Friday, May 06, 2005

Do you take the Bible literally?

I don't like it when people ask me if I take the Bible literally. That's like asking if I take the public library literally. The public library divides its books up into genres. There's history, science, philosphy, fiction, etc. They each are supposed to be understood in terms of their genre. The same is true with the Bible. The Bible is not just one monolithic book intended to be taken either literally or not literally. The Bible is a library. It's a collection of books, and many genres are represented. There's history, poetry, apocalyptic, personal letter, etc. Each book in the Bible should be interpreted in terms of its genre. That means some things are going to be literal and some things aren't.

1 comment:

Mike - hotfudgesunday.blogspot.com said...

I like the library illustration.

I think most people who say this are probably thinking of the miraculous events in the Bible.