Freedom of Choice and The Garden of Eden
Some time ago I became interested in the many similarities and differences as to how the Christian faith is understood. The online presence of biblical professors and teachers with their websites and youtube channels offer active discussion forums to engage in conversations about Christian and biblical theology. The discussions I had were interesting and informative. One topic of interest was the fall of Adam and Eve. Again and again, I was told that partaking of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was a serious mistake, and death was the punishment. Christian theologians and philosophers generally seem to agree that Adam and Eve were meant to live in the paradisiacal security of the Garden of Eden forever. Was it really God's intent that they forgo the risks, the suffering, and death pertaining to mortality and remain static innocent souls living with the devil? How can a place be paradise if Satan was a resident? Based on the Bible, Christians beli