nlt@duke.UUCP (06/15/83)
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Adam and Eve were instructed not to eat of the fruit
of the tree lest, as memory serves, they die. They subsequently did eat,
and, as we all know, did not die. Therefore,
1. Was God lying when he said they would die?
2. If he was not lying, was he speaking symbolically? If so, why
is symbolism here OK, but not when we speak of the creation
story and the "days of creation"?
3. If the Garden of Eden was supposed to be a perfect place, how
does one explain the existence there of something I would
call an imperfection, namely the fear of death?
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1. No, God was not lying when he said they would die. First, it is the
witness of the Scriptures as well as the traditions of Judaism and
Christianity that God does not lie. Second -- and probably more
importantly -- the writer of the passage appears to have a concept
of a God who does not lie. The author is describing the sin of man
against the backdrop of a holy God; in such a narrative he would
hardly be likely to attribute sins to God.
2. So, yes, he must have been speaking symbolically or metaphorically.
The intent is probably one (or more) of the following:
a. At the time of disobedience they would become mortal.
b. At the time of disobedience they would "die spiritually"
(i.e., acquire a tendency toward sin, fundamentally alter
their relationship with God, etc.).
c. Sometime in the era in which their disobedience occurred
they would die.
Symbolic 'days' of creation? Perhaps. Good point.
3. This too is a good point, and harder to answer. Perhaps, though the
creation was "good" (Gen. 1) and its inhabitants innocent, it is too
strong a statement to describe the original creation as "perfect".
Or perhaps this imperfection (fear of death) was placed in the world
as a deterrent to a greater potential imperfection, the act of sin.
Probably, too, the fear of death was not as strong a force in their
existence, in that while we (now) are aware of a day-by-day
aging/decay of our bodies which will one day result in our death,
the indication is that Adam and Eve, barring violent accidents,
would not have died had they not sinned.
Maybe someone else can answer this last one better than I can.
-- N. Tinkhamtim@unc.UUCP (06/16/83)
Look, guys, even I can do better than that, and I don't even LIKE the Bible! Adam and Eve died. Look in the genealogy before the Flood. It says right there that they died. Since when did God say "I'll kill you right away"? This is hardly a contradiction. The implication is that they would have lived forever otherwise. Tim Maroney