Viti

How could he know it was wrong if he had no concept of wrong?

If I say you're a snazzdoodle, how do you know if you are or are not one if you don't know what the definition is?

Without knowledge of right and wrong, the whole concept would necessarily be gibberish.

mdarus

I don't think we can assume Adam had no concept of right and wrong before he ate from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." We are no where told in the story. We naturaly assume that is how the magic works but we are likely wrong. The story clearly states that Adam was given a command from God.

Adam is given a very clear definition of behavior that is permitted (good) and behavior that is prohibited (evil). There are probably many theories about what affect eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had on Adam. The clearest effect in the story is shame.

Buster Daily

Not a problem at all. It's like wondering why people that have dogs would want cats or birds or lizards. Man represented a new pet that, like the angels, was obviously given the free will to f*&k up. Man was appealing to Yahweh/El for no better reason than for novelty.

Maybe those beings could see the being behind the curtain more clearly. Would a god that was evil and a liar have problems claiming he was great and powerful?

The real answer (obviously) is that it is all a myth edited together with subtle, but real, internal incosistencies...but it's still a fun topic.

chapka

Actually, this is incorrect. The Bible quotes no less an authority than God Almighty on exactly what the effect of Adam eating the fruit was, in Genesis 22:

And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

Before eating the fruit, Adam didn't know good from evil. Afterwards, he did. What's the mystery?

Dark Virtue

You know, another story that is quickly forgotten is that of the Exodus...the part AFTER Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt.

These were people that were in the very presence of God (remember the pillars of smoke and fire?) who witnessed countless miracles, the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and yet they STILL denied God. They complained left and right and didn't even think God could feed them or provide water for them. How many people actually made it into the promised land? Wasn't it TWO? Out of how many?

If God does exist, the fact that so many people (and angels) can be in his presence and flat out deny him should speak volumes. Maybe THAT'S why God doesn't show himself anymore.

FordPrefect

This is a bit of a strawman. Believing and worshipping are not synonymous. According to the NT, Satan believes in God, but he doesn't worship him.

Buster Daily

A trained pet knows behavior that is permitted and prohibited but arguably has no "knowledge" of good or evil. The story is giving a mythological origin of the "sense" of good and evil. Feeling shame is an outward manifestation of that sense.

Back to reality: Dogs and most intelligent and social animals probably do have a sense of shame and also a desire to punish other dogs behaving out of the norm. It's not cognitive per se. It's an evolved emotional response that makes us work well in groups and prevents cheating by others in our group. We rationalize our emotional response as some sort of knowledge of some objective good/evil. Dogs probably don't do that. They also don't invent myths to explain their behavior.

mdarus

I am suggesting that Adam did know that it was wrong for him to eat from the Tree. He had the information. He knew one thing about good and evil. The knowledge of good and evil he obtained after he ate is clearly something different. It may be a conscience that intuitively knows. It may be knowledge now based on experience. Just because we don't understand the nuances does not mean the story is internally inconsistent.

Amaleq13

The nature of your suggestion is as clear as the absence of any support for it in the story.

He had an instruction but, according to the fable, he had no knowledge of good and evil at that time.

chapka

Yes, it does. If you have to make apologies for it, it's inconsistent.

Most commentators I've read seem to feel that the best translation for the relevant terms are "good and bad." As in, "Now Adam knows the difference between good and bad." Of course that implies that before he didn't.

So Adam may have been disobedient, since he knew God had forbidden his act, but he didn't have any basis for knowing that disobedience was bad.