Missing the Point

Well, it seems as if Adam and Eve can't stand to be out of the spotlight very long.  In recent weeks, they have burst back on to the scene of our public discourse, due in large part to two prominent Southern Baptists.  Now, I'm not the paranoid, black helicopters and tinfoil hat type of conspiracy person, but I'm starting to think that Adam and Eve's publicist must have some kind of deal with the folks at the SBC.

The first story to break was from Al Mohler, who was quoted by NPR as saying, "'When Adam sinned, he sinned for us... and it's that very sinfulness that sets up our understanding of our need for a savior."

Then, this past week, a professor at Southwestern Theological Seminary said, "“The beginning of God’s curse on Adam indicated that he fell because he heeded the voice of his wife, which contradicted God’s established order and represented the first biblical example of abandonment of male leadership responsibility.”

I asked my congregation a few months back to name their favorite fairy tale for me.  There were several answers, as is to be expected, since most everybody has a favorite story growing up.  We landed on a few examples, Cinderella was one, along with Snow White, and then I brought up Moby Dick to introduce my sermon.

So, I'm going to ask you all the same question I asked the folks at Grace Crossing that morning, "What is Cinderella about?"  

Most of them responded with an answer similar to what you're thinking - "Well, Cinderella is about a girl who has mean sisters, and a wicked step-mother.  She gets help from a magical old lady and ends up marrying a prince."  

Or how about Snow White?  "Snow White is about a girl and seven dwarfs, who is targeted by a mean old witch who feeds her a poison apple."

Moby Dick?  Well, its about a crazy old sea captain, chasing after a great white whale, right?

Wrong.  Wrong.  Wrong!

Cinderella isn't "about" a girl, or step sisters, or a handsome prince, Cinderella is about being the real you, about being gracious, and about the concept of ultimate fairness.  Right?  All the characters and events are what happens in the story, but not what the story is about.

Snow White?  It is about jealousy, and the value of looking beneath the skin at inner beauty.  Its about friendship and loyalty, right?  The dwarfs and the magic mirror and the evil witch are just vehicles to communicate the ultimate truth of the story.

Moby Dick?  Its about revenge, and how the grudges we hold ultimately destroy only those who hold them. 

So, back to Adam and Eve.  For too long we have allowed ourselves to be distracted by the characters in the story.  For too long we have been having this "debate" about whether Adam and Eve were real people, and whether or not all of humanity is descended from them.  We've been told that what we believe about those questions serves as a referendum on how we view all of scripture.  

Well, to borrow a phrase from my dad, "BULL PUCKY!"

Adam and Eve's story isn't about Adam and Eve.  Its about a creator God who sees creation as "good."  Its about the human condition of sin, how we've never been satisfied, even in the most perfect of places.  Its about how that condition affects our relationship with God.  Adam didn't sin for me, nor did he need to, I do a good enough job on my own, thank-you-very-much!*, and Adam certainly didn't sin because he listened to his wife!**  Finally, the story of Genesis is about a God of grace who clothes the disobedient first family before sending them out of Eden.

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*It was, in fact, Augustine who first writes about the idea of hereditary original sin, some 300 years after the death of Jesus.

*Read the story, Eve hands the fruit to Adam, "WHO WAS WITH HER"!  In fact, Adam blames God, not Eve!  "That woman YOU put here with me gave me the fruit and I ate."

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Paul references Adam because the story is true, not because Jews have ever interpreted the story as an historic event.  The story of a loving creator God, of disobedient humans, and grace - that story is 100% true, so Paul uses it to bring the story of God full circle in the person of Jesus Christ. 

Some might ask, "well, if you allow Adam and Eve to be symbolic, doesn't that open the door for Jesus Himself to be symbolic?"  Of course not!  Just as today, when you turn on your TV, you can watch Parenthood, a wonderful show about real life issues, told through fictional characters, or you can watch, The Biggest Loser, a "reality" show about real people and their real battle for weight loss, the Bible has all kinds of literature.  Jesus relays truth through parables, why do we assume the authors of the Old Testament didn't?

Its time to stop being distracted.  I had a wise Professor who said, "I think we spend so much time arguing over theological quibbles because its much easier to argue than to actually do what Jesus has clearly asked us to do."  He was right!  Its easier to argue religion versus science (a silly argument if we believe God is creator of all things) than it is to love our neighbors, to pray for our enemies, and show grace and love to the marginalized people of our world.  Were Adam and Eve real, historic, people?  Does it matter?  Does it change the truth of the story? 

Its a distraction, and it misses the point of a life with God entirely!