what do u think should the bible be taken literally or metaphorically?

Question

if u take it literary then how do u explain the varst evidence against your religeon from the age of the earth to Noe's ark
if u take it metaphorically where do u stop u can just say god himself is just a metaphor of nature with no concius or will besides is'nt the bible "gods word" why whould god not be specific so even the dobmest person on earth could understand

Answer 1

If a 4 year old asks you where babies come from do you sit them down with a biology book and go into exact details? Remember the culture of the early Bible was unlike ours in two way. First, there was no written record so they had accounts memorized. The people who kept the histories had to repeat everything exactly the same every time. Mostly it was done in verse so it was easier to remember. It also was kept to information relative to what they knew and needed to know to have a firm foundation and knowledge of God.

Second, they did not have the scientific knowledge we have now. Like the 4 year old, they would not have understood had God given them all the details of His actions or the physical laws He created. He gave them what they could understand and what was the most important thing for them to learn. The age of the earth at the time of Noah was (and is) not relevant to the history or the lesson one should learn.

There is another fact that often is overlooked by people who do not want to understand the Bible. That is that the culture of the writers effected the words they used. They would not fully understand the phrase "out in left field" until it was explained. We don't always fully understand the phrases they used until we learn more of their culture. That results in the confusion about literal vs metaphorical sometimes.

Prophesies are another topic all together.

Answer 2

I think it should be taken metaphorically. After all, the laws of nature DID apply back then, so how would water be turned into wine? How would the dead rise after THREE days (FOUR in Lazarous' case)? How would a woman give birth without having sex? How could a sea part for the Jews and then drown the Egyptians? There are also Christians who believe that Adam lived 900+ years. C'mon! The Bible is a record of people's beliefs, and believe me, they have been altered to "show" miracles. Maybe not in an effort to decieve, but they were still altered. So yes, take it metaphorically... don't pray and fast 24 hours a day, don't kill your son if an angel tell you to (instead go easy on the marijuana), and definately don't jump off a cliff and wish God's angels catch you.

Answer 3

The Bible contains each form of writing all of us be conscious of of: thoughts, metaphores, poems, songs, historic past, geneological listings, and so on. maximum sorts of writing are express as to what sorts they are and is fairly obtrusive the thanks to take them. Is there a particular area that makes a strong party? Like Genesis a million? God created the heavens and the earth.....day1 looks crucial area of speech, a historic account and should be taken literal. present day clinical theories contradict particular parts of the Bible, even if it extremely is to be envisioned. In 500 years from now, the technological information may have progressed a lot that they are going to seem again on us, and on a number of our theories and chortle, like we do now on technological information in simple terms 2 hundred years in the past. even as it ought to seem that we are finally getting each of the products practice in technological information immediately, do no longer ignore that each era felt that way and alway will and could continuously project the Bible and God, and that is okay, also should be inspired. We could pursue God with our ideas, body and soul, in spite of if that persuit brings up puzzling questions.

Answer 4

Obviously it cannot be taken literally,those who do end up looking like fools,and spending the rest of their lives explaining and justifying the myriad of contradictions and errors in it. There is much good information to be gleaned for those willing to look at it properly as a view of the times in which it was written. Unfortunately there's also some really horrible information in there for those who take it too literally. But at least modern rules of civil conduct keep them from doing the damage to society that they otherwise could using that information.

AD

Answer 5

The Bible is an encyclopedia of 66 books that harmonize over 4k years. This, dispite being written by people of all walks of life, different cultures and periods in time. It is like a jig-saw puzzle that fits together WHEN given the attention and time. It will not be believed without the desire to do so. "Ask and it shall be opened to you". It cannot be "force fed". Knowledge will nurture the desire to understand. In addition to personal reading, instruction is necessary to get the import and make the connections. This is also how one learns what is figuritive and what is literal. For instance, Jesus taught in parables. When asked ,"why?", he said it was to differentiate the seekers from the (so-called) "wise" ones.
How to tell who is qualified to instruct? "He who is teaching in my name and the name of my Father".
Also, like the Boroeans, the Lord encourages one to double check to make sure this is so.

P.S. The 6 days of creation were not 6, 24 hour days, but epochs. As "in my grandad's DAY"; the "days of the dinosaur"; "Noah's day". Each time period corresponds with what geology reveals. There is no contradiction.

Answer 6

Any holi scripture is for the saints.

Reading a bible is alright, but thus, feeling a sense of vanity is harmful.

A true saint's guidance should be taken in understanding the spirit of the bible. The more you will know it through, the more humble you will become.

Answer 7

"BOTH"

The rule of literalism.
The Bible is to be taken literally unless it is using symbols or a figure of speech.

Figures of speech.
A figure of speech is an expression implying an idea other than what is actually stated. Five kinds of figurative language are prevalent in Scripture.

