Have Questions~ Have Answers? #4~ Why did Eve bite the apple? and do you blame her!!

Poor old Eve, just think, such a weight of responsibility had been placed upon her and if only she hadn't bitten that apple generation after generation would have lived happily and peacefully together!!!

Not quite, because that would make no sense at all. We are responsible for ourselves and had Eve not bitten the apple, guaranteed, somebody would have before long. The tree of knowledge as it was must have been very intriguing- I wonder what it looked like?

Today we know that knowledge has to be accessed through various means; needing to be understood and digested before it can be used. Eve however had zero understanding of knowledge in the first place having been placed upon this earth. How could Eve have had a clue as to what would happen following the fatal bite? She and Adam were living in paradise therefore had no comparison. How could they have developed a true appreciation of good things having had no experience or knowledge of hardship? This is where we really need to get thinking. I bet all of us would have taken that bite- why? Because as perfect beings Adam and Eve lived without fear and where there is no fear we take risks without even knowing it, mainly due to a lack of knowledge and opportunity to experience risk and develop strategies. Possibly this was their first encounter with a snake.

Let's seek out some reassurance!

It does not matter how 'good' we are; nobody is perfect and the fact that Eve bit the apple shows that the introduction of free will opened the gate to imperfection. Obviously God knew this and also knew what was about to happen. Despite God's warning Eve was unable to refrain from being disobedient. Why?

• Was she weak willed?
• Did she feel that she was being denied something significant and had a 'right' to it?
• Was she testing God as infants test their parents?
• Did Eve wish to experience the feeling of challenging or being disobedient?

Interesting as we are made in God's likeness. Another important consideration is that Eve had not experienced childhood, the period during which we attain an understanding of basic principles. Maybe her naivety was as much to blame as her curiosity. Did she live to regret it? Possibly, or maybe she learnt from it and moved on which s something we all know we need to aim for. Mistakes are simply a part of life and in a way it is reassuring to know that the first (technically second!) human who ever existed made a mistake. There are many occasions when we who have knowledge still go ahead and follow what we know to be the wrong course of action. Sometimes we simply do things to test the results but more often than not it is because we live in the 'now.'

Finally a little question for you- why Eve and not Adam? I'll leave you with that one.

Jaz McKenzie

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