An Education

Okay, good.  I like those comments.  You both make good points.  (Obedience trumps all else---I like that summary.)  So let me rephrase my question.  The book talks about how it is our knowledge of the absolutes of good and evil that makes us like God.  But then it also says that Eve's ability to deal with conflicting choices, complexity, ambiguity---her ability to choose the greater good for the greatest number (meaning, of course that there is also something less-than-good about it, for somebody)---is one of her greatest strengths.

Those two ideas seem (seem! I'm sure it can be resolved!) to contradict each other.  Which is it: our ability to see black and white gives us power? or our ability to see complexity and choose between conflicting ideas gives us power?

(The whole idea that there can BE "conflicting goods" is not a "black and white" idea.  If we're dealing in absolutes, we would say that Eve should never have disregarded anything the Father told her, ever, no matter if it was a warning or not.  Wouldn't we?)