Talking snakes are not debatable, nor integral. It could have been another man/fox/nephilm/rabbit saying the words and the same outcome would still have prevailed God willing. Eve does not hear Gods command concerning the "forbidden" tree directly, and Adam is not told what he is eating ... destiny is a fickle fitch.
The point may be that God will always warn you that the stove is hot, and he will always allow you to touch a hot stove if you'd rather not take His Word for it ... it appears He still operates within these parameters.
The Genesis account introduces the root essence of man and his spirit, and begs the question - how can something that looks soooo good be
that bad?
Man is naive to the arts, laws, and governing principles that would shortly emerge and envelope his existence. Like the one whom's image he was modeled after, he does what is good instinctively. He has not yet learned of the art of war, etc ... he's happy to be naked. There is nothing in the fields yet that will snag his private bits ....
He is happy to exercise his untainted knowledge of good while managing the thornless & thistless garden, assigning names to a plethora of beast, birds, and livestock ...
It may seem, on the surface, that Adam and his descendants would have been better off without contending with the arts of war, deceit, etc., but it proves false, or God is a hypocrite.
Parameters in the story are set to substantiate the claim that man may have pursued this road of goodness that would become the sum of his decisions had a, seemingly random, outside force not influenced his path.
He may have eaten from the other half of the duality represented along the way, the Tree of Life, and "become like" God beholding the properties accociated with immortality.
One must note he was free to eat from this tree and attain immortality all along, providing he make one sacrafice. He must forgo the knowledge of evil.
Man would have to do without all of the natural, corresponding processess of differentiation stemming from the relativity introduced with this new form of knowledge.
We can eliminate the idea that God fears man becoming like him.
Firstly, as man is created in Gods image from the onset.
Why would omnipotent beings create a "man" after their own image if they were afraid of the "man" being like them?
Secondly, the ascertainment of immortality should certainly constitute an increase in similarity to God, as opposed to a seemingly arbitrary 900 year lifespan, or a potentially directly purposed 120 years.
We are left with a different question then whether or not snakes could ever talk or if we should believe such nonsense, or whether or not God is afraid of the day and the man that will "become like" Him ...
Why does God not desire to have the knowledge of evil imparted to and permeating his creation eternally ?
Why does God go to any measure to prevent a man with the raw knowledge of evil from becoming immortal ? What is the fuss ?