The three

[Fernando Boom]

I believe in GOD first and foremost. I have a question that I cant seem to stop thinking about, I've had it for many months. I hope someone can help.

Since GOD is ALMIGHTY and all seeing, knowing everything that has happened and will happen; why would GOD create the tree of knowledge of good and evil, put it in the middle of the garden of eden knowing the outcome BEFORE he created man; then generationally and eternally punish or curse man for doing what he already knew he would do? It's similar to a parent building a ring a fire then putting your toddler in the middle of it, but the ring of fire was created knowing it will burn him/her FIRST, BEFORE YOUR CHILD IS BORN.

 

[Fernando Boom]

Thank you to all those who share their opinions.

 

[Tone]

I believe in GOD first and foremost. I have a question that I cant seem to stop thinking about, I've had it for many months. I hope someone can help.

Since GOD is ALMIGHTY and all seeing, knowing everything that has happened and will happen; why would GOD create the tree of knowledge of good and evil, put it in the middle of the garden of eden knowing the outcome BEFORE he created man; then generationally and eternally punish or curse man for doing what he already knew he would do? It's similar to a parent building a ring a fire then putting your toddler in the middle of it, but the ring of fire was created knowing it will burn him/her FIRST, BEFORE YOUR CHILD IS BORN.

Hey Fernando, where does it even say He knew what would happen?

Okay, let's assume He knew since "I Was, I Am, I will Be--He is already there at the conclusion of the whole mankind matter. So, obviously, since we know He is good and works everything out for the better...He has good reason to allow it to happen.

 

[Fernando Boom]

The Christian bible have a plethora of passages that not only suggest, but literally state that GOD knows everything to include what we dont like the first and second coming of christ, the various catastrophic events littered in the bible, the satanic rule of earth, and the subsequent end of satans rule. Since he created everything including satan, then he knew then what is to come. He knew the fall of man, befire the fall happend. This is my opinion ofcourse, if you have a different please share.

 

[Tolworth John]

I have a question

Strange how people always think.
" I am the only person in the world to have thought of this unanswerable question."

The answer is very simple, for there to be a real choice, for there to be the possibility of obedience there also has to be a real possibility for disobedience.

God gave Adam and Eve the ability to make that choice.
He did not create preprogrammed robots.

Yes God knew Adam would fail, which is why before he created the universe he also had made a plan to deal with that failure.

Note how gentle God dealt with Adam, how he repeatedly gave him the chance to Man up and admit what he'd done and how Adam didn't but blaimed God for the problem.

Strange how the pattern is always repeated in that when ever things go wrong we avoid the issue and blame it on God.

 

[Fernando Boom]

I dont have a divine understanding, so I will most assuredly no be able to comprehend GOD motives. However, this doesn't change the question burning internally. If Sin entered the world thru knowing good and evil, why self-sabotage what was deemed perfect before man?

 

[Basil the Great]

I believe in GOD first and foremost. I have a question that I cant seem to stop thinking about, I've had it for many months. I hope someone can help.

Since GOD is ALMIGHTY and all seeing, knowing everything that has happened and will happen; why would GOD create the tree of knowledge of good and evil, put it in the middle of the garden of eden knowing the outcome BEFORE he created man; then generationally and eternally punish or curse man for doing what he already knew he would do? It's similar to a parent building a ring a fire then putting your toddler in the middle of it, but the ring of fire was created knowing it will burn him/her FIRST, BEFORE YOUR CHILD IS BORN.

Fernando - Not all Christians interpret everything in the Genesis story literally. A lot of the more Liberal/Moderate Protestants do not.

 

[Tone]

I dont have a divine understanding, so I will most assuredly no be able to comprehend GOD motives. However, this doesn't change the question burning internally. If Sin entered the world thru knowing good and evil, why self-sabotage what was deemed perfect before man?

Well, since we're still in the in-between, we can only look to the future with eyes of faith, knowing that it will be better than the fall and better than this place.

We know that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is good, because everything He created, He deemed "good'. I guess the fruit of that tree was forbidden at that time for unknown reasons....

 

[Fernando Boom]

John,

Thank you for responding. I have thought about your answer to this question and it's the most plausible. However, in order for choice or free will to be the reason, GOD would have had to create the choice experiment after man was created not before. By creating the choice environment before man everything he said was VERY GOOD at the end of the 6th day of creation would not have been. In order to have choice or free will man would have had to have been offered a choice. The choice that was offered was not to love GOD thru free will, but to either live or die since eating from that tree would have meant certain death. The catalyst for death, choice i.e tree was there before the mirrored image of GOD had life. Adams unconditional love for the father was absolute, untainted, unwavering, and complete from the dust he was crafted from. If GOD need man to have a choice, it would have been after GOD walked with man not before like other instances GOD allowed his children to be tempted by satan to make a free will choice.

 

[Fernando Boom]

Thank you Basil for responding. What would be the more conservative interpretation of those words?

 

[Just Another User]

"And who is so ignorant as to suppose that God, as if he were a farmer, planted trees in a garden, in Eden towards the east, with a tree of life in it—a visible, palpable tree of wood—so that anyone who ate of it with bodily teeth would obtain life, and, eating again of another tree, would come to the knowledge of good and evil" Origen around 225AD.

That was arguably the most important 3rd century Christian taking a metaphorical stance of the creation over 1500 years before Charles Darwin go onto HMS Beagle. Personally, there's too many inconsistencies in a literal interpretation on those first chapters of Genesis which makes me conclude that a non-literal one would be suitable to our holy texts in that scenario.

 

[vinsight4u]

/nvm

 

[Fernando Boom]

In my humble, feeble, human mind I interpret the fruit not so much as forbiden, but as knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve were both created without malice or any knowledge of evil, but they did know good. GOD could have created them with both sets of knowledge from dust or rib forgo the subsequent generational and eternal punishment. What I'm having difficulty in is the sequence and the potential meaning that sequence has. Which, ofcourse my mortal mind cannot discern.

 

[icxn]

... why would GOD create the tree of knowledge of good and evil, put it in the middle of the garden of eden knowing the outcome BEFORE he created man; then generationally and eternally punish or curse man for doing what he already knew he would do?

How is the promise of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven - a much greater gift than the Paradise of Eden - in exchange for a little faith and a few tears, a punishment?

 

[vinsight4u]

/nvm

 

[Fernando Boom]

Agreed sir! So where did sin come from?

 

[Fernando Boom]

Thank you for responding. I agree that Eve was mislead and she in turn eat of the fruit for various reason. But again, if that tree were not there to begin with, no temptation would have occurred or subsequent fall. Point is for me, GOD chose to give dominion over the whole earth and everything in it, to live eternally in that garden perfect in his imaged after he put and instrument of spiritual and physical death in the house. Everything thereafter; salvation, jesus, etc., was to mend that initial fall that was there before man was.

 

[Fernando Boom]

How? In my opinion, the instrument that caused the fall that caused the punished was there before man was. No tree would equal no knowledge of evil, no knowledge of evil no sin, no sin, no punishment, no punishment, no need for the greatest in humanities history. Knowing all this, tree was there anyway FIRST.

 

[Fernando Boom]

Thank your input. If I'm reading the bible correctly, GOD created all the plants and fruit and seed bearing tree on the third day. Man was created in the sixth.

 

[Strathos]

The tree is metaphorical, at least IMO.