything is forgiven, as Jesus stated, to forgive endlessly, and not resist evil. If you do not resist it, you do not judge it as evil.
The tree of life is simply living without knowing. Humans do not need to know. They just need to live in love. Knowing is assuming truth about people, things, events, places. It is unnecessary.
To be able to live without judgement is an eye of the needle task. Because we are programmed to judge, because since early development in our life, we have been judged, so we have reflected the same behaviour.
That is why so much emphasis was put on do not judge. Yet each and every day, people say they are christians, and judge willingly. Life is our judge. Life gives instant reward for good deeds, it makes your heart feel clear and free, and it is only when we do bad deeds, and hate other people, that we feel dark and miserable, leading to a vicious cycle of inflicting that pain on others.
People are very quick to judge. Because they see or hear people do things that are horrible to perceive. But once those who have done horrible things, are judged and marked with that judgement, they are burdened with it and usually end up doing worse things to compensate. It embodies the idea that there is no greater sin. That we are all created equal at birth, and are largely just results of our life experiences. There is nothing that can be achieved by judging another person wrong, because the only power to change that person is that person, whereas, if you judge yourself wrong, you have the power to change.
There once was a clinical test, whereby certain number of volunteers role played for two weeks prisoners and wardens. They assumed the roles, and it was uncanny to notice how the wardens became worse as time went on with power and abuse, and then the prisoners became submissive to the wardens but vengeful and ill-minded to those around them, ie. other prisoners.
At the end of the trial, a majority of the volunteers had mental illness because of the experience, and required deep counselling. Life itself could be considered the same experience. Nobody needs judgement, only counselling. Although many, would say Jesus is coming to judge, well if you listen to what he said about judgement, he says I do not judge, but my father in heaven, which essentially means quite literally to me, the future of life itself, or love (God is love) judges automatically.
I am just taking the metaphorical scripture and translating it into a psychological basis that can be applied today. Just my view, and if you disagree please feel free, but I hope that helps anyone. I for one spend my life these days avoiding any type of judgement on anyone, and I have never seen so clearly as I do, considering every person just a lost soul trying to exist in the best way they know how.