I imagine not many Christian Apologists venture around this site very often, but I would love to hear any answers available. I am very confused about the logic of "Origional Sin". From what I can tell Adam and Eve were completely innocent before they suddenly assimilated the knowledge of Good and Evil. By not listening to God they committed the first sin and for that they and all future generations were cursed.
First question:
If Adam and Eve were completely innocent when committing the sin of disobedience, how could God punish them as if they should have known better? What did God really expect of two beings that could not yet conceive of evil actions?
Reply #1
If a mother warns a child to not run into the street and the child disobeys and is hit by a vehicle then being hit by the vehicle is not 'punishment'... it is the result of disobedience.
Adan and Eve were warned about not eating the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. What eating the fruit symbolizes is adding the knowledge of evil to the previously 'all good' cosmology of Eden (God created everything and saw that it was 'good'.) As a result of obtaining the knowledge of evil (also) death was introduced into the cosmology. Death has no part inside of Eden so, as a result, Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden by their act of disobedience which introduced evil into the otherwise 'all good' cosmology of Eden. In other words, they cast themselves out of Eden.
Second question:
Even given that Adam and Eve had actually committed a sin they could be found guilty of, what Justifies God's further decision of continuing the curse though every generation until the end of time?
Reply #2
The 'sin of Adam' must be corrected or it perpetuates into infinity. All 'evil' and observations (judgments) of evil must be erased from the mind and activities of the individual. We must return to the 'all good' cosmology of Eden first within our own mind and heart.
Third question:
Regarding being "reborn". After several thousand years of people living and dying (including a genocidal flood) God then decides to forgive the ancestors of Adam and Eve by the Sacrifice of the Third aspect of God "The Son". This allows people to embrace the forgiveness of God, however it does not reverse the curses that were placed on Adam and Eve such as Man having to 'till the soil' or women having to suffer childbirth or menstruation. Further, why do these curses not cease after one is "reborn"?
Reply #3
But it does erase the sin but ONLY from the individual who fully embraces the teachings (love, kindness, etc.) and renews (rebirth) his or her mind and heart.
Fourth question:
The sin seems (to me) to be a sin of disobedience, the Sin of not listening to God. The result was that Adam and Eve knew of Good and Evil. The essence of my question is why is this such a bad thing? We do everything in our power to teach our children right from wrong, we carefully watch our children in their youth to make sure they do not harm themselves or harm others all in the hope they eventually take on responsibility in their actions.
So, why was the sin such a sin?
Reply #4
See #1 ... The act of disobedience opened a Pandora's Box by the introduction or knowledge of evil.
Unlike the Christian cosmology the Hebrew cosmology sees God as having two faces... one good and the other evil. The face that God shows to you is a response to the face that we show to God.
It would be as if we are sitting on a beautiful beach watching the ocean and blue sky and then start thinking about something terrible. As a result we virtually 'throw ourselves out' of the earlier positive and uplifting mindset and contaminate our consciousness.
Final question:
In the age of Moses God makes ten commandments that man is to follow. I find it odd that God did not make the ten commandments in the age of Adam and Eve. The law "thou shall not kill" could have helped when Cain slew Abel, but there was no such tablet in those days. So why did it take God so long?
I have to close with not so much a question as just a comment. God left Adam and Eve, two innocents even unaware they were nude, alone with bad influences (the snake) and a powerful temptation. In essence, it was children being children, but he punished them for something they could not understand that he could have very easily prevented. In the end, this just makes God out to be a very irresponsible parent.
Reply #5 .... There are certain activities that are, in themselves, inherently wrong and killing is one of them. No notice is required regarding activities that are inherently evil.
Anyhow, the tale of Cain and Abel is a metaphor for evil usurping the good that is within Man. A condition that MUST be reversed.
The 'snake' is a symbol of the mind. The mind can be configured into any shape (like a snake)... Adam and Eve were beguiled by their own minds and their act of disobedience resulted in the introduction of chaos... just like a child who runs out into traffic despite being told by his mother to stay out of the street.
