Religion: Preus' Purge

The Rev. Jacob A.O. Preus is a classics scholar who takes his Bible straight. He accepts literally the story of the creation-in Genesis, insists that Adam and Eve were historical figures and believes that Noah's flood covered the entire globe since Genesis says so. Because of Jesus' reference to the story of Jonah's sojourn in "a great fish," Preus accepts the tale as fact.

All this might be treated as one man's opinion were not Jack Preus also president of the 2.8 million-member Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. For six years, mustering a solid majority of...

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