In which an alternative view is offered regarding the exit of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, the action of women and the relationship of men and women are explored and the story of Cain and Abel is reinterpreted in light of the actions taken during the Garden of Eden Story.

In order to fully appreciate the discussion in this series, it is recommended that the posts comprising the series “In God’s Image” and “Imagination and the Mind of Man” be read before reading the posts in this series.

Another Interpretation of the Garden of Eden Story

Review of the previous post.

The previous post, post number 3 of 19 continued the discussion of various arguments that have been proposed for the “banishment” of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.

Preview of this post.

This post, post number 4 of 19 presents a discussion of an argument against the position that Adam and Eve were “banished” because they transgressed.

God does not punish innocents

In Genesis 18:22-32, God and Abraham have a great discussion about punishing innocents along with the guilty in the context of God’s intent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. During this discussion, Abraham questions God: “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty?” (Gen 18:23) “What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it” Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike.” (Gen 18:24) And, God answered, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” (Gen 18:26). Thus, in this instance, God states that He will not punish the innocent because of the guilty^[1]. Why, then would God punish all generations of humans….for all times… all innocent of the Adam and Eve’s “sin” of disobedience? In such a case, clearly the innocent are being punished. Thus, the view that we are all punished for the “original” sin simply is not consistent with the view that God does not punish the innocent because of the transgressions of others^[2].

With regard to punishment, it is noted that punishment is an integral part of repentance. That is, to fully and properly repent, among other steps, one must accept responsibility for an act, try to take corrective action so anyone harmed by the act is restored to their pre-act status, and accept the consequences for the act. If true repentance is achieved, we are taught that God will grant the transgressor a clean slate as though no transgression occurred. This is how progress is made. In the case of Adam and Eve, it might be said that Adam and Eve were “punished” by the dressing down they received from God, (see Genesis 3:14-19) and then were given a clean slate. Thus, the leaving of the Garden was not punishment, but allowing Adam and Eve to establish a clean slate as new people.  However, even if the dressing down of v 14-19 and/or leaving the Garden is considered punishment of Adam and Eve, there is no basis for concluding that Adam and Eve were first given an opportunity to repent, and self-punish before God administered His “punishment.”

Preview of the next post.

The next post, post number 5 of 19 discusses the God “curse” with respect to Adam and Eve.

^[1] In spite of that some prophets seem to have said about punishing children for the sins of their fathers, see, for example, Jeremiah 31:29-30, it seems that God did not wish to punish innocents for the sins of others. However, a contrary view focusing on individual responsibility is expressed in Ezekiel, for example Ezekiel 18:30 (however, the exile situation where no nation of Israel as such existed may have influenced Exekiel).  Even when God specifically promises to punish children for the sins of their fathers, this punishment stops as the fourth generation, see Exodus 34:7.

^[2] The concept of collective guilt does not seem to apply to the situation where all mankind is punished for the act of Adam and Eve. The concept of collective guilt might be applied to a situation where those who are not directly responsible for the transgression are punished along with those who are directly responsible. However, in that case, those who are not directly responsible are generally punished because they failed to instruct or take steps to prevent those who are directly responsible from committing the transgression. As such, while they are not directly responsible, they do bear some responsibility for not working to prevent the transgression. This is not the case for people who live long after the transgressors are gone and would have no possible way of preventing the transgression, either by act or by teaching.