In the judicial system it is referred to as hear say. When a witness didn't hear the information directly but rather from a second person. It is often dismissed or overruled by the judge.
So it is no wonder The Judge overrules a misdemeanor in the Garden of Eden case. You see, when Eve gets confused by the snake, she has an excuse. She received the rules about the Garden second-hand. Actually, she wasn't even created yet when the instructions were given. Check it out:
It is not until the next verse (v 18) that God realizes that Adam is lonely. “The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Eve wasn't there to get the word directly. She had no way of going back and checking the records to see exactly what God said was permitted and what wasn't.
We do.
The problem is that we don't go back and check it. Centuries ago, when most Christians were illiterate, many of them relied on their preacher to teach them about God and His ways. They had to trust that their clergyman was teaching them correctly. However, today, we have Bibles readily available for our use. We have internet sites that have the Word of God acceptable in any language and translation. (check out Biblegateway.com.) We have the knowledge and freedoms to read the printed Word anywhere, anytime. But we choose not to.
No, many of us just sit back and let others do the reading. We expect them to have all the answers. We let them decide for us what is right and wrong. We hope that someone else knows what God really wants.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we end up believing lies from talking snakes. How the truth gets distorted. Why there is so much debate over what is acceptable or not.
Get it first hand. Check out the answer key. It is all right there for you. Provided for you by The Author of life.
