Allegorical Meaning of Genesis 2 & 3?

Can an allegorical interpretation of Genesis 2 and 3 live happily alongside the literal interpretation without any contradiction? I tend to believe it does and I see the simple truth of the allegory as faith affirming in its own way. Must Genesis 2 & 3 only be seen as literal with no allegorical or metaphorical meaning to be considered orthodox with the Baptist family?

In short, the allegorical meaning points to sexual awakening of male and female children as they reach adolescence and puberty (notice the girl is awakened first); and the growing self-awareness and rebelliousness of youth toward the parents who have up to now provided protective care and a paradise of sorts. With sexual awareness comes eventual separation from the carefree state as they are aware of their “nakedness”, knowing good from evil and are pushed out of the nest to make their own way in the world. The parallels seem obvious to me.

I saw this sort of thing lived out with both of my daughters. My youngest daughter would run through the house naked as a jay-bird as late as 10 (she was a very late bloomer) without a thought. We would tell her to get dressed and so on, but she was oblivious. Then one day as I pushed the bathroom door open while walking in – it was not fully closed – I nearly had my nose broken when the same girl slammed the door shut with great vigor. She suddenly knew she was naked and it happened all of a sudden.

Is there any reason why this ancillary interpretation cannot live side by side without conflict with a very literalist interpretation? I know some liberals hold to this as the single interpretation but I don't see why it can't be both.

 

Sorry for getting back to this so late. Have been very busy.

I have read the responses and after some thought and I am thinking that the thought of a parallel allegorical interpretation was the wrong way to look at this. Kind of like getting order of the chicken and the egg wrong when we already know the answer. I see a reflection of the Fall of Adam and Eve in the way children, who are born into a fallen state, begin to question their parents and rebel against them, become sexually aware, and gain a more clear knowledge of their own sin. The idea that we inherit this “lifecycle” as one small consequence of the Fall, and that it is a reflection of the symptoms that Adam and Eve experienced as a consequence of their sin, seems logical and consistent to me.

Thanks for the thoughtful repsonses.

 

Hello Scarlett O

Thanks for the great response. Of course I gree with this. The Genisis account is far richer and more important than any simple reflection that I think I might see in the human maturation process.

I have always appreciated seeing echos of Biblical truth in nature. I saw this as an example.

All the best

Ed B