ELCA Pastor/Author Says Adam and Eve Were Not Real, They Were Just a Metaphor

It amazes me that so many ELCA pastors reject God’s historic account of how He made the world.  (see previous report here)  We see it again, just this last week printed in The Seattle Times newspaper.  ELCA pastor, Ronald Moe-Lobeda (University Lutheran Church, Seattle, WA) wrote a letter to the editor proudly proclaiming his and his synod’s support for homosexual marriage.  Moe-Lobeda declares:

“One of the strongest biblical arguments in favor of marriage between a man and a woman has been that traditional interpretation of the Adam and Eve story in Genesis 2. However, I recently have concluded that the names of Eve and Adam are simply metaphors for Israel and Judah and have nothing to do with being real people, let alone personifications of all women and men,” (see here) Then Rev. Moe-Lobeda points the readers to his book on the subject, “The Mystery of Eve and Adam.”

I looked up Rev. Moe-Lobeda’s book, and this is what the book’s description tells us:

“What if the story of Eve and Adam was not meant to be a story about creation and the origin of life? What if Eve and Adam were not personifications of all women and men? What if the curse on the woman had nothing to do with the physical pain of giving birth? What if working by the sweat of the brow was a description of the slavery that existed under the monarchy? What if being cast out of the garden of Eden was a metaphor for the deportation of people from Judah to Babylon?

The author of this book takes readers on a journey of inquiry leading to the conclusion that the story of Eve and Adam was authored by the theological school of Jeremiah in order to dissuade the Judean people never to reinstate the monarchy after their return from Babylon—a monarchy that previously was responsible for so much infant mortality, subjugation of women, and enslavement of its own people. At the heart of this journey is the discovery that Eve and Adam actually are metaphors for Israel and Judah—two nations that chose to have a king like other nations and suffered the consequences.” (see here)

This kind of teaching reminds me of God’s word that says, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them —bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” - 2 Peter 2:1-3