Temptation
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Temptation
"Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, "So, couldn't you stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." -- Matthew 26:40-41
This phrase is repeated three times in the Gospel of the New Testament of the Christian Bible, in Mark 14:37-38, Luke 22:45-46 as well as the aforementioned Matthew 26:40-41. Besides the obvious issue of whether it's really necessary or not to repeat this information to that extent, a question is raised about the nature of temptation itself.
Temptation has long since been an integral part of the Christian philosophy. Ever since Adam and Eve ate that first apple from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, all of mankind has been eternally condemned to follow in their "sinful" footsteps.
Although Genesis 3:4-5 ("The serpent said to the woman, "Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil.") tells us that the serpent tempted Eve to eat the apple, isn't it true that God tempted Adam and Eve first?..