“The Bible says that after eating the fruit, Adam and Eve had their eyes opened and they became aware that they were naked. It is because they knew that they had done wrong that they tried to hide from God. There is no record of God telling them they had done wrong.”

They did know they had been commanded/told not to eat the fruit, therefore they knew better than to eat it, but they ate it anyway is the point.

They knew they had disobeyed God, people today know God’s Laws written on their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, God however has given us the power to CHOOSE to Love Him, in scripture we are told CHOOSE this day whom you will serve,
Remember?

Therefore, men and women cannot blame God if they fail to follow His guidance.

Without free will to choose, Adam and Eve would have been mere puppets. True love always requires choice.

Do you understand that? Love, like trust and faith, by their very natures cannot be forced, they have to be decisions.

God wanted Adam and Eve to choose to love and trust Him. The only way to give this choice would have been to command something that was not allowed and give them the ability to decide whether they’d obey.

Since God had planted in the garden all the different trees from which they could get fruit the test was not too difficult.

Adam and Eve had plenty to eat and a large variety of fruits from which to choose, and could have chosen to believe God.

After all,Adam and Eve were not lacking anything of necessity. They had omniscient God to give them what knowledge He saw fit,and provide for them. All that they needed to do was trust Him

One of their failures (aside from eating the fruit) was showing a lack of faith in God, but God did not MAKE them fail,just as He does not cause us to sin either.

The decision to obey or not was 100% their own,they had been told what would occur if they disobeyed, but they did it anyway knowing the consequence.

You say “No matter what anyone says, it is there in plain fact that Adam disobeyed God deliberately, and that act of disobedience was BEFORE he had eaten the fruit, not after.
Which brings back that question: From where did the “perfect” Adam get the ability to disobey God?”

As Jonathan said though, Adam had free will,and just as he had the freedom to obey God, heeding the knowledge he was directly given, he also had the freedom to do the opposite.

God did not make robots, but notheless With every choice is a consequence.

We know God gave him the choice whether to listen to Him or not to.

Adam only had knowledge before the fall that he was forbidden to eat the fruit because God gave him that knowledge directly!

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil on the other hand was put in the garden (as was stated previously) to give Adam a choice whether to trust God or to seek his knowledge elsewhere.

You say why “test” him. The fact is though as was stated forced love is not love.

You quote, “‘The question is, would merely eating a fruit give you knowledge of good and bad? Really? How does ingesting that fruit change the mind/brain of the man so that he now knows good and bad? The food goes to his stomach and the brain gets changed?’

The very fact that you ask this particular question shows exactly how much you don’t understand the scriptures you are thinking from a solely physical perspective.”

You\’ve missed the point there: Eating the fruit [a physical act] was going to produce “knowledge of good and bad” [a mental/spiritual realization]. How?

You have forgotten that Adam chose to disobey God BEFORE he actually ate the fruit. His act was DELIBERATE. Unlike Eve, he was not deceived. Again, he already had some knowledge to DELIBERATELY disobey God BEFORE he even ate the fruit. From where did he get that knowledge of “disobedience”?

You say, “Adam knew what he did was wrong, because God told him it was wrong.” The Bible says that after eating the fruit, Adam and Eve had their eyes opened and they became aware that they were naked. It is because they knew that they had done wrong that they tried to hide from God. There is no record of God telling them they had done wrong.

You say, “The fruit itself had no “magical” qualities, the tree was made as the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, the sole reason for its existence was to give Adam a choice, after all forced love is not love.” Adam was created “perfect” supposedly not having knowledge of good and evil, so why “test” him?

Again, you say, ‘“Merely eating the fruit” was not the issue, the issue was that Adam chose to disobey God, thus showing disdain and doubt for God’s wisdom and authority.’ Again, my point is, BEFORE he actually ate the fruit, Adam is demonstrating by his action that he HAS knowledge of good and evil!

Ask yourself, From where did Adam get the ability to disobey God since he hasn’t yet eaten the fruit? Again, Adam’s act was deliberate, he CHOSE to eat the fruit despite the warning of the consequences. Isn’t disobedience “sin”? Remember what James 1:14 and 5 says : “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” There’s the process: First desire [lust] leads to action [sin] leads to consequence [death].

No matter what anyone says, it is there in plain fact that Adam disobeyed God deliberately, and that act of disobedience was BEFORE he had eaten the fruit, not after.

Which brings back that question: From where did the “perfect” Adam get the ability to disobey God?

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35
“…the scripture cannot be broken; John 10:35 (Jesus’ Words)

He That Has Ears To Hear, Let Him Hear (Matthew 11:15-30)

Questions point though was the following, Jesus confirmed the validity of the OT, by you trying to refute the scriptures he taught and quoted from, you are basically accusing Jesus of lying, so how can you, after accusing him of lying, say you “admire his teachings”?

You ask

“The question is, would merely eating a fruit give you knowledge of good and bad? Really? How does ingesting that fruit change the mind/brain of the man so that he now knows good and bad? The food goes to his stomach and the brain gets changed?”

The very fact that you ask this particular question shows exactly how much you don’t understand the scriptures you are thinking from a solely physical perspective.

However,

Even now, when we do wrong (whatever it may be) we innately know it, even though the action we’ve done is physical, it affects us on a spiritual level. Same here, Adam knew what he did was wrong, because God told him it was wrong.

The fruit itself had no “magical” qualities, the tree was made as the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, the sole reason for its existence was to give Adam a choice, after all forced love is not love.

Point is,

Adam could have either trusted God for knowledge, or he could choose to seek his knowledge from the tree. Choosing to seek his knowledge from the tree, was disrespecting God.

“Merely eating the fruit” was not the issue, the issue was that Adam chose to disobey God, thus showing disdain and doubt for God’s wisdom and authority.

You ask “This tree’s fruit gives knowledge of good and bad. Up until then, what knowledge did Adam have? He obviously had some knowledge, because he was able to name the animals and birds that God brought to him!”

Before the fall, Adam HAD relied on God for His knowledge, by Adam’s disobedience though, he basically said “I want to seek my own knowledge” hence, as I said he disrespected God’s authority,wisdom, and love, God is simply letting man live with the consequence of that choice.

You lack understanding as to what the firmament is, and instead of seeking answers you assume “the scriptures must be wrong”, research better my friend, my best suggestion.

God tells us “Seek and you will find”