The Chainsaw Argument

In the February 14th 2012 episode of his “Please Convince Me” podcast, Apologist J. Warner Wallace responded to an e-mail from a listener. In the e-mail, the listener said that the youth pastor at his church
had recently resigned, denounced his faith, and become an Atheist. The reason the youth pastor gave for this sudden change of heart was the so-called “Chainsaw Argument.”
This argument takes the Biblical account of the fall of humankind in the Garden of Eden, wherein God placed the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden then told Adam and Eve not to eat from it or they would surely die, and compares this to a negligent parent leaving a running chainsaw in the same room as a toddler, telling the toddler not to touch it, and then leaving.
The argument makes several points. First, that placing an object with the destructive power to bring evil and death into the entire world in the Garden was irresponsible of God. Second, that Adam and Eve were far too naïve and innocent to comprehend the danger involved in eating the fruit. Because this story paints the picture of a presumably uncaring and calloused God, Christianity is inconsistent in their beliefs and cannot be trusted as a faith.
In fairness, it should be stated that even within Christian circles, this story is widely believed to be allegorical at best, and not a literal event in literal history. Whichever the case, the Chainsaw Argument falls down on several points.
When Adam and Eve were created, they were created in perfection. They naturally related to and obeyed their Creator. While this was certainly a blessing, it was not a conscious choice on their part. The presence of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil gave them the option to disobey. This is important because without this option, they would have been forced to obey mechanically with no free will. The option to disobey meant that their obedience was willful rather than unwilling, and that their relationship with their Creator was a loving one rather than a mechanical one. It would have been unloving of God not to place the tree in the garden.
The Chainsaw Argument assumes that Adam and Eve had no real comprehension of the consequence of eating the fruit, just as a toddler could not comprehend the dangers of touching a running chainsaw.
However, this is not the picture painted in the scriptures:
“And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest
you die.’’”
It was not Eve’s failure to comprehend the consequences of eating the fruit which led to her disobedience, rather it was her choice to disbelieve God and believe the attractive lie that the serpent told her.
Finally, the question must be asked “Whom did Adam and Eve’s disobedience really hurt?” As Wallace pointed out in his podcast response to the Chainsaw Argument, death is not the end game in the
Christian worldview. The temporary evils that Adam’s disobedience brought to the world: death, corruption, and suffering; are merely signposts to humankind’s need for a Savior, which Savior has been provided.
In Luke 13, Christ himself is confronted with several contemporary news stories that highlight the problem of evil. His response is very telling.
“There were present at that season some who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell
you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.’”
The point Christ is making here is that the evils present in this world are meant to lead people to an understanding of their need for repentance so that they can inherit life after death. Since death is not the end game, it is all the more important that people prepare themselves for eternity. It was Christ, not Adam, who suffered the eternal consequences of Adam’s decision to disobey. In so doing, Christ purchased for believers forgiveness leading to eternal life.
In essence, the parent threw themselves on the chainsaw in order to save the toddler.