Were talking here about an event described in a book that might or might not be a verbatim account of what God said.

Consider this,the account says that if they ate the apple they would become like God...right?

But further back in this account the book of Genesis says that mankind WAS made in the image of God ,the account then goes on to repaet this statement a second time.

So heres a man written book that clearly states that man WAS made in the image of God.It then goes on to claim that if the apple was eaten mankind would become as God.BUT they already were like God wernt they.

Be honest here, dont you think that sound a little fishy?

Im not trying to burst anyones biblical bubble here,but ive learnt that you cant always seek answers to these conundrums by digging into the bible. In fact you may find yourself more confused than you ever were because there are so many people who claim a different meaning to things DESPITE claiming that scripture isnt open to private interpretation!! Wnich from my experience is most certainly has been!

Dont spend yourlife worrying about evil Christine. Dont try to figure out the bible,youll drive yourself mad.Please dont join the 30000 different denominations with there wildly different ways of interpreting this book.

Trust God,enjoy what hes created ,use your emotions as your guidance system not a badly translated book written by people you dont even know.

Forget evil,your not evil,your good,how could you be otherwise...your one with God.That one FACT is worth a lifetime of bible blah blah.

Graham

The allegory of the Garden of Eden is one of the most richly symbolic of all of the chapters in the Bible. I don't claim to understand it all, but here are some of my interpretations:

1. Before Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they did not know the difference. In this way, they are like God; they see the total perfection that is the Garden. They did not separate this from that, or say this is better than that; they saw everything as a perfect part of the whole.

2. By eating from the tree, they gained the knowledge of good and evil. Meaning that, they began to make judgements about what was good and evil; they began to see differences where there are none. They began seeing themselves as separate from God. Which they were, once they began making judgements.

A simple example: If a wolf eats a rabbit in the forest, we might turn away from it, but God sees that act as part of the exquisite balance of nature.

Another example: After they ate from the tree, Adam and Eve began to feel embarrasment about their nakedness. Why would they feel embarrasment about the perfection that was their bodies?

here we go again with the literal interpretation of a symbolic story of mans evolution into self consciousness. the alegory is not one of disobedience, but one of free will and choice. and yes, once they unfolded self-consciouness they became responsible for proper or improper behaviors, prior to that turning point we were mindless.

When you do it does it feel evil? I'm sure it felt the same for them.

They knew that perfection cannot choose. By choosing anything, good or evil, they are no longer perfect. The act of choice Is the separation. The fall from grace. Don't take on the guilt of our species. This act is a requirement for life to exist, otherwise perfection would have no point of reference. Imperfection is a requirement to hold the Universe together.

Do a search: The First Scandal Adam and Eve.

if you do not know evil you can't make evil! even if you do evil act you will do good also that will compensate!but if you know evil and do it of your own free will that is real evil! do a rat steal? do a cat murder? no it is in there nature! each men think they do good for them self! but are men only by them self?