In a sermon that has sparked significant debate, Pastor David Ibiyeomie of Salvation Ministries made a bold claim about the biblical story of Adam and Eve. According to Ibiyeomie, Adam’s removal from the Garden of Eden was not solely due to eating forbidden fruit, as traditionally believed, but because he touched God’s tithe.

Pastor Ibiyeomie explained that Adam committed a sin by touching something sacred that belonged to God. He likened this act to taking God’s tithe, an offering that, in Christian belief, represents the portion of income given back to God. He suggested that Adam’s action of taking what was reserved for God led to his expulsion from the garden, a sin that ultimately resulted in the fall of man.

This claim, however, differs from the widely accepted interpretation of the Genesis story. In the Bible, Genesis 3 recounts how God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When the serpent tempted Eve to eat the fruit, she shared it with Adam, and both disobeyed God’s command. As a result, God cast them out of the Garden of Eden, marking the beginning of mankind’s separation from God.

There is no mention of a tithe or any similar concept in the Genesis story regarding Adam’s sin. The “forbidden fruit” symbolizes disobedience to God’s explicit instructions, and that act of disobedience is traditionally seen as the reason for their expulsion.

In Christian teachings, the idea of tithing comes from later biblical passages, where it is established that believers should set aside a portion (traditionally 10%) of their income as a way of honoring God. This practice is seen in books like Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, but it does not appear in the context of Adam and Eve’s story.

Pastor Ibiyeomie’s interpretation connects this later.