If the bible isn't to be read literally, then how do you decide which stories really happened?

Question

I know a lot of people believe in the biblical god but don't believe the 7-day creation story should be taken literally. There are other stories in the bible that would seem far-fetched to our modern sensibilities. For example:
- did methuselah really live for over 900 years?
- did jonah really spend 3 days in the belly of a whale?
- did moses really part the red sea?
- did noah really get 2 of every species of animal on board the ark?
- did jesus really walk on water, turn water into wine, and feed 5000 people with a single loaf of bread?

do you interpret some, all, or none of these stories literally? if some but not all, how do you make the distinction?

Answer 1

If read without any preconceived notions (an almost impossible task for skeptics, I'm sure), it becomes painfully obvious which parts of the Bible are literal and which parts are parables, poetry, hyperbole, etc.

Answer 2

In Genesis, note that until God created the Sun and Moon, and divided day and night, the 'day' as a measure of time didn't exist. I'm not an expert on this, but the ancient languages the Bible was written in didn't always have appropriate words to describe abstract concepts. Then, after translation to English, some things have been re-interpreted. I happen to be a Methodist and we believe faith is based on Scripture, tradition, reason and experience. When I participate in a study group, we don't necessarily all agree on some points. As for Noah, keep in mind that he didn't need to include the multitude of species that live in water. The more you study the Bible in its various translations and editions and other texts, such as the Book of Mormon, I think you'll understand the context. Miracles might have been somewhat exaggerated. Feeding 5000 people? One interpretation I've heard is that many of the people had some food that they didn't want to share. When they all pooled what they had, there was more than enough. However Jesus accomplished this, He clearly accomplished something very good for all, starting with very little. What is most important is how you personally feel after hearing or reading these words. Sometimes, there are parables, which are stories that illustrate a point. You might want to try some bible study classes, to get a bit more familiar with how your own church believes.

Answer 3

I think because of it's ability to be interpreted differently, the Bible should not be taken literally. We studied the Old Testament as literature for an English class in college and your question was the theme of the class. Since we are usually analyzing written text, the Bible was no exception. We would analyze the possible meanings within a line, verse, page, and book. It does not help that the Bible is translated from another language (Old Hebrew) which can completely change meanings. I would recommend the text we used for the class, The New Oxford Annotated Bible. It gives you possible meanings in accordance to history and what the original word was before being translated. The Bible is open to interpretation which is partly why I don't believe in "following" what the Bible says. My interpretation is different from yours, the priest/preacher/etc. We can see this happen with any book. People will always have conflicting views when they each read the same text. This is especially shown when a movie is made from a book. Why do you think so many people say, "The book was better"? We each build it to our own understanding.

Answer 4

That is a complicated question. We must look at the the original languages that the Bible was written in to be able to say if a passage is speaking allegorically or literally. By doing this we see that Genesis chapters 1 thru 11 are to be taken literally and Jesus' parables are allegorical.

To answer your questions:

1. "did Methuselah really live for over 900 years?"
Yes, 969 years
Genesis 5:27 "So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. "

2. "did Jonah really spend 3 days in the belly of a whale?"
Yes, three miserable days.

3. "did moses really part the red sea?"
No, God parted the sea through Moses. Moses's power came from God not Moses.

4. "did Noah really get 2 of every species of animal on board the ark?"
No, God brought the animals to Noah.
Genesis 6:20 "Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive"

5. "did Jesus really walk on water, turn water into wine, and feed 5000 people with a single loaf of bread?"
Yes on all accounts check out the Gospel of John.

Answer 5

The Bible IS meant to be literally. The only exception would be the book of Revelation which is written "symbolically" meaning that various numbers, "beasts", etc would symbolize other things. But even the book of Revelation was written to be understood.

For the most part, it is simple to tell if the writer of a specific passage or book was literal or figurative. All human languages have two types of speech: literal and figurative. Literal language is the type which is found in the historical books of the Bible such as Genesis and Exodus, the book of Acts, etc. It is fact. Literal words must be understood to have their actual meaning. In literal language, if a sheep is mentioned, it means a four legged animal which has wool on its back.
Figurative language is different. Words are used to represent ideas or thoughts which are different from the actual meaning of the word. For example: a sheep or lamb may be spoken of, but an animal is not meant. It is being used to represent something else which has some of the qualities of a sheep or lamb. Jesus was a man. He is the Son of God. But in figurative language in the Bible, He is sometimes spoken of as a lamb. John the Baptist said of Jesus: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)! Lambs were used for sin offerings under the Law of Moses. John did not mean that Jesus was an actual lamb. But he meant that Jesus would be the offering for our sins.

The Bible is not hard to understand with proper study. Paul said of Timothy, "From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures . . ." (II Timothy 3:15). If a child can understand it, can’t you?

Further, if you say that you cannot understand it, you are charging God with requiring of you more than you are able to perform, for we read, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15). We urge you to follow the example of the Bereans: "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11).

Answer 6

First of all the Bible is like a jewel that has many facets to it, but there are instances that should not be taken as strictly literal, it is really a case of using wisdom and also common sense to see the meaning behind some stories, for example Jesus said `Unless you become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven` now to take this literally would be silly as we cannot regress back to childhood, what it really is saying is that we must have the innocent trust and dependence in God that children have in their parents.

Answer 7

If you don't believe part of the bible why believe any of it?
I think all where meant literally.You =cant say this is true and this isn't. I mean God know what he mean and he means what he says...

My beliefs about the bible(all things i say will be fact except my opinions)

The Bible was inspired by God.
Bible is 66 books written by 40 inspired different authors over thousands of years.
1000's of Men and women died for this book would be persevered for the future.
There are 1000’s of prophesy throughout the Bible and more than 90% have already been fulfilled. Every verse is expressing Gods prophecy and plan for the world and his people, the Jews. The Bible is the most historical book from that time in print.
It also has 1000,000,000s of copies maybe even more.
It is the oldest book that is still widely printed today.
Fact:The Bible never contradicts its self and it is in sync with history.

Answer 8

I heard someone say this once, "if the most literal sense makes sense, seek no other sense". All the stories above yes I believe are literal. There are others that are metaphor, simlie, parable, symbolic.

P.S. Of course *smile* there would be those who say the story of Jonah, Noah, or God parting the Red Sea would make no sense. I'm speaking of born again, spirit filled Christians, since the things of God are spiritually discerned.

Answer 9

I think the point is not what the people actually did, but what is the message of the story. It's hard for us to prove or disprove by our standards today the things that are said in the bible. The whole point is humanity's belief in God, and to live a moral life, with truth and respect for others. Some people however, choose to look too much into those details and miss the whole message. That is a personal choice.

Answer 10

You have to use discernment and read the whole Bible, not jsut a few scriptures and then take them out of context.

2 Peter 3:8 says a day to God is as a thousand years to man. It's not seven literal days as to what we see a week. And besides, God is still in the 7th day.

The other's you mentioned are to be taken literally. It's plainly stated, not a vision, nor anything else.

Answer 11

As far as time goes (for example, people living 900 years) they may have counted time differently back then. Some things that happened in the Bible can be scientifically explained and some can't. I don't think you should really worry about which stories are 100% true and which ones have some make believe in them, what I think you should thing about is what message you get from them. :)