A bunch of you said it is meant to be taken literally in your responses to this question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AqNqEeqNfMsF1ghRzZIVwYrty6IX?qid=20070627122847AAQe0tt
A bunch of you said it is not meant to be taken literally in this one:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjgkyKieDKG4nvxX8RCfvQ0AAAAA?qid=20070630095723AAPfEBi
So which is it? Maybe you guys need to ask your pastor, because you obviously don't know?
2007-06-30 06:22:23 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Or maybe you just pick and choose when it's convenient, and you say it is to be taken literally when it backs you up, and deny it when it doesn't?
2007-06-30 06:23:22 · update #1
For those of you who are saying "well some of it is meant to be taken literally and some of it is to be taken symbolically" you need to open the links and actually see what I'm saying. In the first question people nearly took my head off just for implying that anything the Old Testament said wasn't meant to be taken literally. In the second link when they were asked why the bible says its alright to sell your daughter into slavery or that you should kill someone for working on the sabbath, then they said " oh uh um well it's not meant to be taken literally" Please tell me how something like that could be taken symbolically?
2007-06-30 06:49:05 · update #2
PaulCyp: Well that's a complete cop-out if I ever saw one. It doesn't matter whether it is taken literally or not? So in other words, you just have no idea. And I know Jesus talked in parables in the New Testament- I'm not talking about that. What about the Old Testament where God directly tells people to kill people for worshipping false gods or working on the sabbath? How do you explain that?
2007-06-30 07:18:18 · update #3
Here's how: open the bible to any passage hold a cross four inches above the page , if it spins counterclockwise it's false. If it spins clockwise it's true.
2007-06-30 06:40:35 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It is.But not all people who adhere to the Faith are actually Christians.If the entire Bible is not taken as the literal Word of God,it is pointless to read it at all.You know,there are New Agers that believe the Bible;but they also believe the doctrines of devils.I don't have a pastor.I have God's Word!
2007-06-30 13:52:25 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't matter whether a particular story is literal or not. Christ used many stories, such as parables, that were not literally true, but which still conveyed truth. When we read a Scripture story, the question we should be asking is not "is this story literally true?", but rather, "what is the truth this story is intended to teach me?". The truth God conveys to us is the essential thing, not the literary vehicle used to deliver that truth.
2007-06-30 14:01:00 · answer #3 · answered by PaulCyp 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Symbolism is everywhere within the Old Testament. Some parts are to be taken literally and some aren't. It takes years of study and prayer to distinguish what is and what is not..
2007-06-30 13:39:54 · answer #4 · answered by stpolycarp77 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with April. Otherwise, the whole bible isn't to be taken literally. It's just symbolic. That's what my family's pastor told them.
2007-06-30 13:32:59 · answer #5 · answered by CBlackfire 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is no one form of Christianity and Protestantism alone has 30,000+ . How could even the Bible Alone folks agree on how to interpret the OT or NT?
2007-06-30 13:30:05 · answer #6 · answered by James O 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One part of the bible which is taken literarly is depicted in this New transaltion of the Song of Solomon. I find it more exciting than the king James version
http://gamahucherpress.yellowgum.com/books/poetry/songsolomon.pdf
2007-06-30 13:28:04 · answer #7 · answered by ANN 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well said, Ann........I agree!
If a person wants to know the truth about all of the scriptures,
one must be like Solomon.
If a person wishes to know the truth, one must gain "Wisdom".
2007-06-30 13:48:15 · answer #8 · answered by WillRogerswannabe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You make an excellent point that I have always wondered myself. A star for you.
(And that is one of the most adorable avatars I have ever seen.)
2007-06-30 13:35:14 · answer #9 · answered by Kharm 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They pick and choose hon... It's too scary for them to just regard the whole thing as a fairy tale...
2007-06-30 13:26:31 · answer #10 · answered by April 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