Let’s suppose for the moment that the biblical story of the Garden of Eden is true–i.e., that it accurately describes events that actually happened. Like all narratives, it tells us some things, but doesn’t tell us everything. One thing it doesn’t tell us is why God put the Tree of Knowledge in the middle of the Garden. Man’s decision to disobey God and eat of the fruit of the tree has shaped everything that has happened since. So this tree is pretty consequential.
Why did God place such an important tree in the garden? Being God, he certainly didn’t have to do so. If he had not put the tree there, presumably Adam and Eve and all their descendents would still be living in a paradisal milieu, not the war-torn mess we currently inhabit. And our souls would likewise not be subject to eternal torment. So this is a consequential thing God did. But why did he do it?
I am imagining the default response to be, “To test Adam and Eve,” i.e., their obedience. But a key purpose of a test is to learn something you don’t know. We test paint for lead to find out whether it has lead in it. If we already know there is lead in it, there is no point in testing it. Teachers test their students to find out how well they have mastered the material. God, being omniscient, would surely know the outcome of the tree test before it was administered. We may also surmise that teachers administer tests to motivate their students to learn the material. That would not seem to apply to our Garden scenario. So the test explanation doesn’t make sense to me.
So: What was the purpose of placing the Tree in the middle of the garden, where Adam and Eve would be tempted and deceived into disobedience, with all its dreadful consequences? Why not place it out of reach (if there had to be such a tree at all), and allow Adam and Eve to roam the garden, exercising their free will to do this and do that, without endangering their everlasting souls?