January 16

Genesis chapters 2-3 greatly emphasize knowledge. Before Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, everything was perfectly fine. There was no need to rethink anything since everything that God created for them was perfect. Knowledge in the two chapters of Genesis is mainly thought of as an evil. Once Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, all the knowledge they gained made them overthink everything and doubt God’s ability to protect and care for them through his creations. According to Legaspi, the knowledge communicated by eating of “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad” is the knowledge of responsibility. It’s has the association of being “like God.” I feel like it should be eating. When you eat something you digest it into your body so it is absorbed and spread throughout your system. The knowledge gained after eating the forbidden fruit was digested into their systems and processed throughout their body into the brains. Eating was the perfect analogy because touching or looking at some special object does not have the same effect on the body as eating does. In a way, the fruit almost acted as a poison, you can look at the poison and touch the poison, but there will be no effects unless you consume the poison. A tree is the classic symbol of knowledge, there are so many branches on a tree that it represents the branches of knowledge that could be learned about in life. The failure of Adam and Eve was one of doubt and curiosity. They didn’t trust in God to give them the best fruits in the Garden of Eden and they were curious about why they couldn’t eat the fruit. Adam and Eve were like children, wanting everything but not understanding the repercussions for their actions. This makes Adam and Eve less god-like in my opinion. God never doubted people and their actions, he trusted that they would complete whatever tasks they were given. It would be merciful that God banishes them from the Garden because there could have been worse punishments given. Adam and Eve needed to learn how great they had it before and to be appreciative. They could’ve lost limbs like the snake, but instead they were given more merciful options.