A Dialogue of the Fall

A Dialogue of the Fall | Genesis 3:1-6 | Written by: Adam Barr

Satan: Did God really say you couldn't eat from any of the trees of in the garden?

Eve: No. He only said we couldn't eat from this one.

Satan: What is the underlying moral logic of such a prohibition?

Eve: Huh?

Satan: Do you know why God said no?

Eve: Not really. He just said that if I did, then I would die.

Satan: Well…perhaps you misunderstood. If you don’t know the WHY of this command, then you might be reading your own assumptions back into the command.

Eve: But he said don’t eat the fruit on the tree.

Satan: I think if you look more carefully, you’ll see that the command isn’t really about fruit or trees.

Eve: Huh?

Satan: The prohibition is much more about forming a unique kinship between humanity and God, one that is based on mutual appreciation and covenantal care.

Eve: What’s your point.

Satan: My point is that the tree isn't the point, your state of heart before God is the point. Do you love God?

Eve: Yes.

Satan: Do you wish to dishonor God?

Eve: No

Satan: By eating the fruit, are you expressing a heart of rebellion or a joyful curiosity in the taste and qualities of the fruit?

Eve: Ummm… Joyful curiosity.

Satan: Then you are not transgressing the underlying moral logic of the prohibition and are therefore free to eat of the fruit of the tree.

Eve: But God said don’t eat.

Satan: Eve, you’re not getting it, are you?