The Fall of Man: Genesis 3: 1-7

That is the title of Chapter 3 from my 1970 The New American Bible. Let me quote from it: "Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God made. The serpent asked the woman, 'Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?' The woman answered the serpent: 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or touch it, lest you should die.' But the serpent says to the woman: 'You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it you will be like the gods who know what is good and what is bad.' The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom. So, she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves." Now Satan lied to them, assuring them that they could eat the forbidden fruit and yet remain immortal. Those that eat or touch the forbidden fruit of experience in this world as a free agent knowing good and evil, and living and dying, is now a mortal creature, neither an immortal good angel or an immortal devil. Adam and Eve likely were meant by God to eat the forbidden fruit. God is strong and secure. God wants the higher love of free agents that turn to God because they are good and holy and just, not just adoring, immortal robots that praise God and can do nothing else. Note that the first couple are husband and wife, so marriage is between a man and a woman. Note that Satan is depicted as a cunning serpent or dragon, a creature that seems to be a symbol of chaos, hate, or evil, while God is likely a human type creature, a symbol of order or goodness or love. Note that the serpent was made by God. God is more powerful and is prior to De's creations, but God made an evil Satan or at least instilled in Satan free will to choose to obey and follow God or disobey and oppose God. Note too that the serpent approaches Eve first, and this may be a primordial symbol that women are a bit more wicked than men, so that all satanic plot to taint and bring down all humankind was more likely to bear fruit if the evillest human was tempted and converted to the dark side first, and this strategy by Satan worked. First, he led Eve into sin, and she helped Sa lead Adam into sin. When God instructs Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge, it tells us several things. First, Adam and Eve are not pure goodness or pure good robots even when just created and innocent of sinning, in their existence in the Garden of Eden. God has given them the great but paradoxical gift of free will or agency. They can choose to do good or do evil, and this indicates that they have dual natures in their hearts and souls, part demon and part angel. This is also indicative of how alive/intelligent life forms of dual natures are not protected from doing evil and being evil by instinctive programming that renders then good robots or machines incapable of sinning, for all they can do is to be good. That Adam and Eve are bestowed with free will does require that they need commandments explicitly written and stated for them in accordance with which they have the opportunity to be good and build a decent life for their families. When Eve and Adam eat the forbidden fruit, they have become free, have sinned, and disobeyed God, for which their original sin will be visited upon all of their descendants until the end of time. They are condemned to die, have fallen and are disgraced in the eyes of God. The forbidden tree of knowledge, for me, seems to symbolize free choice, awakened consciousness, and experienced awareness of good and evil alternatives. As first humans, Adam and Eve, like good angels are made good, so they can only be good. The fall from grace pushes that alive free agent away from God and heavenly bliss, so it is a fall in that way. With the Fall of Man, the arrival and Promotion of Satan and Lera to run our world is the result. The Fall of Man paradoxically is the rise of man, a blessing in disguise. For in coming awake, with free agency, the first human couple then became mortal, unlike the immortal angels of God. By falling into the world and suffering, they learn of good and evil, and this could lead to wisdom. They were naked with their vulnerability exposed and Jordan Peterson they were now aware of and embarrassed by their newly discovered vulnerability. Note that the serpent tempts them with the ambition that they will know as much as the gods, it seems like Satan wants the first couple and their offspring to compete with God, and that is very Jewish and Christian. God does not want us to compete with De, but God does want us to realize our full potential, and that performance per human is expected, even demanded by God Finally, they did disobey a direct order from God, and that is sinful. Note also that the serpent lied to Eve and Adam, and thus from early on sin and lying are inextricably wound together. Here is the same Genesis quote from the Holy Bible (KJV): "Now the serpent was more subtitle than any other beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and it was pleasant to the eyes, and the tree was desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons." God gave them orders on how to act and to straight on the straight and narrow path, and they sinned and disobeyed God. They exercise freedom, choice and free will to some degree. They also have more confidence in themselves than in the advice and commands of brilliant God. Satan the serpent tempts them that they can gain knowledge and power, enabling them to rival and compete with mighty Jehovah, once they eat from the tree of knowledge. I do not deny that people compete with God, but I deny that the effort could ever be successful. The solution is to insist upon doing one's own thing with boundaries that must include ding God’s will as best that one can ascertain what that will is. If their eyes were not opened until after they ate the forbidden fruit and sinned, how could they exercise free will they knew what they were doing. By sinning they did enter the mortal world, and their life and death struggles with experiencing and sinning allowed them to have a soul to be judged by God, a free soul able transcend petty personal concerns, and rise up to serve e God and know good and evil, right and wrong as a personal commitment.