Stephen
Active member
There is this notion that sometimes crops up that humans have this "sinful nature" that is somehow a result of Adam and Eve eating from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. Did you ever notice that one of the properties of the tree is that it was a tree of "the knowledge of Good"? If your doctrine precludes the idea that they have the knowledge of "good" and know only of "evil" after eating the fruit, please go back and read what the description of the tree is.
If we accept the idea that Adam and Eve had a "sinful" nature after they ate from the tree, and that their nature before the fall was "sinful", then when did the switch occur?
What nature did Adam and Eve have at the moment they they desired to sin?
If Adam and Eve did not have a "sinful" nature when they desired to sin, then they desired sin without "sinful" nature.
What nature did Adam and Eve have the moment their desire to sin matured and they sinned?
If Adam and Eve did have a "sinful" nature when they sinned, then some outside force acted on Adam and Eve to change their nature from "not sinful" to "sinful" before they sinned. The banishment from the garden and loss of access to the tree of life is because the nature of Adam and Eve were tampered with, not because they freely chose.
If Adam and Eve had a "not sinful" nature when they sinned, then they sinned without the "sinful" nature.
Conclusion: Either Adam and Eve either sinned
If we accept the idea that Adam and Eve had a "sinful" nature after they ate from the tree, and that their nature before the fall was "sinful", then when did the switch occur?
What nature did Adam and Eve have at the moment they they desired to sin?
- sinful
- not sinful
If Adam and Eve did not have a "sinful" nature when they desired to sin, then they desired sin without "sinful" nature.
What nature did Adam and Eve have the moment their desire to sin matured and they sinned?
- sinful
- not sinful
If Adam and Eve did have a "sinful" nature when they sinned, then some outside force acted on Adam and Eve to change their nature from "not sinful" to "sinful" before they sinned. The banishment from the garden and loss of access to the tree of life is because the nature of Adam and Eve were tampered with, not because they freely chose.
If Adam and Eve had a "not sinful" nature when they sinned, then they sinned without the "sinful" nature.
Conclusion: Either Adam and Eve either sinned
- Without this thing called a "sinful" nature and likewise, so do we. The change is that we no longer have access to tree of life. (My view BTW)
- With this thing called a "sinful" nature, and some out side force changed their nature from "not sinful" to "sinful". As a consequence they sinned and Adam and Eve are not to blame.