Why wasn't the christian bible written literally?

Question

Really, everyone whose been posting your scriptures and passages, it's all figurative and open to interpretation (and often loosely). My question is, if its the end-all of religious documents, the archetype for your existence and beliefs, why then wasn't it written literally? Could they (the authors) not have just said what they meant? It seems its all jumbled up, and if you put "this" with "that" it means whatever you wanted it to mean.

It is not my intention to be offensive, it just seems like if you really wanted people to believe your story, you'd be a little more clear about your message.

Answer 1

Everyone knows a good movie is left open for interpretation. It makes people come back again and again. The same goes for religion. With a message that is flexible, it could withstand the tests of time.

I'm an Engineer though, and prefer my rule books to be direct and literal. I have so many problems reading the bible because I read it too literally and not symbolically.

Answer 2

It was written as propaganda for a monotheistic patriarchal culture in the Bronze Age as a way of keeping people in line using scare tactics. Education and intelligence were frowned upon.

Then in the Middle Ages, when the Bible we have today was compiled, many books were discarded because they didn't fit with the agenda of those who were putting it together. Many of the discarded texts have been discovered recently but there is a huge controversy regarding each since they don't agree with what the Bible says.

Much of the Bible is not literal. The history the Bible depicts does not in any way match up with history as we know to be true. Also, stories weren't written about various events until many decades/centuries after they occurred so it's impossible for anyone to get the facts even remotely correct. Modern myths and legends are a perfect example of that.

Not to mention, it has been translated so many times that none of the original meanings are there anymore. And many words and phrases do not translate into other languages without much difficulty, if at all.

Answer 3

This is a good question. Interpretation certainly is a challenge. Roy B. Zuck wrote a good book about interpreting the Bible and highlighted six major problems in Bible interpretation:

1) A time gap--The Bible is an ancient book so we cannot talk with the authors to discover firsthand their meaning.

2) A space gap--Most readers of the Bible live thousands of miles from where most Biblical events took place. That puts them at a disadvantage.

3) A customs gap--Great differences exist between customs of the western culture and customs of the Bible lands. Faulty interpretations stem from an ignorance of those customs.

4) A language gap--The people of the Bible wrote and spoke a different language than most of the Bible's readers. Not only are most Bible readers unfamiliar with Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, but they don't know the uniqe expressions that were common to those languages at that time.

5) A writing gap--Stylisticly, writing in that time and place is different from the writing that we are accustomed to reading.

6) A spiritual gap--God's way of doing things is not our way. Also, God, being infinite is not fully comprehensible by us, the finite.

All of these things contribute to our difficulty in understanding fully what is in the Bible. Would you agree that reading and understanding the Bible takes more work than reading and understanding your daily newspaper?

Answer 4

The bible is not meant to be a legal document.

Whether your religious or not, history should tell you that the bible is a collection of stories and scriptures, sometimes handed down over generations before being written down.

The bible as we know it is probably more than two thousand years old.

Some of the stories are simply a way of communicating ideals and principles on which we should live.

Whatever your personal beliefs, millions of people have faith in it and it is wrong for anyone to mock someone else's faith.

Answer 5

Understand the following: At the time of reception, the ancient man of Earth had not fully conceptualized existence enough to be brought to terms reconcilable in today's era of science and technology. Ancient scriptures were described in metaphor and allegory in attempts to convey a general message in methods and concepts that man of that time could understand. Imagine the futility of attempting to convey a message from the standpoint of infinite knowledge to finite, primitive, and superstitious beings who had not fully conceptualized and discovered their own PART of the world let alone disected all of existence. A few centuries later, after the compilation of the Holy Books, Bishops ordered these books canonized (meaning that nothing could be added to or taken from said books and also includes the addition of new books). This, effectively stunted religious understanding from this time forward. So if you consider these things it is not God, but man who has made the teachings of God irreconcilable with what we currently know today of our Universe. I personally do not agree with "inerrancy" in the Bible, but I do believe that the word of God is contained somewhere within it. Disecting and determining the correct parts is your own personal choice whether to or not.

Answer 6

Most of the Bible is written literally. Problem is that people pull scriptures out of the passage so that some meaning is lost. These verses are then twisted in different ways for different arguments.

Answer 7

It was written literally.

And up until fairly recently, it was taught as literal truth.

But since science and history have proven its origins, and have proven why so much of it is completely false, the Christian church has changed its tack, now calling all the false parts "allegory" or "metaphor".

Eventually, if the church isn't defunct long beforehand, they will call the entire bible a metaphor.

Answer 8

I wondered that myself for a long time.
It is impossible to write literally of spiritual truth with material modes of thought, words of this world. Therefore, the stories convey spiritual meanings that are hidden from defiled and gross hearts. It all makes sense, when the spiritual sense starts to overtake the worldly, mortal sense of things.
This now is the journey out, and not actually "the life."

Answer 9

Stool,
Most of the Bible was written literally. The Book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John during his Roman imprisonment at the Isle of Patmos and had to be written in that manner so the message would be passed on to the Roman Churches. It was a letter of encouragement to them and not to "us". Have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks,
Eds


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Answer 10

Because Proof does not equal Faith. Just as Jesus was reluctant to show Thomas the wounds after he rose from the dead, blessed are those who believe and have not seen. If you had an authoritative film record of Biblical events, and could prove these events were not doctored by FX magic, there would be no need for faith, as we would all be robotically following and nodding heads in agreement.
The Bible is a guide, not a history book, meant to instruct in moral behavior and lessons learned what many people need sledgehammer to show them.