If "not *everything* in the bible can be taken literally" How can ANY of it be taken literally?

Question

I hear this argument all the time....

It annoys me because now you're picking some as absolute facts, and others as examples or nice thoughts, why can't they all just be nice thoughts and remembered as such?

Answer 1

I agree. I think the Bible should either be taken entirely metaphorically or entirely literally by those who follow it. No cherry picking allowed. Leaving the individual the option to decide which parts of the Bible to take metaphorically and which to take literally only promotes cherry picking hypocrisy.



I believe a majority of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, was written as a fables - stories not meant to be taken literally but meant to teach a lesson.

Answer 2

You have a refreshing way of asking questions in an inoffensive way that provokes thoughtful responses from believers and non-believers alike---have a star.



Here is a central concept that has not been mentioned. There were about 5000 words in the Hebrew language, about 5000 words of Aramaic, two of the principle languages of the Bible. There are over 400,000 words in our precise, Germanic, English language. That means that for every 5 words available to someone back then, there are 400 available to us now. It is pretty much the equivilent of someone with a PhD in English trying to speak with a four year-old, and explain physics and microbiology to that child.



Point two---a metaphor is no less true than a fact.



Point three---anyone who holds up a book and says---"This is all what God says" is guilty of idol worship, as far as I can tell.



Point four---Many parts of the creation story describe the "big bang" and evolution remarkably well, considering that the biblical account is about 10,000 years old.



Point five---Writing back than was a very laborious undertaking---the use of animal hides, the manufacture of inks and dyes, and all that made written material very expensive, labor-intensive, and therefore, valuable and venerated. Someone had to put a lot of effort into this stuff---you couldn't just go to your computer and print it out. You couldn't just take a sheaf of paper and a quill and some ink and write a "Declaration of Independance." No, writing was a whole big massive deal, and this is reflected in the constant referral to "The Word" being somehow holy and sacrosanct.



Lastly, atheism is very popular nowadays---if you study the Bible like a karate student studies anatomy, you will find weaknesses and contradictions easily, and often, as I did when I was in my 20's. If, however, you study it looking for truth, understanding that the Bible did not condone slavery, but just provided guidence for how people should do what they are already doing---did not condone women needing to obey men, merely told them to obey, and told the men to love and protect women, and if you understand some of these things against the backdrop of what was reality at the time, you may find that the Bible has useful concepts to share with you, if you pay attention. Good-luck---Brian

Answer 3

Unfortunately, the metaphors were mixed with actual events (like there was a great flood but it was not world wide-the metaphor part is that God made it world-wide for a specific reason). I also read once a question about the Moses story (before the plagues and all) and this girl wrote a long response that basically said all these events were acurate according to the customs of the time...to her, it 'proved' the whole story to be true whereas I saw that a story had been made involving customs the author was familiar with.

It takes common sense and research to go through the book but people don't want to 'rock the boat' by changing what they're first told. (I guess for some it was more than enough to find out Santa Claus wasn't real. G-d forbid the Bible's not true, either!)

Answer 4

The bible lacks the proper explanation of which parts are literal and which parts or only symbolic. So whenever it stops making literal sense, the believer assumes (since it MUST be true) that the part in question has to be symbolic.



It doesn't make sense to people who have a more clear understanding of logical fallacies, such as the argument from circular logic. The words of the bible cannot be rationalized in any kind of reasonable manner to actually make sense logically. The assertion of faith is required. Pretty much, you either choose to believe or disbelieve. Sane people choose not to believe things that do not make sense, especially if there is no reason.

Answer 5

I take the Bible all literally. Some verses have metaphors but the metaphors are explained later on by another prophet or in another book of the Bible.



The earth and the heavens and all that is in them were created literally in 6 days. This is so mixed up and changed and confused by Christians, but God worked hard at describing a day as the evening and the morning. Some say a day means a thousand years but the "thousand years as one day" is out of the time and space arena that we live in and pertains to God Himself. We can't even live a thousand years much less to experience a thousand years in one day as God can do.



