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From: johnr@tekmdp.UUCP (John Rutis)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Tough question about Adam + Eve
Message-ID: <2113@tekmdp.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 4-Aug-83 14:53:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekmdp.2113
Posted: Thu Aug  4 14:53:44 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 5-Aug-83 12:34:08 EDT
Lines: 47


In responce to Jim McParland, Jim said:

   I happened to be watching TV on Sunday night and saw a video-evangelist
   giving a sermon about Adam + Eve and the Tree of Knowledge....

   I had a very hard time following his logic, so I would like to ask for
   a clarification from any bible scholars out there on this point:

	   God told Adam and Eve that if they eat from the tree of
	   knowledge "that day they will surely die".
   
	   Satan told Eve that if they eat from the tree of knowledge
	   "they will surely NOT die".

	   After Adam + Eve eat the fruit, God punishes them, but he does
	   not KILL them.

   My question is:  Did God lie about the peril of eating the fruit?
   Did Satan tell the truth about the fruit (note that this is a separate
   issue)?



I'm not a Bible Scholar but it's not hard to answer at all -

* But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it;
* for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:17)

They DID die, didn't they?  They are not still around.  You can look at
the phrase "in that day" as a figure of speach or literally.  A thousand
years is to God as a day; Adam lived less than 1000 years.  I presume Eve
also lived less than 1000 years.  God told the truth.

* And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; (Gen 3:4)

They did die; Satan told a lie.  Note that Eve, in repeating Gods warning
(vs 3), did not say "in that day", nor did Satan qualify his statement with
that phrase; he simply said "Ye shall not surely die."

If Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of life instead of the tree of good
and evil, they would not have ever had to die.

* And the LORD God said, ... lest he put forth his hand, and take also of
* the tree of life, an eat, and live forever: (Gen 3:22)

John Rutis