why do catholics not interpretate the bible literrally?

Answer 1

. Catholics interpret the Bible in a "literal" sense, while many fundamentalists, Evangelicals, and others interpret the Bible in a literalist sense.

The "literal" meaning of a passage of Scripture is the meaning that the author of that passage of Scripture intended to convey. The "literalist" interpretation of a passage of Scripture is: "that's what it says, that's what it means."

Let me give you an example to illustrate the difference. If you were to read a passage in a book that said it was "raining cats and dogs outside", how would you interpret that? As Americans, in the 21st Century, you would know that the author was intending to convey the idea that it was raining pretty doggone hard outside. That would be the "literal" interpretation...the interpretation the author intended to convey. On the other hand, what if you made a "literalist" interpretation of the phrase, "it's raining cats and dogs"?

The "literalist" interpretation would be that, were you to walk outside, you would actually see cats and dogs falling from the sky like rain. No taking into account the popularly accepted meaning of this phrase. No taking into account the author's intentions. The words say it was raining cats and dogs, so, by golly, it was raining cats and dogs! That is the literalist, or fundamentalist, way of interpretation.

If someone 2000 years in the future picked up that same book and read, "It was raining cats and dogs outside," in order to properly understand that passage in the book, they would need a "literal" interpretation, not a "literalist" interpretation. Now, think about that in the context of interpreting the Bible 2000-3000 years after it was written.

Answer 2

An interesting question, considering the fact that I'm a "Protestant" turned "Catholic". I believe that at different times in history (including recent histrory) the Catholic Church has not attained the correct educational or moral high ground. That being said, some people are obviously more educated than others, and it also falls to reason that all people, whether Protestant or Catholic, have not always lived up to their duties as Christians by studying the Holy Bible and meditating on God's will. In response to the more angry individuals who have answered this question, I believe that not just Catholics, but ALL Christians fall short of God's requirements and His desire for our allegiance and perserverance. It is not right to criticize what you do not know, and yes, every Christian is a hypocrite perhaps several points throughout any given day, even a "good" day. So please think about the fact that God wants His believers to come together to study and love and act with lovingkindness towards each other. To be angry at one another is simply wrong. God bless!

Answer 3

According to 1 Timothy 3:15, the church is the pillar and foundation of truth.

Many verses in the Bible refer to the fact that not everything has been written down.

We follow the Bible, Sacred Tradition and the Magesterium. Tradition: is the teaching of the apostles and other accepted sources. If you study the early Church Fathers, you will find a great similarity to the Catholic Church and her practices and beliefs.

Truth doesn't change. Interpretation of Scripture does. In the early 20th century, ALL mainstream denominations agreed that birth control and abortion were immoral. Many have changed their stance. The Catholic Church has not.

Also - Philip met with an Ethiopian (Treasurer of a queen) who was not being able to interpret Scripture without having someone to interpret for him. So Philip did. Are we not the same as the Ethiopian?

Answer 4

The Catholic Church teaches that the Bible is the Word of God, wriiten by man. The stories in the Bible are placed within their historical context, and are regarded as stories with a moral, historical, or meaningful point - but not as literal truth.
And anyway, think about it. The stomach acids from a whale can eat through steel - Jonah wouldn't've lasted a minute (he would've suffocated or been crushed before reaching the stomach).
Noah built, by hand, a boat large enough to contain breeding populations for all the animals in the world? Two (or however many you'd need to have a viable population) mosquitos, two cobras, two elephants, two hippos?
C'mon.
Also, a lot of passages that people think refer to the apocalypse actuually refer to the sacking of Jerusalem by the Romans, or to other wars at the time.
But, belief is belief. A lot of Protestants have a hard time swallowing transubstantiation, no pun intended.

Answer 5

Our Catholic Faith was founded by Jesus Christ before the Letters of the Bible were placed together in one manuscript.
Before the written word the Apostles were given the Great Commission.

