The Big Apple
Question
My friend told me that I could not eat apples because this is what Adam ate when he first sinned against God. Is this right? This sounds like superstition!
Answer
Apples appear in many religious traditions as “the" forbidden fruit. The Book of Genesis however does not describe the forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-6). In Latin, the term for “apple“ and “evil“ are similar in the singular (malus — apple, malum — evil) and identical in the plural (mala). [Wikipedia]. However, remember, Latin was created after the Adam and Eve events, but none-the-less a tradition exists.
There is no evidence biblically or secularly that the original fruit not to be eaten by Adam was an apple. However, even if we assume it was an apple, this does not mean we cannot eat apples. Why?
First, and foremost when God made the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” he pronounced that it was VERY GOOD (Gen. 1:31). There was nothing wrong with the tree or its fruit. Its mere existence was not sin itself, as God is not the author of sin (Jam. 1:13 ff, etc.). The sin was in Adam’s disobeying God’s command and not in the fruit itself. Second, God did not curse the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” but he did curse the ground that Adam worked (Gen. 3:17). God did not curse the fruit. Third, even if the fruit on the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” was an apple, there is no evidence that it was the “only” apple tree. Thus, not all apple trees would be considered evil and since God thereafter drove mankind out of the Garden and placed on the east side a cherubim with a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life (Gen. 1:24), I believe we may safely assume that no one has eaten again from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Fourth, the term apple is used [though not always as fruit to be eaten] in a positive sense several times in scripture (Deut 32:10; Psa. 17:8; Prov. 7:2; 25:11; SS 2:3, 5; 7:8; 8:5). This would be a doubtful use if the apple was suppose to symbolize that which is only evil – sin, the Fall of man, or original sin! Lastly, several places in scripture tell us that we may eat all types of food (Matt. 15:11; Acts 10:15; 1 Cor. 10:25; 1 Tim. 4:3-4; Tit. 1:15). As Paul states, “all food is clean” (Rom. 14:20).
There is nothing wrong with the “apple.”
And just in case one is concerned about Apple computers, according to Wired News: Apple Doin' the Logo-Motion, Apple’s first logo, was designed by Jobs and Wayne, and depicts Sir Isaac Newton [not Adam and Eve] sitting under an apple tree. This was later replaced by Rob Janoff’s “rainbow Apple,” the now-familiar rainbow-colored silhouette of an apple with a byte taken out of it (as a tribute to Isaac Newton's discoveries of the gravity (the apple), and the separation of light by prisms (the colors)). Moreover, Apple's first slogan, "Byte into an Apple," was not a “bite” into the Apple. So, do not be too hard on those Apple users; one day one may just tell you that it was the PC that took a byte out of the Apple market, but the majority of the Apple share is still intact. And note, just because sin took a bite out of God’s original creation, God’s original plan is still intact. The first Adam’s sinful bite was a step in the last Adam’s foreordained redemptive fight –
Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him (Acts 2:22-24).Thus, feel free to bite into an apple, apple pie, or carmeled apple. And no, they will not keep the doctor away, but they sure are good.
Answer by: Joseph R. Nally, Theological Editor, on behalf of the staff at IIIM. The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily the “official position” of Third Millennial Ministries.