text: I have always viewed the account of Adam, Eve, and the fruit of the trees in the garden in terms of self-knowledge.  The Serpent tempted Eve to eat from the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil.  Prior to consuming that fruit, I assume she and Adam were innocent just as very small children are innocent in that they don't yet know what actions are punishable.  But once Eve, and then Adam, had eaten that fruit, they knew the difference between good actions and wrong/evil actions.  It's significant that after consuming the fruit, they hid themselves because they were naked - they had become capable of shame. The gift of free will carries with it the potential to do what is bad/evil, and the gift of self-knowledge carries with it the rather unpleasant benefit of guilt or shame.