I just finished reading Joni Mitchell - In Her Own Words. She said essentially the same thing in own of the interviews. Great minds and all.

God gave free choice then punished Adam and Eve for using that choice. Bottom line if god is all knowing isn't he able to foresee this stuff and stop it.

The message is very much that you'll be punished for your curiosity, so you'd better not question anything and just obey.

Knowledge is bad, ignorance is good! I am too much of a smartass to go along with that. That must be why I am here.

Nice, straight up honesty!

Yes, a major issue I have with Christianity. Not only that tree of knowledge story's horrifying message, but what is revered as the animal symbol of what "good Christians" are expected to strive to be? The dumb-as-dirt, easily led (and misled) SHEEP! Then there is that statement "man's wisdom is but foolishness to God." So folks, don't even think of trusting your own efforts to reason through questions! Yes, just have faith! Trust what your religious leaders tell you, because they speak for God. Be naive like little children. That is what God wants of you.

Pretty blatant.

Animals don't have a knowledge of good or evil. Predators kill everyday for a living. Often brutally. They don't understand that as being good or evil. We don't characterize it that way, either... Largely because we know that they don't understand it as anything but the natural way of things. At some point, if you go back far enough, we all have a male ancestor, who was human, but also - like an animal - lacked this knowledge of good and evil. But, one day either he, or his offspring, did "get it". And that first man to gain the knowledge of good and evil had it explained to him by a woman. Or, perhaps it was his relationship with a woman that inspired him to understand what is good, and what is evil. Once you understand that your behavior can either create a world of good, or a world of evil, then you have to take responsibility for the life you live. And that makes life a lot harder. That's my theory of that story anyway.

Maybe it's all about discovery.

Don't forget that the girl wanted knowledge and that was a no-no. Keep those women in the dark.