Adam and Eve: Who is to blame?

           The Old Testament tells us of the beginning of mankind, and it's downfall into sin. The story goes that the original humans were created in God's image. Adam the first man and Eve the first woman lived in a paradise created by God. This utopia was called "Eden" and they had no worries, for all their needs were provided for, and they knew no difference between good and evil. God tells them that they may eat from any tree in the garden - with the exception of a tree named "The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" warning that if they eat from the tree they will die. They obey God's wishes until one day a snake (Often interpreted to be Satan in disguise), tells them that the fruit will not kill them and that God does not wish them to be like him, and know the difference between good and evil. Eve is tempted first - disobeying and eating from the tree. She offers the fruit to Adam who accepts, and so they were thrown out of the garden, causing the beginning of mankind's turmoil. 

        So who is to blame for mankind's spiral into supposed self-destruction? While many would blame Adam or Eve or the sly serpent, why not address the source of the problem? And the source is God himself.

Why was God so apprehensive to have Adam and Eve eat from the tree? By eating the fruit, it is said that they could see the difference between good and evil. Why would God not want man to know this? Perhaps he wished to keep his creations innocent. They say ignorance is bliss after all - but is this the right decision? To keep man oblivious, stuck in the garden of Eden forever? Maybe eating the fruit was not the cause of man's downfall but the key to their escape. While there are many awful struggles occurring in the world today, would you really want to live in a world with no challenge at all? Where EVERYTHING is provided for you? The idea might seem comforting at first, but I don't believe that having everything done for you is paradise. If the snake  hadn't tempted them into eating the fruit, I believe the thought would have eventually occurred to them. Maybe God didn't want us to gain the knowledge of the tree because he was afraid he would lose our disobedience. God , who is said to be perfect, lies to Adam and Eve about the tree, saying they will die if they eat it. He doesn't want to tell them the truth. It is written that God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14) , so maybe he had a desire to keep his creations under his thumb - safe, but under control. 

It seems at times, that God has questionable motives. God created the tree and conveniently put it in arm's reach when he did not want man to eat from it. Why did an all-powerful God not keep it safe? Why not keep it where no one can find it, perhaps in the heavens? It is doubtful that God would have just placed the tree thinking it would be safe. So that leads to a likely theory: that God planted the tree to assess man's character. To see if they were truly creatures of good. However, the bible says that Adam and Eve did not know the difference between good and evil. If they were unable distinguish the bad from the good, how could God form the conclusion that man was inclined to evil?  If that was his plan, than it was completely irrational because as beings who had just come into existence, and one where they had lived in utopia how could they have good judgement over what was morally right or wrong? 

            Humans are said to be created God's image. Despite being described as perfect God seems to be flawed- he makes irrational decisions, and seems to be selfish at times. Maybe God is more like man than we think. The earliest civilizations afterall,  had very human-like Gods. They did things for petty reasons, fought amongst each other, and demanded praise from their followers. Some were benevolent and some wicked, or so viewed by humans. So is it unlikely that this God might have flaws of his own? God was the cause of man leaving the garden of Eden - for creating the tree and expecting Adam and Eve, with their free will granted by God himself, to live blissfully ignorant forever.