Gaawa_chan posted...
They literally did not know what was right and wrong, that disobeying God was bad. God tells them they'll die if they eat the fruit, but they don't know what that even means. And the snake tells Eve God lied to them, how is she supposed to know the snake is lying?
I see what you are saying, but I guess I always thought they still knew what right and wrong was, same as a child.
Gaawa_chan posted...
And the snake tells Eve God lied to them, how is she supposed to know the snake is lying? She doesn't know anything.
But the snake told her God was lying in effect, so i always thought they could go back and ask.
It's like getting mad at a toddler for sticking doing something because their older sibling told them to do it.
I never thought of adam and eve as toddlers but more beings chosing who to listen to. I suppose God didn't sit them down and fully elaborate upon the consequences of their actions. Many people regret their actions, only when they fully understand the consequences, but that scenario is after the fact of course.
Gaawa_chan posted...
But this is what happens when people try to make grand statements about the stories being literal and about God being absolutely moral and correct all the time and stuff, it turns stories that are meant to be explanatory and thought-provoking into... really deranged tales about an all-powerful being that keeps doing things that seem completely ridiculous
I suppose, it's nice to think of Jesus for example, being a story about a cool hippee promoting peace and love, rather than a literal being with the power to walk on water. That idea seems foolish.
Gaawa_chan posted...
Again, it sort of depends on your interpretation. I've met Christians who say that what it means to be Christian is to follow the teachings of Jesus....
That's fine, I just wouldn't call them Christians I suppose, like people who say they are vegetarians, but say what that means is to eat meat 'responsibly'.
I suppose it's a label anyone can adapt for themselves and use it for any meaning they like.
adjl posted...
Sure, but they couldn't have known why disobedience would be bad.
It's like saying "Did God teach them what disobedience really is? Did God teach them the concept of disobedience?" I suppose the story suggests God must have imbued the concept of names and animals (as they are told to look after the animals iirc) and disobedience on them, beyond just identification labels, but that might just be my assumption. I don't actually know, maybe I need to actually read it again