Why was Adam and Eve punished for actually failing to understand good and evil? — TheMadFool

Depending on how you interpret the myth, it seems one or more of the following:

1. This is the Jewish version of Pandora's box, meant to explain why bad stuff exists and how it relates to knowledge and making choices. It's also an allegory for growing up.

2. They were punished for disobeying God, not trusting or believing what God said.
2b. They were punished for giving into temptation, listening to the snake instead.

3. It was a setup. God intended for the snake to deceive Adam & Eve. That way, the plan for redemption could be unfolded, and the possibility for evil choices could be worked through.

3b. God predestines everything, so it happened exactly as God wanted, because how else could it happen, given God's omni-abilities?

#2 has free will at the center, #3b is the Calvinistic view, while #3 is a mix between the two. The really interesting theological question here is the snake. Let's assume the Christian interpretation that it was Lucifer who rebelled and became Satan.

How did this happen, and wouldn't God have known about it before creating Lucifer? So why create him? How does a perfectly created being become proud? Isn't that a character defect? Wouldn't wanting to be God be a colossal misunderstanding on the part of a created being? Doesn't much sound like Lucifer was created perfectly.

Basically, if God is omni-everything, then God can choose what sort of world to create and who will populate it. God doesn't have to create anyone who will choose evil. So it's ultimate God's responsibility. The Calvinists have a more consistent theology.

Of course that means God can't be all-good in the way we humans understand good.