NOTE: It's sometimes asserted that Eve made an innocent mistake.
Neither Adam nor Eve had any experience whatsoever with being lied to.
They didn't even have a comprehension of what being lied to meant.
That's why y'all are still alive, having been granted mercy from a gracious Father for an event whereby no motive of guile could exist.
When I was four, mom had me walk with her to the corner store for some light grocery shopping. I had no prior experience with this activity whatsoever, and saw mom picking up the food items she wanted, placing them in a basket after which a nice elderly man put them in paper bags for her to carry home. Oh, I thought, that's how this works. One picks up what one wants to bring home. So I picked up a pack of gum I wanted, and not needing a bag, nor the help of any nice elderly man to put my gum in a bag, I placed the gum in my pocket.
Truly ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE AT HOME... "Where did you get that gum?" she asked. Such a stupid question puzzled me, as mom wasn't stupid. I got it the same way she did. We went to the store, she brought home things she wanted and I brought home things I wanted. So I said, "At the store," only to be severely scolded and spanked for doing the same thing I saw mom do, but now being charged with stealing. What was stealing? No one had ever explained "money" and prices or anything like that to me. And no, mom was not really gracious or kind, now believing her baby boy to be at the threshold of the gates of hell.
I think that's when I realized that all people are insane.
Of course I understood what their concerns were once the problem was explained to me; being dramatically marched back down to the corner grocery store where my heinous evil behaviour was described to the owner / clerk. He thought to resolve the issue by forgiveness and gifting me the gum. Mom, the Baptist she was, demanded that the gum had to be paid for, and stepped me through the process of (what was that new word ???) oh yes, BUYING the gum.
Obviously my experience doesn't exactly match that which Adam and Eve went through but, golly gee wiz, neither Adam nor Eve knew what a lie was, nor how to process being lied to.
So it absolutely was an innocent mistake. Sometimes I think certain people will blame the abducted child for getting into the car. In my case, the guy opened the car door and said he'd give me a ride the rest of the way to school. No one ever told me to not do that, but I stood there thinking, how would
he know where my school was ? Still having no answer to that, I just stood there trying to figure it out. By now he got all upset, cursed, slammed the car door and sped off, with my thoughts concluding that I certainly wouldn't accept a ride from someone that angry. A lady came out on the porch behind me and asked if I was okay. I recognized her as the mother of a classmate, Susie. I was fine, so I told her that, and then went on my way to school.
Rhema
