The Bible is a sacred text that has been interpreted in countless ways over centuries. Its narratives and teachings have sparked debates, discussions, and varying perspectives on its meaning. One such interpretation that deserves attention is the claim by some atheists that God told the first lie in history when He warned Adam and Eve about the consequences of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In this blog, we will examine this interpretation and explore the true message of this story, focusing on the promise of eternal life through Christ.
The Allegation
The claim made by some atheists is that God lied when He told Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate from the forbidden tree. Their argument hinges on the serpent’s contradictory statement, saying that they would not die. They assert that since Adam and Eve did not immediately die physically after eating from the tree, God’s warning was a deceitful ploy to control them.
Deconstructing the Misinterpretation
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Unsurprisingly, nope, your god didn’t tell the first lie in history. It doesn’t exist. It does tell the first lie in the bible, which is always amusing. The eden story is a god who makes two amoral people and wants to keep them that way forever. It tells them not to do something, eat the fruit, and being amoral, they have no idea that obeying this god is considered good and not obeying is is considered bad. In this instance, this god is shown wanting blind obedience.
This god then allows satan in or can’t keep it out. Satan says that this god was wrong (and being god, the implication is that it chose to lie) and we see that it did since Eve and Adam don’t die the same day they eat the fruit. There is no mention of the usual christian add ons to try to make their god not a liar, the claim of ‘spiritual death’, or that “day” means something else.
Eve gets morality for humans. your god *never* gives humans morality.
Then this god throws a tantrum, and rather than explain and forgive (what a novel concept!), throws them out of eden, and curses every other human forever for what they did. Thisis a problem since this god claims it would never do that later on in the bible, showing this god isn’t “unchanging”.
It then tries to fix its failure with the flood, the laws, etc, and finally, per the ridiculous story, comes up with needing a human blood sacrifice of itself/part of itself by torture to make itself happy.
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I respectfully disagree. God gave Adam and Eve several choices. There was every fruit and tree in the garden of Eden to choose from, except one that God specifically said not to eat from.
Eve listened to the serpent, making God out to be a “boring” deity who doesn’t want you to have the “power” that He does. Because the day you eat of it you will be like god, knowing good and evil.
Sounds reasonable, right? Serpent is very convincing. Eve listened and decided to do what God forbid against. This led to the Fall of man.
God did everything to rescue mankind. In Genesis 6:3, it is mentioned that God gave humanity 120 years before the flood would come. This time frame is often associated with the period during which Noah would have been building the Ark and warning people about the flood. But no, people laughed at Noah and called him crazy. Humanity had a chance.
Then the rebellion continued. You find this pattern of redemption throughout Scripture up until God takes on human flesh and becomes the substitute for our sins. He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might receive the righteousness of God. The Great Exchange.
I respect your differences and do appreciate the dialogue. Have a good day.
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Unsurprisngly, Chad, you have not given any evidence of “several choices”. Claiming that there were other trees so they didn’t have to bother with the tree of good and evil fails since, again, there is nothing to indicate that disobeying this god is wrong or right. And do tell why this god was such an idiot to put the tree there in the first place when, being omniscient, it literally knew what would happen.
Eve listened to the serpent who didn’t lie, like this god did. There is nothing to show that the serpent made this god out to be anything but what it was. Also do tell why this god wanted humans to remain amoral, Chad. What did that accomplish? Serpent isnt’ just convincing, it tells the truth. Again, your god never gave morals to humans, Eve did (and perhaps you can also thank Satan). Tell me, Chad, was your god unable to keep the serpent out or did it intentionally let it in?
Funny how this god did nothing to rescue mankind since everything it tried failed miserably. A rather poor batting average for an omnipotent and omniscient being. This god, rather than explaining and forgiving (you know, that forgiving that Christians claim this god does?), it kicks Adam and eve out of the garden, and then punishes every human for their actions, actions caused by this god’s failure.
Genesis six: three doesn’t say 120 years until the flood came: “6 When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, ‘My spirit shall not abide in mortals for ever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterwards—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.”
This god can’t control whatever the “sons of god” are. This god has to reduce the evidently long life spans that this interbreeding gives humans to 120 years. And no evidence “Nephilim” ever existed. This is just more baseless nonsense.
Then we go to this “5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the LORD said, ‘I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ 8 But Noah found favour in the sight of the LORD.”
Seems that this god lost track of humans and then is suddenly surprised. “11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. “
How can a god be sorry for what it did, when it knew what would happen. And why kill everything rather than just the humans? Those animals did nothing wrong. But ah, this god does love to kill creatures for things they didn’t do and had no control over, see David’s son.
Then we have the nonsense of where somehow Noah can build this ridiculous ark in a world full of violence. Just how would that work? And, again, 120 years isn’t the length of time that noah was given. Your reading comprehension needs work.
This god did not communicate with the humans who were around, it just took another tantrum and decided to murder everything. It also managed to choose a drunkard and an idiot who cursed his grandson for what his son supposedly did. That was supposed to be someone who was favored by this god. Funny how yet again this god cant’ actually talk to people, but leaves it to humans.
Curious how the flood failed to end “rebellion” despite this god’s intention that it would. We have it saying “‘I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.22 As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.’”
Funny how this god made the human heart per the story, so who is responsible for this whole mess? Yep, your god. So killing everyone achieved nothing at all. And right after this is the nonsense about Babel, where yet again this god fails, trying to make humans disrupted since it was afraid of them. Do tell why a god is afraid of what it makes.
Yep, there is this god constantly failing and then trying yet something else to “redeem” humans from its own failure. Why does an omnipotent being need repeated tries, Chad? HE could have become jesus right after Adam and eve left eden. Oh yes, the humans who invented this nonsense hadn’t thought up that silly story yet.
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