Johann, if lack of education or inability to see logical flaws is required to accept a theory, I would fear that theory. There is no virtue in ignorance. Come, let us reason together.

So you are saying that God created a harmless fruit. Then something happened that made it harmful, so God told them not to eat it. And all of this happened BEFORE man sinned.

In your view, God's command was a reaction to Satan's amalgamation; amalgamation that occurred before sin entered. God was merely protecting them from the now-harmful fruit by telling them not to eat it.

But let's review: "If God had not forbidden Adam and Eve to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, their action in taking it would not have been sinful."

She said that if God did not forbid it, there would have been no sin. That means there were no MGEs in the fruit, since MGEs = iniquity.

True or False - sin began before man sinned? Answer: True

God's command was in reaction to Satan yes, but whole earth was not corrupted until man sinned. As EGW says, "Christ never planted the seeds of death in the system. Satan planted these seeds when he tempted Adam to eat of the tree of knowledge". Satan was confined to one tree in the Garden.

God did not forbid the fruit arbitrarily. He had a reason for forbidding, do you agree? God would not forbid anything that was good for Adam and Eve. "Eve was told that there was nothing bad in the tree, that its fruit was of such a character as would give increased knowledge." Who told Eve that there was nothing bad in the tree? God? No, Satan. Was he telling the true or lying? The whole paragraph: Eve was told that there was nothing bad in the tree, that its fruit was of such a character as would give increased knowledge. Does not Satan come to us in just that way? Does he not present attractions, and try to make us believe that if we will pursue a certain course, contrary to the law of God, something will be gained by it? But after they had yielded to the temptations of Satan, Adam and Eve found that they had met with terrible loss, and so will everyone in our world who yields to the temptations of the enemy to indulge appetite, find that it is a fearful loss to them. {9MR 232.3} Adam and Eve had a terrible loss, and all of creation was now subject to corruption. Why? I believe the presenter of these lectures is on to something. That something causes all sickness, disease, aging, and ultimately death. The exact same thing that sin causes. Well, I guess not everyone believes that sin causes death, but I do.

"If God had not forbidden Adam and Eve to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, their action in taking it would not have been sinful."

But you say if God had not forbidden it, A&E would still have died because Satan had messed with the fruit. Right?

Or are you saying that Satan only put "harmless" MGEs in the fruit? Didn't you say earlier that the fruit was not poisonous?

True or false: If God had not forbidden Adam and Eve to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, their action in taking it would not have been fatal.

I say true. WDYT, APL?

A senior citizen "A", in good health for his age, had for years been living in a room by himself in a nursing home in our area. Then suddenly a very sick man "B" was taken to the nursing home and he was placed in the same room where "A" had been alone.

Recently a nurse (possibly a new one) brought medicine to these two men. By mistake she gave the strong medicine for "B" to "A".

When "A" got very sick a well equipped ambulance brought him to the hospital. When the para-medic saw the condition of the patient he called the hospital requesting permission to give the patient the antidote available in the ambulance.

The physician said "no". Later experts claimed it would have saved his life.

Who was responsible for the death of Mr. "A"?

Do you see any similarities in this to what you are discussing? How could the daily life giving medication for "B" be fatal to "A"?

The family has decided not to file charges.

asygo:But you say if God had not forbidden it, A&E would still have died because Satan had messed with the fruit. Right?

apl: NO.

asygo: If God had not forbidden Adam and Eve to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, their action in taking it would not have been fatal.

apl: God would not have forbidden anything that was good.

Why do you (asygo) think God forbid eating of the fruit?

apl: God would not have forbidden anything that was good.

Tell me, then, why God forbid Samson's mother from eating any grapes? Are grapes bad?

I guess, APL, you better not eat grapes anymore--because it must be sinful to do so. God has forbidden them.

Consider what Samson's mother was told--"She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine" (Judges 13:14). Do you eat anything from the vine? Don't most pregnant women like a bit of grapes, grape juice, or raisins to help boost their iron levels for good blood during pregnancy? Why was this forbidden?

God sometimes forbids something, or commands something, to prove us--not because there is anything inherently evil about the thing forbidden.

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Sorry, I misunderstood you. Let me try to restate your position.

You believe that if God had not forbidden it, A&E would still have died even though Satan had NOT messed with the fruit. Right?