Repressed Desire

REPRESS: To keep under control, check, or suppress desires, feelings, action, tears, etc., American College Dictionary This theme has given rise to a question in my mind that I do not recall having entertained before now. Adam and Eve clearly had a choice in the garden of Eden. The question is, WHEN did they have the ability to choose? Did Eve have a choice BEFORE partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Was she completely deceived by Satan prior to her ability to choose? Doubtless, many theologians have already discussed and resolved this question. I tend to believe that the ability to choose was present at the time of temptation. Nevertheless, this theme causes me to 'raise the question'; I suspect that deception and choice go hand in hand. Notwithstanding, I do not herein suggest an answer. The outcome remains the same. We must choose to check, control, or repress forbidden desires. Is it that after she partook of the forbidden fruit, she was then enabled to choose between good and evil? At any rate, it is certain that we inherited the sin nature from Adam and Eve. Therefore, the sin nature is a given, but deception is not a given. We have freedom of choice to yield or not to yield to sin or forbidden desires. We have the choice to 'repress our desires', or to allow them to roam freely throughout our being. We do not have the right to say, "The devil MADE me do that". 090522PSCtest, Pick-A-Title, Vol 32, Edward Ebeh