The Punishment for the First Sin(s)

[J. K.]

God meted out a punishment for Adam and Eve's sin of disobedience. Eve was cursed with pain in childbirth, and submission to her husband. Adam was cursed to work for his food. They received different punishments for the same sin.

So is there more to the story than the literal interpretation? Conceivably, Adam's punishment was to work for food instead of it being abundantly provided in the Garden. Eve was caused to be submissive to Adam for misleading him. But...pain in childbirth? How does that relate to eating fruit? Is there something more implied here?

[WoIverine]

Yep, hindsight, Adam should've probably kicked her to the curb. God would've probably given him a more attractive one after that. She used her feminine wiles and like a typical dumb guy, he got talked into it by a cute girl, hence the added punishment to Eve.

Edited January 31, 2013 by WoIverine

[Jinxdom]

It wasn't a punishment but a gift that they never knew they wanted. The whole idea of being able to go out and fulfill your own needs instead of waiting for somebody to hand you it is one of the greatest things that could ever be given to a person.

Yes it might be painful(this is where the childbirth part comes in) to go out and do your own thing but it is well worth the effort to do so.

Edited February 1, 2013 by Jinxdom

[+Link of Hyrule]

If we look at the response Adam and Eve had to God when he questioned them about the fruit, they both seem to want to point fingers at someone else. God caught them out eating the fruit. Adam pointed the finger at Eve and said "blame her, she told me to eat it". Eve pointing the finger at the serpent and said "blame it, the serpent told me to eat it". God had none of it and cursed all three. Ever wonder if the story might have been different if Adam and Eve instead of blaming others stood up and said "Yes, God, we stuffed up and apologise" - neither did I until someone brought it up and now I can't help but think about it.

With that said, the narrative here is not an historical account of the origin of our species. We were never in a sinless Eden environment. The text of Genesis 1-11 was written to convey theological truths - that mankind sins against God and that sin broke the relationship between mankind and God and needs to be restored. It may be the case (and in my opinion, probably the case) that there were two humans upon which the Adam and Eve story is based, who had a special relationship with God but broke that relationship somehow, but whether there was or not, the exact events depicted here are more about theology than they are about history.

Just a thought,

~ PA

Edited February 1, 2013 by Paranoid Android

[Jinxdom]

If we look at the response Adam and Eve had to God when he questioned them about the fruit, they both seem to want to point fingers at someone else. God caught them out eating the fruit. Adam pointed the finger at Eve and said "blame her, she told me to eat it". Eve pointing the finger at the serpent and said "blame it, the serpent told me to eat it". God had none of it and cursed all three. Ever wonder if the story might have been different if Adam and Eve instead of blaming others stood up and said "Yes, God, we stuffed up and apologise" - neither did I until someone brought it up and now I can't help but think about it.

That is a very good catch. Can't believe that I missed it in the story even though it is something that I actually do(Not passing the blame on others). Which could be another reason why the whole making childbirth painful.

Just a thought my butt, that was a good thought.

[Beckys_Mom]

. But...pain in childbirth? How does that relate to eating fruit? Is there something more implied here?

If Eve had of obeyed god, then we women would never feel a thing when squeezing a baby out of a small area .. It would feel like getting tickled ... Darn it Eve !! I bet god feels like his curse is defeated for so many women now who get the epidural

I wonder who sinned to make it painful for others when passing gall stones?

[Jor-el]

God meted out a punishment for Adam and Eve's sin of disobedience. Eve was cursed with pain in childbirth, and submission to her husband. Adam was cursed to work for his food. They received different punishments for the same sin.

So is there more to the story than the literal interpretation? Conceivably, Adam's punishment was to work for food instead of it being abundantly provided in the Garden. Eve was caused to be submissive to Adam for misleading him. But...pain in childbirth? How does that relate to eating fruit? Is there something more implied here?

They did not recieve different punishment for their sin, they were both punished in the same way, they were expelled from the garden, and thus death came to the human race as a result.

The specific punishment that you quoted above was not because of their sin, it was because of their denial of guilt in taking responsability for their actions. They effectively were lying to protect themselves against Gods judgement.

[Copen]

God meted out a punishment for Adam and Eve's sin of disobedience. Eve was cursed with pain in childbirth, and submission to her husband. Adam was cursed to work for his food. They received different punishments for the same sin.

So is there more to the story than the literal interpretation? Conceivably, Adam's punishment was to work for food instead of it being abundantly provided in the Garden. Eve was caused to be submissive to Adam for misleading him. But...pain in childbirth? How does that relate to eating fruit? Is there something more implied here?

Casual reading is the result of this interpretation. Eva was not cursed with pain in childbirth. She was not cursed at all. She was punished. Not the same. She was given sorrow at conception. Sorrow at conception is about 9 months before pain at childbirth. That sorrow has endured all through the ages as Eva was the first Jewish woman. And Jews have suffered hate, prejudice, mistreatment, torture and death every generation. And a Jewish woman even today can be heard to be sorrowful that she is bringing a child into such a world that will be hurtful to the child for no other reason than because he/she is a Jew.

Another casual misreading --- Before anyone ate the fruit and had their eyes opened and had the ability to know good from evil, God told Adam to till the garden. To till a garden requires labor. I image Adam was quite happy when God created out of the ground beasts of the field (not spoken into being like He did Day Six). It was a help for Adam to get domestic beasts of the field to help him labor in the garden for his food. All this before then gained spiritual insight.

After they gained the knowledge of good and evil God said to Adam that he would eat the herb of the field, in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. Bread is used symbolically in the Bible for the inspired word of God. The inspired word has only ever been given from God to the Jews. They are the ones who have labored and sweated over being the ones to bring God's word to His children.

Question: If God told Adam the self same day they ate the fruit they would die - - - - and they didn't die physically, what was God talking about? Did God lie? Does the Bible say God changed His mind? You might begin to die over a long period of time; but Adam lived almost 1,000 years. Doesn't sound like he was even beginning to die. But when Adam died, it was one day. And the same day they gained the knowledge of good and evil they died.

Another Question: When God told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Eva had not been cloned from Adam's DNA yet. So Adam told Eva if she TOUCHED the fruit she would die. That was a lie and a sin; and no one had eaten the fruit yet.

Knowledge of good and evil does not bring about sin. It causes one to be stronger and able to resist sin.

God bless

[Mr Walker]

God meted out a punishment for Adam and Eve's sin of disobedience. Eve was cursed with pain in childbirth, and submission to her husband. Adam was cursed to work for his food. They received different punishments for the same sin.

So is there more to the story than the literal interpretation? Conceivably, Adam's punishment was to work for food instead of it being abundantly provided in the Garden. Eve was caused to be submissive to Adam for misleading him. But...pain in childbirth? How does that relate to eating fruit? Is there something more implied here?

The "punishment" for the original sin was basically death, pain and suffering.

But it wasnt actually a punishment It was a natural consequence of human choices which applies even today.

If you step off a fifty foot cliff, the result is not a punishment just a naturala consequence. In the genesis story, the consequence of mankind separating itself from god through disobedience was to lose all the benefits of connection to god.

While there were obviously some alternate benefits gained in this separation, the story is designed to make us think. "Is material knowledge and independence from god the most important thing in a humans life, or is inner happiness, peace contentment and connection to god etc?"

In other words, the spiritual elements of life.

Which truly makes us happy, and which best promotes a positive destiny for us?

While religion poses this question at a societal level, it is a question each individual must answer for themselves.