How do you get an innocent person to sin – ‘innocent’ in the fullest theological sense, of someone who is free from sin and free from any inclination to sin?
In Eve (and Adam) there was no tendency to sin at all. No corruption. No desire to do wrong.
As corrupted sinners we are in a very different position. As James tells us: ‘Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin’ (James 1:14-15, ESV).
But when Satan tempted Eve she had no desire towards disobeying God. In paradise she and Adam were content. Satan had nothing to grip onto, no target to aim at. So instead he had to generate sin from within the mind of Eve.
A process of seduction
To get an innocent to sin, the idea of sinning needs to be produced by the mind of the innocent. Satan did this by a process of seduction.
