why do people take the bible literally word for word?

Question

bible scholars have said that one word written in ancient text can have several differant meanings, people in my opinion miss out on the true meaning or message that was written, for example when god made the earth in seven days how is it not possible that he set the stage for the process of evolution

Answer 1

I don't know but it effing bugs the **** out of me - we don't live in the old times anymore and anyone who takes the bible literally needs to wise up!!!!

Answer 2

Words in any language can have several different meanings. Take the English word "love" for example. It can mean that you you "love" cookies, you "love" your mother, you "love" your spouse, or you make "love" to your spouse. All difference shades and ideas of "love". Hopefully you are not loving cookies the same way you do your spouse.

But an intelligent person can look at the sentence and usually known what degree of "love" we are taking about. Include the entire paragraph, page, and story, and usually you can understand the meaning.

When dealing with Bible translation and interpretation, we have the advance of a document with over 3.6 million words to help define the meanings. If you look at a passage and it has to possible meanings, then you compare it will all the rest of scripture and see which makes sense. Also look at where the same word is used elsewhere in the scriptures.

But your real question is, could God have used evolution? Reading through the first chapter of Genesis, it becomes difficult to fit the current theory of Darwinian evolution into the story. (There are multiple theories, so just stated which we are dealing with - so do not take "theory" to automatically decided I do not believe in it). It holds that life began in the sea, migrated to land, became lizards, etc., then one to mammals, with some of the "dinosaurs" becoming birds. Finally a million or so years ago one of the branches of the primate family became man.

The Bible presents a creation that happens in six "days". It says that those days are distinquished by each having a night and a day (which sounds a lot like 24 hours). It claims that the birds and the fish were made at the same time, before any land animals existed (a flat out contradiction of the current evolutionary timelime).

It then places the creation of man and the land animals in the same 24 hour period (Day 6). Genesis 1 states that man and animals were made on the same day. Genesis chapter 2 gives further detail in which it states that man was created FIRST, before any of the land animals, and placed in the garden. Once there, the land animals were made and paraded before him. When none of them were found suitable as a mate for the man, God caused him to sleep, and created woman from genetic material removed from his rib. Again, this contradicts the current evolutionary timeline. So it becomes difficult, even if you say it is a word or two with different meanings, to fit the two timelines together.

Is Genesis 1 intended as a science thesis on the creation of the earth? No. It is intended to be a theological thesis on the important and nature of God, man and the universe. On those subject it is accurate and literal.

Answer 3

Why do *some* people..?
For most do not. Non Christians do not.
The Roman Catholic church does not, as the Pope has recently made clear. The Eastern church does not, on the whole.

On the other hand, yes, you can find such as believe every word is literally true, even those which are clearly meant poetically or metaphorically, where the truth needs to be approached in the sense of a whole story or episode. The most extreme view is probably to be found with the most strict adherents of the "King James Only" movement."

Why? It comes with being consistent to a *particular* view of scripture as being God-given. There is little point in criticising the effects of the conclusion, when it is sincerely held on those grounds. American snake-handling congregations do not want to know that it is almost certain that the longer ending of Mark's gospel is not original and does not belong in the bible.

Challenging the belief in *that mode* of inspiration is difficult to do gently and with respect.

Answer 4

Not everyone listens to the Bible scholars, and this is the basic difference between the Christian sects - their interpretation of the Bible. There are fundamentalist Christians that believe it word for word in a literal sense, rather than as symbolism.

Answer 5

Thats a truly great question and the reason there is so much debate on religion. Its seems funny to me that we even do this, first off ask any creative mind; singer, writer, artist to define his or her own work and what answer will you get? Most of them will say they dont know.........they just felt that when they did it...there is no meaning in it. How can you define what someone meant or felt when they wrote something........you cant. We glorify art and try to make sense of it but really there is no sense to it thats why its artistic. The bible is a written word therefore is also debateable and not simply fact.

Answer 6

I don't take the bible literally word for word. I know humans wrote it and there will be some error. I like God lead me and speak to my heart when reading the bible. I do think evolution is a joke though.

Answer 7

I really don't know. Actually this Biblical Literalism is a modern innovation created by Protestants in the United States. It did not come about until about the 1800s. The ancient and orthodox way of reading the bible is holistically and interpreting in context, not individual verses, or literalist reading.

This concept is virtually unaccepted by European Christians and is considered heretical by the Catholic and Orthodox churches. If one wants to preserve his or her sanity they would be well advised to stay away from this heresy.

Answer 8

wow! You have started out ok, then you bomb when you think that the Bible creation story (6000 years ago) started evolution.

I believe you are close. But to sync with scientific facts, it is possible that God started our evolution here on Earth 550 million years ago, (The paleontologists call this the great explosion of life on Earth-Cambrian era)

God probably sent seeding capsules here to Earth and then came and mutated the hominids to have abstract reasoning and a soul. (6000 years ago) to sync with the creation story in Genesis?

Answer 9

Because people, like myself belive in Jesus Christ, that He died on the cross for our sins, mine and yours, and because of this we are saved from death. Because He is depicted in the Word of God, or the Bible and I believe it with all my heart, and take that literally I cannot just pick words of the Bible to be true and words to be false. God id unchanging and so is His word. If I did that, I would be making my own truth and I don't believe that to be any better than the Jehovah's Witnesses, who have altered the Word of God for their own agenda. I trust in God, not the world. Many blessings to you!

Answer 10

It's supposed to be taken at it's fullest context, for the Scripture says that man will "....give an account of every WORD that PROCEEDETH out of the MOUTH OF GOD." We're allowed free-handed interpretation ONLY at the discernment of God through study and prayer, not guesswork and supposition. II Timothy says, "STUDY to show thyself APPROVED unto God. A workman needeth not be ashamed RIGHTLY dividing the word of truth."

Answer 11

A lot of people believe the bible to be God breathed. They don't realize that it was written by men (who have weaknesses as well as stregnths) that happened to be inspired by God. However, symbolism is needed in our day and age, and I think we have that symbollism in the Bible.