Metaphor.
The most common kind of figure in Scripture is the metaphor, backbone of Hebrew poetry. No less than six metaphors occur in a single verse (Psa., 18:2). A metaphor speaks of an equivalence when there is no more than a resemblance. God is not a high tower; He merely in some ways resembles one.

Metonymy.
Metonymy is the substitution of a related concept for the intended concept. We find examples in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 ("the Spirit" is substituted for His activity or manifestations), Isaiah 22:22 ("key" replaces the broader idea of authority), and Luke 16:29 (Moses and the prophets stand in place of their writings). In all these cases, the literal meaning is false or impossible.

Synecdoche.
Synecdoche is another kind of substitution—in this case, a part for the whole or a whole for the part, as when Jesus says, "The Son of man hath nowhere to lay his head" (Matt. 8:20). For other examples, see Judges 12:7; and Acts 27:37.

Ellipsis.
An ellipsis is an abbreviated expression that requires the reader to supply the missing words. Taken literally, an ellipsis might be nonsensical. In 1 Corinthians 3:2, for instance, the writer does not mean that he refrained from giving them meat to drink. Of similar nature are the expressions we find in Luke 1:64 and Psalm 74:7 (in the latter case, the translators supplied the omitted words).

Hyperbole.
Hyperbole is rhetorical overstatement, a fairly common device in the Bible (Gen. 22:17; Deut. 1:28; 2 Chron. 28:4; S. of S. 4:4).

Recognizing figures of speech
How can we tell when Scripture is using a figure of speech? Generally, an expression should be taken figuratively if it falls in one of three categories.

1* The literal meaning is impossible.
A simple example appears in Psalm 5:9. A throat cannot be a sepulchre.

2* The literal meaning is possible, but probably never true.
We find a figure of this type in Psalm 25:15. It is not impossible that my feet would, under peculiar circumstances, become entangled in a net and that the Lord would deliver me from it. But the psalmist is not talking about a real net. He is referring to any trap set by an enemy.

3* The literal meaning is trivial.
A good example is the metaphor in Isaiah 55:1-2. There is no logical difficulty in supposing that the prophet is calling people to buy food and drink, but to view the passage in this way trivializes it and misses the point. The prophet has a spiritual message here. He wants us to forsake worldly things for the eternal things that yield true satisfaction.

Symbolism.
Symbolism presents somewhat thornier problems.
Probably the clearest example of symbolism in Scripture is the mysterious drama in Revelation 12:1-6. Another clear example is the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23). From examination of these and other cases, we arrive at some principles governing Biblical symbolism.
When the Bible uses symbolism, it alerts the reader to the nature of what he is reading. Jesus Himself gives a full explanation of the Parable of the Sower. From His treatment of this parable, we infer that we can treat other parables in the same manner. Revelation 12 begins by identifying the woman clothed with the sun as "a great wonder in heaven." "Wonder" is simply the word "sign," or "symbol."

In Biblical symbolism, each element corresponds to something real.
In the Parable of the Sower, everything Jesus says has a meaning. There is no meaningless detail. Likewise in the pageant of Revelation 12, the woman, the dragon, the stars, the deeds of the actors—all have prophetic significance.

The Bible interprets its own symbolism.
Who is the woman clothed with the sun? Her setting in the midst of the sun, the moon, and twelve stars recalls the dream of Joseph (Gen. 37:9-10), which used similar imagery to signify the family of Jacob. We conclude that the woman is Israel. Who is the dragon? The Book of Revelation says he is Satan (Rev. 20:2).

Biblical symbols are always appropriate.
Leaven represents sin. Consider what leaven is. The chemical reactions that cause a lump of dough to rise are the work of minute vegetable organisms called yeast, a type of fungus. A distinctive property of all fungi is their lack of chlorophyll. As nongreen plants, they are incapable of making their own food. They must draw nourishment from other organisms, whether living or dead. Yeast is a fungus that, in feeding itself, converts bread sugars into alcohol (which disappears during baking) and carbon dioxide, a gas. Notice that the leavening effect of the yeast depends on its destruction of a nourishing and flavorful food substance. As an agent of destruction and decay, leaven is a fitting symbol for something evil.

I do hope this explains things a bit better to you.

Blessings,
Jewel

Answer 8

Metaphorically. For one thing, taking it literally tends to cause people to get caught up in exact meanings and not Jesus' overall meaning of peace, love, and pacifism.

Instead people focus on proving science is wrong about evolution. What does that matter?

Answer 9

The Bible to me, is merely a guideline by the way we should live our lives.

If every one took the ten commandments literally, then I don't think we would have all the problems of the world that we have today.

Imagine you loved your neighbour as you loved yourself.

Would you steal, Rape or murder yourself?

If you don't want that done to you then why do people do it to other people?

Answer 10

The bible should be taken for what it is..A really bad novel written by really bad authors.
Have you ever wondered why, James Frey got so much flak for claiming his book was non fiction when it was in fact fiction?
The Christians claim that the bible is non fiction yet there is no proof that it is. So its non fiction, wanna sue god with me???