For Christians - If Jesus spoke in allegory...?

Question

Why would anyone then assert that the New Testament is literal? If telling stories that had meanings that were more important than the actual events of the story was a method for teaching used by Jesus, why assert that it has to be literally true? Why insist on literalism, when Jesus' message was more important than his words?

Answer 1

When educated, Christians know that all of the Bible is like any other book. There are parables, allegory, metaphor, etc. There are many things that are literal. But everything else that is indirect, or not literal, has a purpose. Our task is to determine what the point is. Not to quibble over what's literal and what's not. Unfortunately, the core message is lost among these trivialities.

Answer 2

The New Testament is literal in some places and allegorical in others.

For example, Jesus said that "I will make you fishers of men." That did not mean that the Apostles were to catch people with a net before they evangelized. Or, he would say, "I am a door", that did not mean that he grew hinges. People knew what he meant when he said these things, for in the context in which he said them, it was obvious that it was allegorical.

An example of him meaning something literally (and I know not everyone would agree with me) is John 6, the Bread of Life discourse:

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world"

Some Christians take this as allegorical or symbolic. However, if you read it in the context of the entire chapter, you will see that he was speaking literally. I say this because when his disciples began to argue, he clarified that "[his] flesh is real food and [his] blood is real drink." This alone should let the reader know that he is speaking literally. However, he does not stop there. He further enforces the seriousness of what he said, when some of the disciples left and "no longer followed him." Instead of going after the disciples that left and explaining that everything he said was allegorical or symbolic, he turned to the twelve and said, "You do not want to leave too, do you?"

A person who reads the bible has to take it both literally and figuratively depending on the context.

Answer 3

this has got to be the dumbest question i've ever heard.

have you ever told a joke? if you have, then based on your own assertion, we should just assume that you are always joking and have never been serious.

the fact is, Jesus fulfilled, literally, more than 700 Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah. the likelihood of anyone fulfilling 5 of those prophecies is 1 in 325,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 chances.

quit doggin' out Someone you don't even know. He came with a message of God's love. He came to stand up for you, to have your back, and all you can do is try to come up with reasons to hate everything He represents, just because you are too irresponsible to admit that you have sinned against God..

Jesus is coming back... and in our lifetimes, probably within the next 8 years if you know prophecy. incidentally, the likelihood of you dying and going to hell before He returns is less than 1 in 2 chances. you are quickly running out of time.

when He comes every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess (even yours) that Jesus Christ is Lord...

... and i mean that literally!

why don't you just ask Him for His forgiveness instead of coming up with ridiculous reasons to avoid the fact that you are a sinner... the first step is admitting it.

Answer 4

Well don't all do that, a I've met some priests (orthodox) who understand the deep meaning.
Anyway, church is not a divine construction, it comprises of people, and like all other people use what they have at hand to their own interest. Second, Jesus spoke like that because he was dealing with illiterate people, and wanted to make them understand in a simple way. Afterwards came church, which complicated everything t KEEP people illiterate and ignorant - (because knowledge and consciousnes is power). Nowadays people know much more but understand even less - so it is really confusing to believe in something like church and follow its guidance.

Answer 5

There is a mental acuity that allows us to understand everyday conversation.
There is also a spiritual acuity that allows us to understand the messages of parables.

But more than that, the parables Jesus taught were directly applicable to the people He spoke with. The hearer was already familiar with the terminology and situation(s) that it was impossible for him / her / them to understand the point Jesus was teaching about.

His words were spoken literally, why not take them literally.?

Answer 6

allegories point to truth- we as people love a story- we can relate to these better sometimes than a long drawn out sermon that we cannot understand. Just because there are allegorical stories in scripture that does not lead to the thought the Bible is false, and cannot be taken literally. Where is the logic in that?

Answer 7

The bible does not condemn material things, it shouldn't be the almighty most important, but there's nothing wrong with it. It's how you use it. Oh, and since you brought up homosexuality, there's a documentary called Fish Out of Water exploring what the Bible says about it, and how it can be interpreted. It doesn't portray the message you might expect. It's worth watching.

Answer 8

Hear, hear! Amen! Someone else actually gets it!

I suppose the problem is that most of Jesus' followers were still Jews at heart, and for them detailed written history and actual statute law were all the same. This is compounded by the fact that Paul, His chief "interpreter," never actually heard Jesus preach, never really grasped the nature of His ministry, and was a literalist himself (a wordy one at that), with no understanding of allegory.

Answer 9

Are you retarded? Do you actually believe that Jesus ONLY spoke in allegories? If so, you are a moron.

What about the writers of the epistles: Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and John? Did they only speak in allegories too?

Your question is a wonderful illustration of how IDIOTIC Bible skeptics can be.

Answer 10

It IS the inherent truth in Sacred Scripture that IS the Inspired Word of God...The ones who REALLY seem to insist on literalism are those who do NOT want to believe in God and use that as their copout.