why do people say "take the bible literately" ?

Question

When in the bible they speak in metaphors??

Answer 1

Because they are probably rather uneducated. Nothing should ever be taken literaly. Everything changes and evolves. The Bible is a great guide and history book, but thats all.

Answer 2

When you want with all your heart to believe something you will take it literately because picking it apart will cause confusion. It is easier to put your faith into a bible if you take each word as "the word of God." Once you start questioning one thing the rest will fall apart. That is why it was illegal for the common man to read the bible in the middle ages, the church was afraid that the people would question the bible. Therefore the priest was the only one that could understand it and he would tell you what you need to know. As western culture became more aware they started questioning the bible and that is what brought about the reformation.

Answer 3

They do not know what ‘literally’ means and they do not know what a metaphor is. Moreover, they don’t care and use them interchangeably depending on the point they are trying to make. They use ‘literal’ to mean whatever they want it to mean and their understanding of what the Bible means is whatever they are told it means by their minister, priest, etc.

The fact that they need someone to tell them what the Bible means should be a hint that it cannot be understood literally but, as others have pointed out, these are not the brightest or best educated people you will ever meet.

Answer 4

That just means that when the Bible speaks in metaphors, you have to take it as a literal metaphor. Otherwise, you can make the Bible say anything you want it to say. That's why you have to take it in context, including the context of the society in which it was written.

Answer 5

At times the Bible does speak in metaphors but else where it's talking literally.

Answer 6

Two reasons: (1) many have never read the Bible and therefore do not know what it says, (2) many people think that if you say that the Bible is not to be taken 100% lliterally, that you are somehow saying that it is not "true" - this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the term "literal."

I've pointed out to people passages like the following from Song of Solomon 2: I am a rose [b] of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.
Lover
2 Like a lily among thorns
is my darling among the maidens.
Beloved
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
is my lover among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

And, somehow these "literalists" are still able to claim that this is to be taken "literally." If it was to be taken literally, then I guess the woman is really a flower (a Rose of Sharon). She's a flower actually in the midst of a bunch of thorns. And he has branches and a trunk and sprouts fruit, and she likes to have him stand in the sun so she can sit in the shade that he casts.

That's the RIDICULOUS "literal" interpretation of those passages. The only "true" interpretation of that passage is a figurative (non-literal one). She's not REALLY a Rose of Sharon - she is very beautiful. He's not REALLY a plant with a trunk and branches -- he's really big and strong and protective.

Answer 7

It depends on the style of writing used. Some parts of the Bible are poetry, and so include metaphors, others are historical narrative, and so should be taken literally. You have to read the context of the passage to help determine the style of writing.

Answer 8

Because people think they have to jump on either one bandwagon or the other. The Bible is to be "rightly divided", meaning that you need to understand the subject and the object of what you are reading. Now, if you are reading that a multi-headed beast rises out of the sea, then we know that there aren't any of those around, so gee, its probably symbolism. Also, in the same example, you would know, if you rightly divide the word, that in Chapter 17 God explains very plainly: "the sea that thou sawest are peoples,and nations, and tongues" - just meaning the peoples of the world.
Apply common sense, and know that the Bible interprets itself, without the need of man.

Answer 9

I know of no metaphors in the Bible. I know that it uses parables. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It is a story that is used to get our simple minds to wrap around an awesome concept.
People to often read the bible in the same way they go through a salad bar. They pick and choose and mix things to get what they want. God, and his word, is not here to serve us. He made us, and gave us His word. It is what it is, just as he is the "I am." Take it literally. Apply it to your life, not in the way you want, in the way God wants. "and what way is that?", you ask.........Ask God, I promise, He will tell you, He did me when I asked!

Answer 10

Who told you that they speak in metaphors in the Bible. The Bible never says it, so who was the "all wise one" who decided that it was written in metaphors, and why don't we follow him as our god instead of the God of the Bible?

Answer 11

The symbolism has to be appreciated and understood as exactly that- Jesus is not literally a Lamb! People who say to "take the bible literally" make belief in God's word appear to be ridiculous.

Here's a link to an article on the symbolic number 666- one of the bible's most commonly misunderstood symbols!