Always take the Bible literally until a metaphor shows up and then find the literal interpretation of the metaphor. God tells us we read the Bible "line upon line, precept upon precept, and here a little and there a little." Once you know the Bible, you realize only God could write it or inspire it to be written.



Another thing you notice while reading the Bible is one verse can mean different periods in history and even future. An example is "Babylon has fallen, has fallen."



Hidden in the Bible is 9/11. Isaiah 30:25 KJV"......in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall."



If you want to believe the Bible, then KNOW that the Jewish people prove the Bible. They have returned to their land. Their nation born in one day. Their nation speaking the old Hebrew language. Their nation flying back on wings of eagles. All of this and much more about the Jews is in the Bible. Every prophecy ever quoted in the Bible has come true or is yet future. Most definitely the greatest book ever written.

Answer 6

You make a good point. The bible was written as a series of stories that were meant to teach something. I do not mean to be insulting, but, truly, that is the same reason that fairy tales and folklore came about. It really is the same thing. There weren't really two kids named Hansel and Gretel who found a witch living in a gingerbread house. This story was supposed to teach children, at a time when most people were living in very rural sitiuations, that it's dangerous to go into the forest alone and mess around with a stranger's house. These stories had to be scary to show that bad behavior would be punished, but they were meant to teach people how to stay safe. The bible is the same thing. This doesn't make it bad, but it does mean it should not be treated as some sort of science or history textbook, either.

Answer 7

Two answers.



(1) Notice you said, "picking some as absolute facts." Picking is a metaphor - picking fruit from a tree or vine is like selecting some data we like and leaving the rest behind. All language is metaphorical (see Mark Turner's The Literary Mind for a full development of this idea). Thus a fully literal read or a fully mythological read misses the nuances being communicated through normal language.



(2) The Bible is a collection of books and those books are from different genres of literature. Some are myth, some are history, and so on. Gospels, epistles, and apocalypses are genres of their owna nd have distinct rules and characteristics that determine how you should read them. For a review of these things see Margaret Nutting Ralph's And God Said What?



Hope this helps.

Answer 8

I think we can assume the Bible is a pretty accurate archaeological record, as in, most of the towns, people and geography it describes really did exist once. It's no different than the way we set fictional stories in real-world settings today. However, just because some rock really exists where the Bible says it does, doesn't lend any credence to the spiritual and supernatural aspects of it. You can't say the rock's existence proves God's existence any more than you can say the existence of the planet Mars proves the existence of Marvin the Martian.

Answer 9

Alright, you have a great point. For all practical purposes, I do not believe in the Bible at all. But I will say this: lots of non-fiction books have metaphors and similes in them. People have always used comparisons to describe things.

Answer 10

ThankYou!!



it seems like the more difficult it is to wrap your head around something, the more OK it is for it to be 'open to interpretation'.

They even substitute an entire word in the 6th commandment - 'Kill' has seemed to have morphed into 'Murder',in some pples bible stories. .

Answer 11

Would it make sense to say Jesus was a literal lamb?

The Bbile is written to convey a message all things are not litteral because many truths are spiritual and it is the spirit that communes with God. We are taught that life is more than the physical things you can see and touch but a greater truth is that which you can not see.

Answer 12

No, no, no. Turning the Bible into metaphors and following the spirit of it rather than the letter would make SENSE!



Logic, rationality, humanism, oh my! (And thank goodness for the Christians who are already there...)

Answer 13

In literature, there are different writing styles. The parables of Jesus, for instance, are written in a style that indicates they are stories to make a point, but that the stories themselves should not be taken literally.

Answer 14

Because the "Bible" is a collection of books, each book serving a different function.



Some are parables, others are historical accounts, and some is simply poetry.



IE: Its called an Anthology.

Answer 15

The bible is to be read with discernment.

Answer 16

Most of the stories were not metaphors. They were actual events. The grave of King David has been found.



I know these events happened because I have faith.

Answer 17

You're right. It's best to just not read the buy-bull.