Why did god punish adam and eve for disobeying him and eating the fruit? [Spirituality & Religion]

Before they ate of the tree of knowledge, they had no understanding of good and evil. So how would they know it was bad to eat the fruit?

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

shuhak · M

Does one need to know good and evil to obey? When one tells their child not to touch a hot stove does that child have to know the mechanics of hot and cold? No. It obeys because its parent told it not to do it. However, if the child disobeys and gets burned is it because the child didn't know physics? Is it the fault of the parent because they told the child the stove was hot? No. The child got burned because it didn't head its parent's warning.

EarthlingWise

@shuhak It's more efficient to explain to the child why it's forbidden though.

SW-User

@shuhak ..great point..

shuhak · M

@EarthlingWise What if the child is too young to understand (perhaps it's barely a year old)?

EarthlingWise

@shuhak In that case, it can't walk to the stove.

SW-User

@shuhak ...is it in summer or in winter one year old...?

MetalGreymon · 36-40, M

@shuhak

[quote]Does one need to know good and evil to obey?[/quote]

OF course you do. If you don't then how would you know that it's wrong to disobey or right to obey?
You've outlined in your post how a naive could LEARN that it's a good idea to obey, that's all.

Xuan12 · 31-35, M

@shuhak Without knowledge of good and evil, how would one know if it's good to obey, or wrong to disobey? Besides, have you ever seen such a young child actually obey? They don't even understand, how could they obey?

shuhak · M

@MetalGreymon Is all obedience just good or bad? Are signs good or bad? The sign says, "Danger, sharks! Stay out of the water!" Is it evil to go into the water or is it just unwise?

shuhak · M

@Xuan12 Is all obedience just good or bad? Are signs good or bad? The sign says, "Danger, sharks! Stay out of the water!" Is it evil to go into the water or is it just unwise?
Yes, I've seen young children obey. They obey because they trust that the one telling them knows more than they do (as much as their minds can comprehend).

Xuan12 · 31-35, M

@shuhak At barely a year old, like you said? Most only know a handful of words at that time.

shuhak · M

@Xuan12 Most children know "no" before they're one.

Xuan12 · 31-35, M

@shuhak Maybe they recognize the sound, but have you ever tried actually getting an infant of that age to do something, or not do something? There's a reason they're considered to need constant supervision, unless they're sleeping or in a baby-cage, and even then they still need quite a bit of attention.

shuhak · M

@SW-User that's irrelevant to my point.

SW-User

@Xuan12 You represent the education-method "learns through insight." Learning through punishment and praise is another method. Both is successful.. ..you see, God probably favored the second...🤔

shuhak · M

@SW-User I agree, both are successful forms of training. However praising someone for doing wrong sends the wrong message....
"Timmy, you played in the street after I told you not to. Because of that I'm going to let you stay up an extra hour tonight."

Xuan12 · 31-35, M

Well, for the punishment aspect to work, it has to be done after the fact, so the infraction has to occur. Probably that's what was intended.

shuhak · M

@Xuan12 A parent intends to punish their child - prior to an infraction?

SW-User

@shuhak ..as I said... the art of parenting it is, to finding it what is right for your child and you, at any given point in time ..😌 .