The excerpt below was extracted with permission from Kathleen Nielson’s book What God Says About Women, future version of Faithful Editor.
Why did the snake aim for Eve, not Adam?Because she was shrewd, she obviously thought it would work, but why?Well, the reason is not revealed to us, but, because of the success of the snake, we see that both Eve was vulnerable to attack by the animal and Adam was vulnerable to attack?Eva. Eva is the central human character In this drama, therefore, it is not surprising that, for centuries, people feel compelled to try to explain it.
- Some conclude that Eve was simply not as intelligent as Adam; that she was stupid.
- That’s why the snake managed to wrap it with its cunning logic.
- While Adam (it is said) would have unmasked it.
- Telling the animal to disappear forever.
- The Apostle Paul distinguishes Adam and Eve in the process of temptation: “And Adam was not deceived.
- But the woman.
- Being deceived.
- Fell into transgression?”(1 Tim 2:14).
- Does this mean that Adam was smarter than Eve?.
Others consider Eve no less intelligent, but more malicious, was she attracted to the devil in the midst of a perfect life in a beautiful garden, with a husband who loved her, in the presence of God Himself?How can you do that? What pain!Tertullian, a 3rd century AD writer, wrote about women’s clothing. In this book, Tertullian remembers all the women who share with Eve?Ignominia (?) From original sin and hatred of being the cause of the fall of the human race?: Don’t you know that each of you is an Eve?A phrase from God about his sex dwells at this moment: necessarily guilt must also be there. You are the portal of the devil: you were the one who cut off the forbidden] tree; You were the first to abandon divine law; It was you who persuaded the devil himself not to have the courage to attack. You have so easily destroyed the image of God, woman. Because of your desertation?
Let’s add another image to accompany it? Stupid Eva? And the “bad Eva”: that of the “sexual temptation of Eva”. Many ancient art paintings depicted Eve in seductive positions, prolonging the fruit and offering much more than fruit. In this scenario, poor Adam appears incapable under the power of Eve’s sexual advances. Does Eva become the archetype of the femme fatale? Paving the way, implicitly, to all the women after her.
All of Genesis chapter 3 helps us process these images, but let’s take a starting point: Was Eve less intelligent than Adam and therefore an easier target? The Bible offers no evidence for this. In fact, does Eva seem articulate enough? Certainly more than Adam on this stage! Although the Bible says she was “deceived”, it was not because of her inability to reason that she was caught; Was that the wish? The tree was good and pleasant and desirable.
In fact, we can attribute Eve’s vulnerability to Adam’s ina nut to take good care of her. We must remember that it was to him that God initially gave him the order not to eat the fruit. Why didn’t you jump into this conversation, declare the word of God, and save Eve from this mistake?
But doesn’t Adam’s mistake null override Eve’s?But it was no less serious than yours. In the end, the vulnerability of Adam and Eve was linked to temptation and sin. Therefore, in Genesis 3, Eve does not present heses heses he or she is a worse person than Adam. They both fell, one after the other. The question of order is essential, and Paul addresses this question by talking about Eve’s sin just before his comment about Eve is deceived, Paul writes, “Why was Adam trained first, then Eve?(1 Tim 2. 13). Why is Paul pointing to this? Because Adam had the primary responsibility for this scene in Eden. And he didn’t act on that responsibility. Let’s look at God’s view of this in the following verses.
As for the accusation that Eve used her sexual charms to induce Adam to eat from the tree, I suppose it’s possible. However, there is no biblical support for this view. Adam certainly was not incapable: “And he ate. ” He did that. We can say that this is the highlight of the action. Adam was not incapable, nor was he deceived; he knew exactly what God’s voice had said, but he heard his wife’s voice and decided to disobey.
In Genesis 3: 1-7, we are not witnessing a female failure, but a human failure. The woman may have opened the door to sin, but Adam could and should have closed that door. Eve’s various depictions as stupid, bad, or seductive are unfair, but the scriptures are not. And the God of Scripture is not.
What does God really say about women? Is there a way to see this message as not just something to believe in, but also to appreciate? In this delightful conversation book, Kathleen Nielson looks at the scriptures that women struggle with the most, openly or not, especially within churches: pastoral ministry, submission, abuse, etc. Join Kathleen in her search for honest answers to difficult questions and be amazed by the beauty of God’s plan for women.