The book of Genesis in the Bible is primarily famous for the Biblical account of Creation, and the Fall of Man. Adam & Eve, the Snake in the Garden, the forbidden fruit have been immortalized in sculpture, paintings, poetry, theater, song and dance... and also form the doctrinal and theological foundation basis for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These doctrines vary significantly based on the interpretation of the text. Some treat it as an allegory, some a morality tale, others point to the technical, logical and theological problems that arise from trying to apportion responsibility for man's Fall -- was it the snake, was it the humans, was it God Himself for setting it up?

A simple and logical reading reveals that much of current theology, completely misses addressing key facts that are hiding in plain sight in the Genesis account, which upend completely the conclusions drawn by historical approaches, as well as address so-called contradictions in the text. We will look at two conventional theologies and talk about why they may be incomplete.... 

#1 Mans' Sin caused Death to come into this world

This is at the core of most orthodox interpretations, and doctrinal statements prevalent today. Let's take a look at one clue, that might cast some question on that.... namely that PHYSICAL DEATH was ALWAYS a possibility for Adam & Eve even BEFORE the Fall!

The evidence is found in a most prosaic section --- one that talks about FOOD, right before God rests on the seventh day. 

"And God said, Behold, I have given you [[ speaking to the humans ]] every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.  ---And--- to ---every ---beast of the earth, and to every ---fowl of the air, and to --everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is ---life, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so. " - Gen 1:29-30

Please note, this is Chapter 1, before any talk of the Garden of Eden or anything like that. 

Why do animals (including man) need FOOD? --- Simple, to sustain LIFE --- proved by the fact that food in the text is explicitly provided for everything "wherein there is life". If an animal does not eat, it does not have the energy to sustain life, and so can DIE ... and that INCLUDES Adam & Eve, as they are the ones being addressed, and their needs for food are lumped together in EXACTLY the same way as every living creature on this planet.

Therefore, it logically follows, that Adam and Eve needed food to KEEP ON LIVING (and by way of a passing insight, please note that our original diet was VEGETARIAN!)

The topic of food comes up again, this time, when we are told what the Garden of Eden contains, and now we are in Chapter 2.

"And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. " -Gen 2:8-9

Please take careful note of the trees being planted in the Garden.

ONLY trees that were good to look at, AND good for FOOD (there it is again - confirming that the first mention in Chap 1 was not happenstance, but intentional. 

A tree of LIFE ( which further on in Genesis we read), that if Man eats of that fruit, he will LIVE forever!! & 

The infamous tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - and the forbidden fruit, which the humans are told, IN THE DAY they eat of it, they will DIE... (Huh, is this the ONLY poisonous tree in the garden???)

When Eve is tempted to eat the forbidden fruit, here is how it (the fruit) is described (we are now in Chapter 3) 

"And when the woman saw that the tree was ---good for food---, and that it was ---pleasant to the eyes---, and a tree to be desired to make one ---wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. " - Gen 3:6

The tree containing the forbidden fruit was not an outlier from the rest of the trees in the garden! It was good to look at, the fruit was nutritious (capable of sustaining LIFE!), and able to make one wise (which is what correctly distinguishing between good, and evil is). 

Lastly, please note, in Gods instructions to the humans, they are NOT forbidden to eat from the tree of Life initially, but once fallen ---- are barred from eating it. 

Before the Fall: "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of ---every tree of the garden thou mayest ----freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." - Gen 2:17

After the Fall: " And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: ----Therefore---- the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken." - Gen 3:22-23

There it is!

Eating from the tree of Life confers the ability to regenerate and reverse an aging process. And by the way, this is also the topic of active scientific research to find out exactly WHY our bodies gradually lose the capability to repair themselves as we grow older. Wouldn't it be nice to have an elixir that works (like antioxidants) to reverse the ravages of time and dissolute living?? :-)

In the last chapter of the Bible, in the book of Revelation, the Tree of Life reappears, and we are told that Man can eat from there again, and that its --leaves-- have medicinal powers. 

"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the ---tree of life---, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." - Rev 22:1-2

We get a little more detail about the tree here, in the last book of the Bible, at the opposite end, where it all began!! Cortes , Ponce-de-Leon, so many have journeyed to find the fountain of eternal life, but if they had read their Bibles properly, they should have been more interested in vegetation than water! 

We, as modern humans, are becoming much more aware of the intricate biochemical mechanisms that power our physical bodies. Is it so far beyond the realm of the possible to find a plant that has the power to activate mechanisms that help our body live forever?

And, again, by way of passing, let us note that even in the most distant future predicted in the Bible (in the Apocalypse, aka the book of Revelation), living forever requires one to eat from the tree of Life, and people will still need medical attention! 

#2 Who is morally responsible for the fall of Man - God, the Snake, or the Humans?

This is a topic that is still controversial. 

Orthodox theology teaches that it was a sovereign act, God taking full responsibility in the text for allowing it to happen --- putting the fruit in the garden, allowing the snake to talk to the woman, even creating a woman who would disobey -- and that is a logical view, entirely consistent with the Genesis account... others have put the blame on man, the snake... however... an important moral question remains.

How can an unwise creature (as before eating, Adam/Eve would have, by definition, lacked the capability to discern between good and evil) be held accountable for the choices that they make in that state?

The answer is simple. 

The entire experiment was a test of obedience, not wisdom!

The humans were given CLEAR instructions, and a WARNING, complete with the CONSEQUENCE of doing just that ONE thing. Everything else was up for grabs, and there were NO OTHER RESTRICTIONS placed on the couple. 

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." - Gen 2:16-17

The disobedience of Man was PROVOKED by a 3rd party (as the couple were not inclined to disobey, why would they?). In the provocation, it is clearly documented that Eve was fully aware of the prohibition and its consequences (even embellishing a little) as seen below... 

"And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." - Gen 3:2-3 God did not prohibit them from touching it in His original statement, all he forbade was eating... maybe Eve was just being hyper-careful!

The choice to disobey the commandment was a decision that humans made for themselves ( yes, they were egged on to do it, but they could have said No ..) --- the jury is out as to the free-ness of their will (remember, they were in a controlled environment), but at least their decision was not encumbered, moderated, or prevented - by any other forces.

The experiment was a success. 

It proved that having the capability to discern Good and Evil does not AUTOMATICALLY confer the capability of choosing only Good. 

That is a journey that kicks off the rest of the Bible and is not something we have time to develop in this brief article.

Conclusion

Whether the text of Genesis is divinely inspired or not is a matter of faith. 

Even when looked at as a didactic fable, there are complexities of thought and implications in the first few chapters of Genesis that continue to provide much food for thought and debate, even in today's modern world. 

The debate on Creationism, Vegan/Non-Vegan diets, our Moral duty, the brokenness of Man, the reality of death and the finitude of our lives ( implied in Genesis, by God setting a limit for how much sin a person can commit in his/her life time, by not permitting us to eat of the Tree of Life and disobeying infinitely ), and the end of the arc of our human existence --- to learn to do good and avoid evil --- these are all topics that are introduced and answered in the very first few pages of Genesis!

We are TOLD that an extra-terrestrial (by definition) agency terraformed this planet and introduced plant and animal life. Our primacy as a species on this planet is clearly outlined, as is our responsibility to maintain what has been entrusted to us.

And lastly, the human species has some growing up to do before they can be entrusted to live forever!