Do you think he knew in advance that they would disobey? What if he chose not to? What if he wanted that to be their choice?
I don't think "what if's" are the issue.
I think if we're discussing the God of our Bible we have to contain our discussion to what he inspired to be written about him.
He is omniscient. And, he predestined those who would be saved from their sins before he created the world itself. That means, before Eden.
We're told, God predestined those who would come to him, be saved, before the creation of the world.
Seek scriptures that pertain to predestination and predetermination, determinism, in scripture. There are plenty to be found.
Here's a question that we should all consider.
If Eden was paradise and Adam and Eve were naked innocents there, why before God made them did he plant a tree full of fruit forbidden them later on?
Fruit that when consumed would give Adam and Eve knowledge of good and evil, right and wrong.
Whereas prior to consuming that fruit they were unconscious of such things. Which necessarily means they were incapable of obeying directives pertaining to obedience. And conversely, comprehending the consequence of disobedience.
He gave humans free will, so the command not to eat just that one fruit, when he had generously given them access to every other fruit tree in the garden, was a small test of their respect for his sovereignty, and what he claimed as his own 'property'.
See above.
There is no such thing as free will within the dominion, sovereignty, of omniscience.
Our illusion is that we have free choice. Proverbs 16:9
That one tree and what it represented, (the right to decide what was good and what was evil) belonged exclusively to God, so taking of its fruit was stealing from their Creator and disrespecting his sovereign right to set reasonable limits.
None of which pertains to Adam and Eve. Who had know knowledge of good nor evil, obedience nor disobedience. And the rewards/consequences thereof.
Imagine putting a baby able to crawl in a room. You tell the newborn that they're able to play in this room. But the pink teddy bear in the corner is not to be touched.
The baby eventually makes their way to that brilliantly pink bear and touches it.
You enter the room, scoop them up, and put them outside. Because they disobeyed the directive to not touch that bear. Then, you walk away and let them make due in the world. After promising them they'd suffer to survive all their days. Because of that one touch of that bear.
Actually, there was nothing wrong with the fruit in and of itself.....it was what the fruit represented that caused the problem. Adam and his wife were not encumbered by sin. Theirs was a deliberate act of disobedience, in full knowledge of the stated consequences. There was no excuse for what they did, and no basis to forgive them. The devil too knew that disobedience carried the death penalty, but all he cared about was himself.
There is no semblance of similarity between the Devil and Adam and Eve.
The Devil was Lucifer. One of God's angels. Highly intelligent in the beginning as God made him to be.
Adam and Eve possessed no intellect. They were innocent as newborns.
They were not possessed of the understanding of obedience and disobedience. The tree of knowledge.
It's fruit that which would imbue them with the requisite understanding of good and evil was forbidden them.
Prior to eating it they were incapable of comprehending directives and complying to edicts of obedience. Understanding the consequence of non-compliance, disobedience.
God set no paradigm for mankind except what would have resulted from their continued obedience....everlasting life in paradise.
That's not true. Even with a cursory glance of the scripture in Genesis, that is clearly not true.
It was not paradise when God permitted Satan to gain entry, with his knowledge of the ultimatum God gave Adam and Eve.
But, right from the beginning of their defection, the Creator purposed for a saviour who would rescue Adam's children, who were born into this situation through no fault on their part. (Romans 5:12)
That's true. All is predestined by God. That's why the tree of knowledge was created by him and planted in Eden.
A forbidden tree that's fruit would lead to the verdict of eternal damnation until salvation by creator is not a paradise garden. It is the launching pad for the game of polarities.
And there is no scripture that sustains inherited (from Adam) sin.
We are all responsible for our own actions when we are able to be held accountable for them. Having now the understanding the first people did not concerning obedience and its opposite, disobedience.
Adam and his wife abused their free will. But all their children having the same free will, had to choose who to obey as well.
They had free will as much as a newborn does.
You raise some important points, so I couldn't help myself...
