I have come to believe that we, as a society, see God as something other than what is presented in the Old Testament. In our society today, the belief is that God is all-powerful, all knowing, just and loving, at least according to the New Testament. Comparing various ways that God has treated those who have made mistakes, or even sinned, it is easy to see that the God in the Old Testament is a vengeful, harsh God. However, the God in the New Testament is a loving, forgiving entity.
             In the book of Genesis, we meet Adam and Eve, and some of God's first creations. Adam and Eve are two very innocent beings. They have yet to experience "sin." They live their innocent lives in the Garden of Eden in which there is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God has warned them not to eat the apple from the tree. In the text, the serpent convinces Eve that there is nothing wrong with eating from the tree. Even though she has been informed not to, she is convinced that nothing bad could come of it. In fact, the serpent says it will not harm her. After Adam and Eve both ate, their eyes were "opened" and what followed has been called the fall from grace. What was God's response? Although God acknowledged who was at fault and punished accordingly, He punished both Adam and Eve. How could He punish these two who were, wrongly, convinced that eating from the Tree was not bad? It was God who gave this temptation to the people He "lovingly" created. Although He did inform them that they ought not to eat it, He didn't stress what would befall them, rather He just told them they would die. Not sure what would really befall them, and convinced by the serpent it was acceptable to eat, Adam and Eve clearly made a naive mistake. Why would this "loving" God that surrounds us in society punish something He created and "loved?" Why did he put this temptat
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