Garden of Eden
For unknown reasons, god decides to create animals and humans: inferior creatures extremely limited both mentally and physically (especially in comparison to god). Much like the angels, god expects humans to perform just as they would if they had unlimited perspective and full understanding of everything, when clearly they do not. Now that these limitations and challenges lay in front of humans, god puts restrictions on desires that he has given them. This may seem cruel and unfair, but who said god was fair? God designs humans with desires to have sex but forbids fornication. God designs humans with the capacity to reason and be independent thinkers, but god does not explain sufficiently and demand we ignore our reasoning and rely on his commands alone. God designs Adam to be innocent, naïve, and curious... and god forbids Adam to eat from a fruit yet does not explain why, only that he will die if he does. Christians will argue that this is not an act of cruelty, but love. God is only testing Adam. Let us examine the definition of "test".
Verb: test
1. Put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to
2. Examine one's knowledge of something
3. To determine a previously unknown outcome
Why would god test Adam? According to definition, god was limited in knowledge so conducting a test was necessary for god to understand what he did not previously. God was examining Adam's knowledge or trying to determine an outcome that was previously unknown - but if he is god, wouldn't he know everything to begin with? Then why was a test given if not necessary? With god, if something is not done out of need, it is done out of desire. One might conclude that god was testing Adam not for new knowledge, but perhaps out of a desire to throw hoops and hurdles in front of him to watch him struggle - but who wants to believe in a cruel god? If there is another reason, god has not made it clear - and it does not seem like love. Using the brain he has given me, I see no other options. The brain he designed for me thinks he is a bastard. But I digress.
The serpent, which Christians presume to be Satan (although it is not specified anywhere in genesis who or what the serpent is other than a serpent), supposedly tricks Adam and Eve into eating the fruit of knowledge, which god forbids. Why would god forbid knowledge? Why would god put restriction on information and experience? It is bad enough that he has limited our mental and physical states to that of a rotting animal, hosting parasites and pain. It seems odd that god would design us to crave knowledge and information and then restrict it - it becomes clear that god is the source of sin and designed us to do precisely that. But let us move on.
So Adam eats from the fruit, as god plans, resulting in their ejection from Eden. When you have a probability greater than zero, the longer time goes on the more highly probable that variable becomes. God created the variable for sin to exist. One could conclude that humans could only delay the inevitable. Just before they are ejected, Adam is walking in the garden and god asks him where he is. God knows very well where Adam is, and Adam should know this. Perhaps god had not honestly communicated the nature of Adam's own creator to him. When god asks Adam where he is, he suggests he lacks knowledge of Adam's location, clearly tricking Adam - or more accurately, attempting to deceive Adam.
In short, we have determined:
- Communication between god and Adam is lacking, enough for Adam to believe god does not know where he is.
- God did not give Adam sufficient information about anything, and then restricts other possible knowledge by forbidding the fruit - and without explanation.
- God attempts to deceive Adam by asking where he is (then later calls Satan the father of the lie - the nerve!).
Possible Christian retort:
-"God is not the source of sin." On the one hand god must be in complete control, as he is god. On the other, he cannot be in complete control, or he would be responsible for sin. If god is not the source of all, he is limited and not god by definition.
-"God is merciful, not cruel." Consider these three aspects. 1) The wages sin pays is death. 2) God chose death as the consequence for sinning. 3) God is under obligation to no one. Therefore, god chooses violence and death as a solution out of pure desire.
-"God is not deceiving Adam, but teaching him a lesson". Verb: deceive - Cause someone to believe an untruth. Did god cause Adam to believe that he did not know his location? Yes. Is it truth that god really did know where Adam was? Yes. By definition, god deceived Adam.