Thank you for morality question of Adam and Eve, “Did Adam and Eve know what good was before eating from the Tree of Knowledge? Can you know what good is by living in it? Why wasn’t it a Tree of the Knowledge of Evil?”
As I ponder this question, here are some thoughts for one’s consideration on the three fold question.
A. Did Adam and Eve know what was good before eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?
I believe the answer is that Adam and Eve knew what was good before they ate from the knowledge of Good and Evil. The reasoning is that whatever God declared to Adam and Eve was good and for their good.
God commanded them to care for the Garden of Eden, to rule over the created world, and to eat plant life for their physical body. They knew what it was like to fellowship with God as God came to them in the Garden. All that God commanded Adam and Eve was good and for their good. There was peace and harmony between Adam and Eve. There was peace between Adam and Eve with the animals.
B. Can you know what is good by living in it?
I believe the answer is that one can know what is good by living in it. For Adam and Eve to eat fruits and vegetables was healthy and nutritious for them. They learned about the different tastes of fruits and vegetables. They enjoyed eating it and ate it again. They were able to play with the animals and the animals were not dangerous to them. There was no danger of hurt from each other and from the animals. There was the absence of fear in the Garden. All their actions were good and for the benefit of themselves and the animals. Every day was a new adventure of enjoying the Garden and beholding its beauty.
C. Why wasn’t it a Tree of Knowledge of Evil?
As I ponder the third part of the question, it is likely that it was not called the Tree of Knowledge of Evil for that would mean that God created something inherently evil in the Garden. To know evil requires a contrast of what is good. If there is no contrast, then what is “evil” can be perceived as being “good.”
Adam and Eve heard and knew about death, but had no experience of death over life until the slaying of the first animal and later the death and pain of their second born son, Abel by Cain. That knowledge of Cain killing his brother Abel was painful. It was a contrast between life and death whereby Adam and Eve no longer saw and had the company of Abel and the alienation with Cain. Thus for one’s consideration without the contrast of Good and Evil, one wouldn’t know what is “evil” or “good.” That just my thought.
SUMMARY: Adam and Eve knew what was good by obeying God’s command and experience evil when they violated the command of God both physically, socially mentally and even spiritually.
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