Which parts of the Bible should be taken literally, and which parts shouldn't?

Question

And, who decides?

Answer 1

The meanie-face verses are symbolic. And the verses that tell you bats are birds and pi = 3 and such.

The nice fuzzy verses, they are literal.

However, if you run into any logic problems following these two rules, then you can just decide to change any verse's interpretation to suit your needs.

Answer 2

First and foremost you must take literally and seriously the " ten commandments " for it is the law of God not to be altered to adhere to one's own selfish needs. There is no justifying your ignorance towards these commandments. You have no defense. And well, just keep reading the bible and use your own common sense as to what you need to do or not do. I imagine the whole Bible should be taken literally and seriously, but then again I've probably only read a quarter of the whole Bible. I tend to focus mainly on the New Testament where the Old Testament only speaks of what has transpired in the past. Any rules God may have made can be found in the New Testament. The New Testament is the Old Testament revised so you can pretty much disregard most of the rules in the Old Testament but that's just my feeling.

Answer 3

Reading the Bible is part art, part science. Common sense can tell when things are to be taken as metaphor. Also, many times when Jesus was speaking, the reader will be informed that what is being read is parable.

As far as Genesis, you really need to decide for yourself.

Answer 4

There are traditionalists and purists that refer to a strict translation of the Bible (sometimes called "the innerency of the Bible") and their claim that it contains no errors. Theologically, this is viewed as a conservative point of view.

I am a Christian and a student of the Bible and I believe that it was Divinely inspired, but written by man and therefore subject to the errors of interpretation and the other thought processes of man.

Many many people quote the Bible out of context. For example, people point to the Old Testament scripture of "An Eye for an Eye, and a Tooth for a Tooth," and line it up with Jesus' instruction to "Turn the Other Cheek" and say these are incompatible concepts. But a study of both verses and an understanding of the context in which they were written shows that the ideas are not mutually exclusive.

I don't think you can dismiss anything in the Bible out of hand. But you need to read it with discernment and understand that, while in Old Testament times (for example) it was common for men to have multiple wives. But this may have been a sign of the times, rather than God's divine instruction. Understand that some things in the Bible reflect the culture of the times, not God's letter of the law for us in our times.

Answer 5

The parts that should be taken literally are the words "Old Testament" and "New Testament." All the other words should be taken with a grain of salt. Who decides is your intellect. Kind of what decides, right?

Answer 6

This isn't that hard for people who have the Spirit of God with them. They will know when translation errors or cultural issues have changed the Bible. The fact is that the Bible teaches, and most churches preach, good things. Any obviously bad things that one might find, or make up, is never taught or sanctioned by religion.

Answer 7

The only parts of the Bible that are meant to be symbolic are prophecies and parables since they are metaphorical descriptions of things the writer and reader could not easily understand.

For instance if Isaiah had prophesied that Jesus would be hung on a "cross" that would mean nothing to the people of his day since they were not familiar with Crucifixion.

Answer 8

Each of us decides how to accept the Bible for ourselves. It was written by the hand of men, and as such it should not be taken literally, but metaphorically.

Peace.

Answer 9

The parts you agree with can be taken literally, the rest can be used figuratively to suit your needs, that's the power of cherry picking the bible.

Answer 10

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man

Should be taken literally. I say so. Some people don't like it, my question on it was removed.

Answer 11

The Bible should be taken as the writings of people from long ago. It isn't really a historical document, except that it does reference some historical events and gives an indication of myths and superstitions that existed in that time.