The story from Genesis is very familiar to us. It is commonly called the Temptation of Eve, although this is unfair to the woman God created to be the companion of the first man. It is noteworthy that neither of these two people is named until after this story. While the woman is tempted, is it fair to blame her for anything that happens?
In the second chapter of Genesis, we see God explaining some of the ground rules to the first man. In the middle of the chapter, God explains, “You may eat freely of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” It isn’t until several verses later that the woman is created to be his partner. God is never recorded as telling the woman of this prohibition. It isn’t until the serpent talks with her that she is made aware of any restriction we can see. Is it fair to blame someone who has never been told to avoid the fruit of one particular tree for all that happens to mankind after this?
