Do people really believe that the bible should be interpreted literally?

Question

Seriously, not to make fun or anything, but someone told me that Noah, I think, lived for 700 years or something. Do people really believe that?

I think I asked the wrong question. What evidence do we have that the bible should be interpreted literally?

Answer 1

Some do. Too bad, because there are lots of great life lessons to be learned for free (cost of reading and understanding).

Answer 2

When I was a lot younger I thought the Bible was supposed to be taken as something of a metaphor, if that's the right word. I mean, look at it this way. It's like that story of the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise and the hare run a race; the hare is fast and athletic and the tortoise is slow and clumsy. But the tortoise wins because he tries as hard as he can, and the hare doesn't give it all he's got because he figures that he's already guaranteed to win. Now, everyone knows that it's just a story. No one has ever tried to propose that there is actually a secret underground race of talking tortoises and hares. No one has ever tried to do an archaeological dig to try and find the race course where the tortoise and the hare had their competition many years ago. It's just a story. But what's really important isn't whether it's true or not, it's the message behind the story. I always thought that the same was true for the Bible. I think a lot of fundamentalist Christians miss the point when they try so hard to prove that Noah's Ark really existed or that Jesus actually did such-and-such thing at exactly such-and-such time. It's the message, the moral statement behind the story that's what counts, not the fact that it occurred, if you know what I mean.

Answer 3

Well symbolism runs rampant in the Bible. That does not, however, mean that all of scripture should be interpreted as such. There is much that is symbolic and much that is literal, and the context most often dictates the proper method for interpreting. It seems like many dismiss hard-to-explain or hard-to-accept portions of the Bible as merely symbolic.
Covenant theology, the system of interpreting very metaphysical language in the Bible as symbols or metaphors for God's covenant-making activity while still recognizing many things in the bible mean just what they say is a healthy compromise between literalism and purely symbolic interpretation.
Nothing interprets scripture as well as other scripture, so when I read in Matthew 24 about "the sun will be darkened and the moon shall not give her light" I don't interpret that literally immedietely as many will do (dispensationalists for example) without first looking for places elsewhere in the bible where language like that is employed. A thourough study reveals phrases like that earlier in the bible used by the prophets, so when Jesus uses it in Matt 24 we know he is making a refernce to something already familiar with the jewish people. A very non-academic way of interpreting it would be to assume it means a nuclear holocaust.
Likewise, doing the opposite is equally as ridiculous: assuming "bible time" is somehow different than our time has no factual basis. The burden of proof is on the person trying to disprove the bible, not the other way around.

Answer 4

I cannot give you evidence, only logic.

In short, the Bible teaches that it is God's word to us so that we can know Him. Now, if you were to send a letter to a person who dosn't know you, for the purpose of enabling that person to know you, would you send a cryptic message to confuse rather than to reveal? If the Bible is not to be interpreted literally (except for those places where it is obviously intended to be figurative), then every passage can mean anything that any person wants it to mean. Will this reveal God or obscure Him? Obviously, it will obscure Him.

Do I believe that Noah lived as long as the Bible says? Yes. If the Bible is false in any point, then God is a liar. This is where faith comes in. I cannot prove that Noah lived that long, but I have faith that he did because God said that he did.

But, before you write me off as a nut, consider this. The statistical likelyhood of all that exists coming from nothing without some outside force is zero. So you see, my believing the Bible takes no more faith than another person believing in the Big Bang and evolution. Neither can be proven, but both can be shown to back up the observations of this world. It depends on how you interpret those observations. To quote from the Bible, the book of James, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Answer 5

I guess it is understandable that you would feel like this, since no one these days lives much past one hundred years let alone evengetting to the hundred years, but Noah did live over 900, in Noahs day people did live that long because they were a lot closer to perfection than we are today.And yes I believe what the Bible says and the Bible says that Noah lived 950 years.

Answer 6

I think that some parts of the Bible are meant to be taken literally, and others are more abstract and figurative - metaphor, allegory, parable, and the like. Even Jesus taught by using parables.

As far as the ages of figures in the Old Testament, there is great debate about whether or not they lived for so long. Some say that it had to do with the climate, some say it had to do with the nature of sin, some say it has to do with mistranslations of numbers from one system to another, and lots of other possible explanations.

Answer 7

The Adam live for over 700 years.

Oh they found a body in the alps I think about 15 years ago, I forget what they called him, he came out of the ice. He was estimated to be about 45 years old. His wisdom teeth had not come in yet, still a child by that. I don't think that was well reported, maybe somewhere on the web.

Answer 8

Yes, some do believe that and some do not.

I believe that before the flood the world was very, very different. I believe that there was a tremendous amount of air pressure and oxygen available, and that an external "hollow sphere" of water surrounded the earth that eliminated a large amount of UV rays.

So, YEAH under those conditions, people could live a lot longer.

Can I prove it? Nope. It's a belief. Can't wait to find out though!

Answer 9

The answer is, if you know Gods word to be true then yes Noah was a very old man. Gods word is true.

And while I am at it, there is no such thing as Global warming children. The state run schools teach that trash so you can chase rainbows and leafs in wind, That way you never catch on to what's really happening.

Answer 10

Our fragmented learning system is built on ever-changing ideologies. Centuries of collections of works of higher knowledge have been destroyed. Moses lived at least 5000 years ago and he wrote his many works. Job lived over 7 thousand years ago and he gave us insights as to how the rain cycle works--long before Perrault and Mariotte were born. The Papyrus of Ani is a preserved pre-deluge document. Other than that, the Code of Hamurabi and the original Torah texts, now translated with a collection of 66 books-it is the most treasured preserved writings and collection of wisdom books. The fact that our teachers only use 10% of their wisdom-potential does not help us when we use their theses as foundations for rationalism. That King Solomon had access to higher degrees-potential and pointed us to the same God of Moses, Isaac, Jeremiah, Job and Prophet Mohammed as his source, inspires Masters who are called "to teach" and explain things that our teachers did not have access to. Why do you think libraries have sections for the plebiscite and classified sections for Masters? The reason is simple: unless you have an understanding of esoteric matters, much will elude the rationally erudite. Higher wisdom reaches beyond confined rationality--Christians call it Faith. God's messengers call it "God-ordained wisdom or Truth." Hence: Many are called: few are chosen.
Be encouraged.
Boaz.

Answer 11

Christian Fundamentalist sects believe every single word, including that the earth was made in six days. Personally I think you have to be certifiably insane to believe any of it, especially when our scientists (may they live forever) have worked so hard so that we can understand how it was really made. It takes a huge effort of will to understand something as hysterically implausible as the Bible, but there are millions who will swear til they are blue in the face that every word is the literal truth. What can you do?