rule of God. Theological-ethical talk here is not to serve but to avoid the claims of God. b. God is treated as a third person. God is not a party to the discussion but is the involved object of the discussion. This is not speech to God or with God, but about God. God has been objectified. The serpent is the first in the Bible to seem knowing and critical about God and to practice theology in the place of obedience. c. The matter of death had been mentioned in 2:17 by God. But it had not been the
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