Columnist Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson writes in her Walking Our Faith column that “We think it’s stupid that God punished his own creation for the harmless sin of eating a piece of fruit.”

There is no evidence they were tempted by the allowed tree of life, the first tree, whose fruit they should have eaten prior to Genesis 3:6 if they had obeyed the commandment in Genesis 1:28 to be fruitful and multiply while still in the Garden of Eden.

They were tempted only by the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the second tree, the forbidden tree.

Both trees are in the center of the garden right next to each other (Genesis 2:9). This is the key that unlocks the door, opens it and presents the exegesis that solves the mystery.