[Evangelical]

I believe it was God's will that man fell, and it was man's free will that made the choice to make it happen. Do we really think that God who exists outside of space and time, was shocked to learn that Adam and Eve fell? He had prepared for it since before the creation, as a number of verses say (already posted in discussion with OBW). Because of God's plan, it was inevitable.

Most of Christianity believe that man's fall was more or less a surprise to God, and so from Genesis to Matthew, God was preparing for His Son to come because of what happened in Genesis. However the Bible paints a different picture, the Bible reveals it was God's plan of salvation before the world was created, before Genesis.

If it was not God's will that man fell, He would not have allowed the serpent to be in the Garden nor would he have placed the tree of knowledge there.

We're starting to get into the well known topic of God's sovereignty and man's free will. It is somewhat a mystery, and debate, but I believe the two ideas can co-exist. But the starting point is always God, God by definition is the uncreated Creator, and nothing existing could exist unless it was in His plan.

That is, mankind, by choosing to disobey God, was not the source of God's salvation as commonly believed. Rather God was the source, so that He could have the glory. If mankind was the source of God's plan of salvation, then mankind should be able to save itself. But both the fall and the Savior were all of God's design and purpose.