text: who deceived adam and eve? in genesis 2:16-17, god says, "of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."  taking that at face value, god's concern appears to be saving adam's life.  in genesis 3:5, the serpent tells eve, "for god doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."  in other words, the serpent argues that god's concern is preventing adam from becoming godlike.  in genesis 3:2, god says, "behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever" and exiles adam and eve from the garden.  god's goal is to now keep adam and eve from living forever.  god's own words bear out what the serpent claimed:  god's goal was not unending life for adam, but to keep adam from godlike perception. i liked how god said he would "surely" die and then adam ate of the tree and didn't die.strange that god would contradict himself.