|
No, not really. One of most influential early Christian theologians, Origen of Alexandria, wrote about Genesis And who is found so ignorant as to suppose that God, as if
He had been a husbandman, planted trees in paradise, in Eden
towards the east, and a tree of life in it, i.e., a visible
and palpable tree of wood, so that any one eating of it with
bodily teeth should obtain life, and, eating again of
another tree, should come to the knowledge of good and evil
No one, I think, can doubt that the statement that God
walked in the afternoon in paradise, and that Adam lay hid
under a tree, is related figuratively in Scripture, that
some mystical meaning may be indicated by it. The departure
of Cain from the presence of the Lord will manifestly cause
a careful reader to inquire what is the presence of God, and
how any one can go out from it. But not to extend the task
which we have before us beyond its due limits, it is very
easy for any one who pleases to gather out of holy Scripture
what is recorded indeed as having been done, but what
nevertheless cannot be believed as having reasonably and
appropriately occurred according to the historical account.
(http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/origen125.html)More generally see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegorical_interpretations_of..., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_Hades, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_literalism And by the time of Augustine Christian teaching had become even less literal. See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo#Views_and_t... That said, as compared to the orthodox Christianity that came to dominate, there existed early Christian communities which interpreted biblical stories more literally, communities which interpreted them more allegorically, and communities which interpreted them esoterically. But these mostly died out in the first few centuries. |