C.S. Lewis’ Apologetic Approach in Three Words: “Come and see.” These were Phillip’s words to Nathaniel in John 1:46. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. If you have read the first two sections of Mere Christianity as well as some of Lewis’ other works, his approach is straightforward: Let me present the Christian worldview in all of its simplicity, nuance, and depth, and then see if any other worldview comes even close to explaining the various elements of our existence. No other worldview matches Christianity in its explanatory power, and this is precisely because it is true. Essentially, this approach was Lewis’ way of borrowing from Philip: “Come and see.”
Not Exactly Integrity, But Funny!
Was Eve Present When God Gave the Command? I had a high school student reach out the other day about the fact that in Genesis 3:2, Eve used the pronoun “we” in response to Satan to refer to the command that God gave for the first humans not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. She asked, “Doesn’t this mean that Eve was present?” After commending her inquisitive attitude and hunger to know God’s truth, I responded (my response in bold):
Genesis 2:15–18
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.
In this passage, two facts become very clear: (1) God spoke this command to Adam without Eve being present, and (2) When God gave the command to Adam, Eve had not yet been created.
In chapter 3, the story continues: The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
You are right that Eve uses the inclusive, plural pronoun, “we.” However, because Genesis 2:15–18 is clear that Eve did not yet exist when God commanded Adam, this verse must not be interpreted in isolation from that text. Thus, it appears that Eve is using the “we” because after God created her, at some point, Adam shared with her what God had commanded. When Adam shared this, Eve would have understood that this included her as well, for it would be illogical for it to apply to Adam but not her. Thus, she had “owned” God’s command showing not that she was there when it was given, but that she had appropriated it as a word to her as well. What do you think?
BJ Condrey, Ph.D. 