You're completely missing the point. If Adam & Eve didn't have the knowledge of good & evil, then they WERE infants from a mental point of view.
When a father says no to his child/children, do you honestly think that the child is going to listen the first time? Of course not. The child obeying his parents is a learned behavior, learned from trial and error, from reward / punishment. Even when the child obeys his parents, it is not because the child knows it is the right thing to do, it is because the child fears the punishment. Adam & Eve had not been taught the punishment.
The problem I have with your logic is that is circular.
What you are saying, is that Adam & Eve were punished for doing something wrong, for doing something that they did BEFORE they had knowledge of right from wrong. See the problem? The outcome would have been inevitable, and therefore god would be a hypocrite.
How can you say it has nothing to do with understanding? They did not know that disobeying god was wrong. They had not been taught the consequences. Sure, according to the story god told them, but this also would imply that they would have had to understand the message...
If Adam & Eve were created without the knowledge of good and evil, and thus right vs wrong, how can it be about free will? To me it seems that it would be inevitable that they would stray, since they would not be able to see anything wrong with doing so.
It's like putting an infant alone in a room with a tied up lion. Sure, the lion can't hurt the infant unless the infant gets close, but are you really going to trust the infant not to go and "pet the kitty"?
Adam & Eve were incapable of understanding; How can there be a choice? And, according to the story, god DID punish them for choosing to disobey.
I don't see how the theology makes any more sense than the story.
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You're completely missing the point. If Adam & Eve didn't have the knowledge of good & evil, then they WERE infants from a mental point of view.
When a father says no to his child/children, do you honestly think that the child is going to listen the first time? Of course not. The child obeying his parents is a learned behavior, learned from trial and error, from reward / punishment. Even when the child obeys his parents, it is not because the child knows it is the right thing to do, it is because the child fears the punishment. Adam & Eve had not been taught the punishment.
The problem I have with your logic is that is circular.
What you are saying, is that Adam & Eve were punished for doing something wrong, for doing something that they did BEFORE they had knowledge of right from wrong. See the problem? The outcome would have been inevitable, and therefore god would be a hypocrite.
How can you say it has nothing to do with understanding? They did not know that disobeying god was wrong. They had not been taught the consequences. Sure, according to the story god told them, but this also would imply that they would have had to understand the message...
If Adam & Eve were created without the knowledge of good and evil, and thus right vs wrong, how can it be about free will? To me it seems that it would be inevitable that they would stray, since they would not be able to see anything wrong with doing so.
It's like putting an infant alone in a room with a tied up lion. Sure, the lion can't hurt the infant unless the infant gets close, but are you really going to trust the infant not to go and "pet the kitty"?
Adam & Eve were incapable of understanding; How can there be a choice? And, according to the story, god DID punish them for choosing to disobey.
I don't see how the theology makes any more sense than the story.