It was a test, but if he was omniscient, he would have known the results without having to run it. 😉

Bad character and plot writing. The Bible was written by hacks and scabs.

The usual explanation is because God wanted humans to have free will, so interfering in their ability to self-determine would negate that.

The reality is because it makes no fucking sense, like much of the Bible.

Because he doesn't exist, so even questioning it is irrelevant

same reason you can have anal sex and still be a virgin!

It's a judeo-christian-muslim god.

because he was a pussy

Aha! The question that has many pastors digging deep to get a good answer too. And usually they end up with the age old “mysterious ways”.

The “best” one is usually along the lines of: god wanted a relationship which involves choice and free will, so he had to create a division that would allow humankind to have a choice in the matter.

So god feels lonely, causes all misery on earth that ever was and ever will be. Because free will… On top of that he also ~~indirectly~~ (oh screw it, it’s god) directly causes eternal torture in the afterlife for a vast majority of humankind. Because also, free will (I keep stressing that because that in itself is a huge problem for theologians).

And then all that leads to god killing itself in the form of its own son. Because some of you touch your own genitalia in glee.

Genius.

If I've learned something from listening History in the Bible podcast is that Yaweh is an asshole and that there are layers of bad translations.

Because he is jealous god.

Ey Eve, bet you are too scared to try this apple.

Free will. The idea is that for free will to exist you must be able to choose the wrong action.

If a supreme being rules out all wrong actions or prevented you from taking wrong actions, how could there be free will? How could you even be responsible for your own thoughts and actions. How are you not just a puppet?

Alternately you can think of it as a leveling up. It seems like the Apple is always represented as “knowledge of good and evil”. So originally they’re just animals. They take actions but there is no morality, nothing is good or bad. But if they use their free will to take this one forbidden step, they receive the knowledge of good and evil, they can act good or act bad, they know it’s good or bad, and they have the free will to choose their path. And they are accountable for those choices. Now they’re human

Christianity is only one of the many interpretations of reality. Not reality itself. Other doctrines like gnosticism, hinduism, etc... Will give you another view.

Because you can say anything you want about a god that doesn't actually exist. He could cure cancer, turn you inside out, and show you the inside of a black hole. Just pray and interpret silence as a "no" but that doesn't mean he couldn't if he felt like it.

If you're not looking for a genuine answer from a Christian, skip this.

First thing: the translation of "the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil" isn't really that good of a translation. It's closer to "the right to define good and evil. That means that eating the fruit is basically saying "fuck you, God. Imma do my own thing". That's not how God designed humans to live, and is incompatible to living alongside someone as powerful as God, which is why God told them not to eat it.

But why create that tree in the first place? Essentially, choice. When you're in the supermarket and you see 50 different flavors, but everything is from the same brand, do you really have any choice? Same thing with God. Unless you have the option of rejecting God, choosing to him means nothing.

Yeah, that story has a lot of plot holes.

Don’t try to apply reason/common sense/logic to ANY religion. You’ll end up with more questions than answers.

Besides, I was told that the point of the story was resisting temptation. God wanted to see if Adam and Eve could do that. Spoiler: they couldn’t.

Ah the good old epicurean paradox :3. The christian god can't be all loving, all knowing, all powerful, and all present all at once, otherwise the whole religion makes no sense. If you solve that one you may become the new messiah, but otherwise the answer is "no reason" because none of it makes sense

I find the story better with "all-knowing" meaning know what is and had been and the future being unknown. A fact created by have multiple beings of free will.

That said eating the apple is very low stakes way to let someone choose to disobey you and thus learn what that means. The "punishment" seems like the plan all along.

at least how i prefer the story

The Jewish interpretation is that Eve 'knew' God wanted Adam to the eat the apple, so she tempted him with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXxZ7RMHt4g

God is also supposedly an all-knowing being, while at the same time excuses his shitty decisions and faulty creations with not being responsible for men's actions and decisions, and also free will is a thing.

Pick a lane. Either god is all-knowing and knows what every single human being who ever lived/lives/will live did/will do in their lifetimes and free will is an illusion, or he's not an all-knowing being.

Or... hear me out on this... He's not real! Crazy, I know.