Questions of Eve
Or, Do I Really Want To Go There?
August, 2005
What was Eve thinking when she ate the forbidden fruit? How many times did she say "No" before finally trying it?
Was it actually a good thing for her or for the human race that she ate the fruit? Was it part of our development as humans, that we HAD to eat of the fruit? How can disobeying God ever be good? God is certainly capable of making good things come from our errors, but one would think that good things of this type are second best.
How often has the human race faced such decisions? How often do we as individuals face such decisions?
Why did God place the tree in the Garden, knowing that humans are frail and that eventually we would succumb to temptation?
God told Eve not to eat of the fruit. Then Satan told her that she would become as God, knowing both good and evil, if she ate the fruit. Eve saw that the fruit was good for food. Satan didn't lie, nor was Eve incorrect, but these issues were not the most relevant facts of the case. The most relevant fact is that God said, "Don't go there". How do we address such issues? Must we say "No", and must we do this a thousand or a million times? How tolerant should we be of Eve's decision and of her weakness?
How much responsibility does Adam bear? How closely involved was he in the decision-making process? Why didn't he support Eve when her resolve weakened? Is this a hint of some of our greatest weaknesses, that we will betray others so that we can have the benefits of their actions if we can avoid the blame? Or a hint that we can only survive by being vigilant for ourselves and for each other?
How does holiness apply here? We are responsible to God for taking care of His creation, so we must investigate many things. But are there things that must not be touched? How do we recognize them? In what ways is holiness ignored by society and individuals today? How do we KNOW what is holy?
Was atomic energy a forbidden fruit? Is embryonic stem cell study a forbidden fruit? Studying each of these can yield much knowledge. Atomic energy can be a source of electric power. Embryonic stem cells can probably be used to develop treatments for many diseases. If we don't study these things then someone else will. Aren't we as much affected by these studies regardless of who has initiated them? Are we really?
The Bible contains many accounts of various temptations, but the two best-known examples are the temptation of Eve (Genesis 3), and the temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4). Satan was the Tempter on both occasions. Eve's response was to question God's words. Jesus' response was to repeat God's words. Satan even attempted to twist God's words, but Jesus parried with yet more scripture. Eve doubted. Jesus was confident. Was Eve's temptation really so complex and overpowering? How easy would it have been for her (or for Adam, who was slyly watching the whole discussion) to say simply that "God said ... ", and with Satan's challenge to simply say that she trusts God? Perhaps the whole question is not so difficult as some make it out. The answers are already in the Scriptures.