Kicked out of Paradise... punishment or blessing? by Abbie Hedden

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We all know the story. Adam and Eve are tempted, fall, and get booted from Paradise. Milton portrays Adam and Eve as being sorrowful about leaving but excited for the potential of the expanded world. Adam and Eve were commanded not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But I have questions! God put 2 trees in the Garden according to Genesis 2:9 (The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.) So God didn't forbid them from eating the Tree of Life? And from this thought spurs my theory that God didn't kick them out of Paradise simply as a punishment, as Milton stated, but to keep them from being eternally separated from God. Think about it. If Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and then fell, and then ate from the Tree of Life directly after, they would be immortal, but perpetually in the fallen state. So God pulling them from Paradise wasn't simply a punishment, but a blessing and a hope as well. I don't know if that directly pertains to the book, but those are my thoughts.

Abbie Hedden

PS I commented on Jamie and Clabo's posts

Comments

Katie Byars said…
I never thought of it like that before. I know that eating from the tree of life grants immortality and eating from the tree of the knowledge good and evil caused the fall but I am going to have to read more and think about it more deeply.
September 9, 2019 at 9:18 PM
Breanna Poole said…
That's quite an interesting theory! I never really considered it before, but I suppose it would make sense. By banishing Adam and Eve, God kept them from becoming immortal and sinful, which perhaps would have made them too much like Satan who is in that circle of eternal life and sinful action. It is a very interesting idea, and while needing more research and prayer to get a conclusive answer to, it is an idea worth putting out in the universe.
September 10, 2019 at 5:33 AM
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