Christian discussion

. . . So it could be most likely seen as a test of Eve's and Adam's intelligence, rather than a test of sense of justice . . .

My response is a "raspberry". It's when you put your tongue between your lips and blow out to make a rude sound. I wish I knew how to spell it.

So it could be most likely seen as a test of Eve's and Adam's intelligence, rather than a test of sense of justice

Have you ever been punished by your parents? When I was little and my mom told me not to take my brothers toy car and If I didI would be punished for disobedience and not encouraged for the risk! It's the same thing with Adam and Eve, God told them not to eat from the tree but they disobeyed and were punished.

If you don't believe in any God that established this world do you believe then that murder is evil, abortion is evil, stealing another mans wife is evil.....?

You see, growing up where I did, mums didn’t hope as high as their kids growing up to be doctors; they just hoped their kids didn’t go to jail. So bring them up believing in God and they’ll be good and law abiding. It’s a perfect system. Well, nearly. 75 percent of Americans are God-fearing Christians; 75 percent of prisoners are God-fearing Christians. 10 percent of Americans are atheists; 0.2 percent of prisoners are atheists.

If all the Atheists & Agnostics left America, they'd lose 93% of The National Academy of Sciences & less than 1% of the prison population.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) May 1, 2013

How can a all powerful and loving God allow for so much suffering??

Genesis 3:3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die" God made it very clear to both Adam and Eve that they could eat any other fruit in the garden but not the one tree in the middle of the garden. We are not sure whether God ate or not but he gave Adam and Eve free will but placing that one tree in the garden. He gave them a chose to obey his commandment or to disobey his commandment and be punished.

Free will is neutral, not sinful.

And there is no such thing as the original sin.

It's natural for a child, let alone an adult, to explore their environment, to try to think things independently. Eve was a good girl who risked her life to find out the truth about the fruit which God said could lead to death by eating or touching it.

She should have been encouraged and praised for her sincere effort because she didn't intend to violate God's will but tried to discover a new food. Nothing is more natural for humans to seek new foods.

God should have explicitly declared that touching or eating the fruit is a violation of His law. No such law has been enacted by God and so Eve violated no law and should not be sinned.

God, the Father of Heaven, like humans, also eats food. So a new food should have pleased Him as well. Now Eve, violating no law of God, risked her life to have discovered a new food to eat, shouldn't she be complimented for being cute and brave?

Parents make mistakes, and so does God. Eve's adventure proved that Dad/God was wrong about the fruit. An open-minded, kind-hearted parent should have praised such a child as a genius, rather than reprimanded them as sinful.

And I think, Eve, along with Adam, after eating the fruit, should have joyfully said to God when He appeared: "Dad/God, the fruit is safe to eat. We have found a new food!"

A truly loving Dad/God should have answered with"I'm so proud of you, my children. That is a great discovery."

Instead, the foolish Dad/God abused them and drove them away from home, which led to endless unnecessary suffering of his children.

The only sinner here is Dad/God.

Then He created the garden, took Adam and put him in it to tend and keep it. Then created Eve as his helper... in a specific descriptive way, as a lesson and sign of the "position" they had both been given, amongst creation... Not above it.

The 'earth worshiping' religions often say something similar to this by way of trying to be humble and not putting man in too high a place. But everything else in the book just screams that man is the pinnacle of God's creation. Sent us out to have dominion over the earth, etc. When the book says 'God so loved 'the world' that he gave his only begotten son...,' he was talking about man, not this ball of dirt.
Anyway, just my thoughts.
Interesting stuff, keep pondering.

That is a silly question. One does not have to believe in your god to have a moral compass.

14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. (Romans 2: 14,15)