Why Was Man Created with a Thirst for Knowledge then Condemned to Die for Seeking It?

by Hopscotch 25 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  Hopscotch

  One of Terry’s recent threads reminded me of something I thought about during my awakening from the JW Untruth. It is something that now to me seems very illogical in the Adam and Eve story. God creates man (and woman) with an incredible perfect brain waiting to be filled with knowledge and then forbids them from eating from the very tree that will supposedly give them knowledge.

  And when Adam and Eve eventually give in to the temptation and eat from the Tree of Knowledge they are condemned to die and the rest of their offspring for the next so many thousands of years are condemned to a life of horrendous pain, misery, suffering and eventually death.

  Doesn’t seem like the act of a ‘loving god’. Nor does it make any sense to me.
• 

  leavingwt

  Yeah, isn't that something. Man was punished for seeking knowledge. Sort of like being in the WT. #FAIL
• 

  dgp

  And why would your God create the tree whose fruit would bring you death, only to redeem you later?
• 

  Dagney

  Trying to understand Genesis led to my loss of faith in the Bible. Allegory or not an allegory...no thank you.
• 

  outlander

  The book of genesis was copies from the Sumarian Creation accounts.

  http://www.exposingchristianity.com/Old%20Testament.html
• 

  outlander

  Addition to my last post. After actually reading all of that webpage I must admit that there is a LOT there that I find hard to believe. Yet, I've heard some of the same before without the nonesense thrown in.
• 

  glenster

  Why Was Man Created with a Thirst for Knowledge then Condemned to Die for
  Seeking It? Doesn’t seem like the act of a ‘loving god’. Nor does it make
  any sense to me.

  In a symbolic account, you can imagine interpretations that make sense or
  don't--there's a variety for that one, and I won't force the choice. One that
  doesn't is imaginable: "made them to want knowledge then punished them for it"
  wouldn't make sense, but that edits even the symbolism.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_the_knowledge_of_good_and_evil

  A loving God as in an all-loving/all-beneficent God isn't the God concept
  there, but it isn't all or nothing. To be credible, the concept has to be
  reconciled with the good and bad of life. An all benficent God would mean we
  all live in heavenly circumstances forever, and we don't. It's the difference
  between a possible God you may or may not have faith in and a concept that isn't
  even possible.

  If you can't find love in the good and bad of life you can't in God, but you
  find love in the good and bad of life. Even in this case, part of what you end
  up with are people that can love each other and have kids they love, not just
  two people that know true and false and none to follow (like us), and people
  that can love God or not.
• 

  AK - Jeff

  Huh?

  I found that Genesis helped me conclude my love affair with Christianity. Funny how I believed it fundamentally for nearly 5 decades without question while under the mind control of religion. Once I broke with Jw's it was easy to see through the fog of these fanciful tales. Interesting point though that I had not considered about God giving man an eager mind, then punishing him for seeking to fill it. Nice God eh?

  Jeff
• 

  awildflower

  Don Miguel Ruiz wrote a book called The Voice of Knowledge. It's very short and easy to read and it gives kind of an "enlightened" understanding of the whole "tree in the garden", not to be taken literally according to him. It would be hard for me to repeat what he says and get it right but I recommend you read the book for another take on that subject. It was a VERY good read
• 

  finallysomepride

  http://www.exposingchristianity.com/Old%20Testament.html

  Click able