The Man Pawn?
Just a provoking thought I’ve heard argued… Could it be possible that Adam cultivated the ground (maybe unknowingly) for sin to take place? That perhaps (with good intentions) he really put Eve in a position where she could be at more risk? Withholding the exact truth from her that placed her in jeopardy? I’ve heard it argued that in the storyline God had instructed Adam alone to make sure not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17) But in Genesis 3:3, we find something added to the instruction in how Eve responds to the serpent. One could speculate that Adam gave her this “bonus” instruction, telling her that even “touching it” would kill her (p.s. not what God had said). Adam may have thought this was an act of protection, keeping her far away from the tree, but it still wasn’t the truth that God spoke to Adam (if she heard this from Adam). One could guess that maybe she had touched the tree and did not die, allowing her moreso to believe that eating the fruit would be harmless while gaining what the serpent described. If Adam told her a “white” lie, wouldn’t that be considered the original sin? If so, how come Adam didn’t instantly feel the shame? Perhaps once he had the knowledge of good and evil (after eating the fruit) he knew what he did was wrong. Plus we find in verse 6, that Adam was with Eve while all this was going on, and he didn’t tell the devil to shutup. You could say that Eve was tempted in her obedience while Adam was tested in his character. So, was Adam a pawn in the whole scheme? Thoughts?
Just painting the other side of the fence, I think it’s interesting that in this case even in the Fall the interpretation of the initiating guilty party could be seen as one or the other, unless someone can resolve it here for me – I’d love to hear it.
Question: Have your best intentions seeded more hurt than help?
