Why did Adam & Eve fail to dialogue with God?

In the book The Road Less Traveled, author Scott Peck M.D. discovers an important missing link in the serpent-and-the-apple story: "The key issue lies in what is missing. The story suggests that God was in the habit of 'walking in the garden in the cool of the day' and that there were open channels of communcation between Him and man. But if this was so, then why was it that Adam and Eve, separately or together, before or after the serpent's urging, did not say to God, 'We're curious as to why You don't want us to eat any of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We really like it here, and we don't want to seem ungrateful, but Your law on this matter doesn't make much sense to us, and we'd really appreciate it if you explained it to us'? But of course they did not say this. Instead they went ahead and broke God's law without ever understanding the reason behind the law, without taking the effort to challenge God directly, question his authority or even communicate with Him on a reasonably adult level. They listened to the serpent, but they failed to get God's side of the story before they acted.

"Why this failure? Why was no step taken between the temptation and the action? It is this missing step that is the essence of sin. The step missing is the step of debate...The debate between the serpent and God is symbolic of the dialogue between good and evil which can and should occur within the minds of human beings. Our failure to conduct –or to conduct fully and wholeheartedly- this internal debate between good and evil is the cause of those evil actions that constitute sin. In debating the wisdom of a proposed course of action, human beings routinely fail to obtain God’s side of the issue. They fail to consult or listen to the God within them, the knowledge of rightness which inherently resides within the minds of all mankind. We make this failure because we are lazy. It is work to hold these internal debates. They require time and energy just to conduct them. And if we take them seriously –if we seriously listen to this “God within us”- we usually find ourselves being urged to take the more difficult path, the path of more effort rather than less. To conduct the debate is to open ourselves to suffering and struggle. Each and every one of us, more or less frequently, will hold back from this work, will also seek to avoid this painful step. Like Adam and Eve, and every one of our ancestors before us, we are all lazy. So original sin does exist; it is our laziness. It is very real. It exists in each and every one of us –infants, children, adolescents, mature adults, the elderly; the wise or the stupid; the lame or the whole. Some of us may be less lazy than others, but we are all lazy to some extent…Much of our fear is fear of a change in the status quo, a fear that we might lose what we have if we venture forth from where we are now...Here again the risk is of the loss of the status quo, and the fear is of the work involved in arriving at a new status quo...This fight against entropy (laziness) never ends." (p. 272-74)

This ties in beautifully with several points made at our St. Paul's Workshop tonight.

St. Paul's Bible Study Workshop

Discussion underway from St. Paul's Workshop:
Lesson 6 of 10
Colossians 3:5-4:18

Main Headings:
1. Renunciation of Vice

• -Reject evil, do good: "Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly"
• Put to death what is not good: "immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry
• Because of these the wrath of God 4 is coming (upon the disobedient).
• By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way.
• But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language; stop lying to one another
• Since you have taken off the old self with its practices
• And have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator
• Here there is not Greek or Jew, circumcision and uncircumsicion, barbarian Scythian, slave, free
• But Christ is all and in all
• As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
• Put on then, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience
• Bearing with one another
• Forgiving one another
• If one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do
• And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection
• And let the peace of Christ control your hearts
• The peace into which you were also called in one body
• And be thankful
• Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
• As in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another
• Singing psalms hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God
• And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
• Giving thanks to God the Father through him

2. The Christian Family

• Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord.
• Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them.
• Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
• Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.

3. Slaves and Masters

• Slaves, obey your human masters in everything, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but in simplicity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance; be slaves of the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will receive recompense for the wrong he committed, and there is no partiality.
• Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, realizing that you too have a Master in heaven.

4. Prayer and Apostolic Spirit

• Persevere in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving;
• at the same time, pray for us, too, that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak of the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, as I must speak.
• Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.
• Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one.

Conclusion
5. Tychicus and Onesimus

• Tychicus, my beloved brother, trustworthy minister, and fellow slave in the Lord, will tell you all the news of me.
• I am sending him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us and that he may encourage your hearts,
• together with Onesimus, a trustworthy and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

6. From Paul's Co-Workers

• Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings,
• as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions; if he comes to you, receive him), and Jesus, who is called Justus, who are of the circumcision;
• these alone are my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.
• Epaphras 5 sends you greetings; he is one of you, a slave of Christ (Jesus), always striving for you in his prayers so that you may be perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.
• For I can testify that he works very hard for you and for those in Laodicea 6 and those in Hierapolis
• Luke the beloved physician sends greetings, as does Demas.

7. A Message for the Laodicians

• Give greetings to the brothers in Laodicea and to Nympha and to the church in her house.
• And when this letter is read before you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and you yourselves read the one from Laodicea.
• And tell Archippus, "See that you fulfill the ministry that you received in the Lord."
• The greeting is in my own hand, Paul's. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.