Our Catholic Faith is the Church that Jesus built upon the foundation of His Apostles and Prophets. Eph 2:20

Our Catholic Faith is the Church that Jesus through Saint Paul tells us to hold fast to our Traditions that he handed on to us. 1 Cor 11:2

Our Catholic Faith believes that Jesus commissioned Saint Peter as the Chief Shepherd on earth of His flock.
Jn 21:17, Gal 1:18.

We believe that Sacred Scriptures are a collection of writings which were inspired by God. God chose some men and moved them to write down faithfully all the things and only those things in which He wanted written down.

Not everything about Jesus is left to the written word.
Jn 21:25

This is why His Catholic Church is also built on the foundations of the Apostles. The three areas, The Bishops, The Pope, and The Bible must be in unison for the Pope to decree from His Chair. They are charged by Jesus Christ to guide and lead ALL humanity towards Jesus Christ.
Jn 20:21, Mt 28:18-20, Jn 20:23, 1 Cor 11:23-24, Lk 10:16, Mt 18:17-18, and finally Jn 16:13.

Answer 6

We do interpret the Bible literally. In fact, it is Protestants who don't. If they did, then they would be Catholics. They would have Apostolic Succession, the Priesthood, all 7 Sacraments including Confession and the Eucharist, and all the other teachings and doctrines of the Catholic Church. Nothing in the Bible is contrary to anything in the Catholic Church and nothing in the Catholic Church is contrary to the Bible.

I would suggest that next time you have a question about Catholicism, go to the Catechism of the Catholic Church which has all the teachings of the Church in it, or go to http://catholic.com/ for your answers. Please don't go to Yahoo Answers because there are many people here have no clue what the CC teaches or try to distort what the CC teaches for their own purposes. Please go to direct and reliable resources for your Catholic questions. I would also recommend you to http://www.biblechristiansociety.com/, which is a very good site as well.

Answer 7

That would be protestants that dont interpret the bible correctly or literally, not Catholics.

Examples:

When Jesus says, "You must be born of water and the Spirit," Catholics interpret this literally: "Water" equals "water," i.e., baptism. But some Protestants say that the water refers to something else, perhaps the preaching of the gospel, or even the amniotic fluid of natural child-birth.
When Paul says that Jesus cleanses his church by "the washing with water," Catholics interpret this literally. "Washing with water" equals "washing with water"; another reference to baptism. But some Protestants say it refers to something else, perhaps the Scriptures.
When Jesus says, "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven," Catholics, again, interpret this literally and believe that Jesus gave his apostles the authority to forgive sins in His name. But some Protestants say that this is just a reference to the apostles' authority to preach the gospel.
Again, when Jesus says, "This is my body," and "whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life," Catholics interpret this literally. The Eucharist is His body; it is truly His flesh and blood, though it does not appear to be. But most Protestants say that it remains only bread and wine (or grape juice) and that, once again, we should not take Jesus's words literally..
[and I add] When the Angel Gabriel says Mary is "full of Grace", and when Mary says "all generations will call me blessed" and "my soul magnifies the Lord" we take the Bible at its word.

Answer 8

Because Catholic's aren't taught from a young age to be ignorant, as Fundamentalist Christians are. Fundamentalist Christianity has spread through out the United States like a stupidity virus.

Can't just accept the fact that some stories are told to prove a point, and aren't meant for literal truth. That's where people screw up: When they begin to be unable to separate fact from fiction.

Answer 9

Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. It depends on how the text is written.

Most of what Jesus taught was in figurative language.
John 16:25: "Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father."

When people misinterpreted figurative language as literal, Jesus corrected them. For example, in John 3:

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."

If Jesus were talking literally, and people misunderstood him as speaking figuratively, he rephrased and repeated his literal point. For example, John 6:

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

Thus, Catholics interpret the literal literally and the figurative figuratively. We know which is which because Catholic writers like St. John wrote the New Testament, and their Catholic disciples, the Fathers of the Church, asked them what they meant, just as the Catholic disciples asked Jesus himself.

Cheers,
Bruce

Answer 10

Because the Bible is full of metaphors and things that may have applied for certain people at the time when Jesus was alive, but not us.