[Zwing]

Most people aregue principles in the bible due to a difference of opinion and many times I struggle with this area.

So here is the question... talk amoungst yourselves

Is the bible more literal: ie words meaning what they mean:

or Symbolic: words in code, having other meanings, stuff like that


or a mix?

Do you consider Revelation literal or symbolic? I think its one of the most confusing books on that topic. Some people consider the beast a techological beast? But the bible literally describes it as a monster

Other literal / symbolic topics

Did Noah take every animal in the world on the arc?
Did God create the earth in 7 days?
Were Adam and Eve the 1st humans

Jm

I tend to belive, follow, and read the bible literally: thats just how I am

[guyforGod]

i tend to believe in the areas where it describes actual events it is literal.... i.e. creation of the world, noah and the ark......

parables of course have meanings on different levels, so those are both literal and symbolic....

but when its talking about prophesy..... it can go either way

thats the crazy-deep stuff i have trouble understanding!

--Brian

[trhoke]

You can't say it's either literal or symbolic. You have to understand the context, what the writer is saying, how he's saying it, etc.

For e.g. when Peter says that Jesus is the stone that the builders rejected, he's not actually saying that Jesus is a stone. And when the Psalmist says that God hides us under the shadow of His wings, he is not saying that God is a bird.

So you must understand the language used by the writers. And you cannot assign one--literal or symbolic--to the whole Bible.

[Luke]

I could write a drawn-out answer to this question...but I'm not going to. See what Tim said. I agree with Tim.

[Phil]

yeah i agree with throke.... usually its pretty obvious when the Bible is usuing figurative language. But things that don't seem to be figurative, I would definately say mean literal

[cowboy]

I tend to believe that you can take the Bible literally, and that's fine, but I always look for the point behind the literal. I know people will burn me for what I believe, because I choose to look at the point behind the Creation story, and the point behind Noah and the Ark, as opposed to looking at the literal story as a historical account. But to each his own.
Grace be with you,
Josh

[Luke]

Originally posted by cowboy
But to each his own.

I actually find this to be the more disturbing statement that the ones you said you'd get reamed for.

[froggee501]

I agree with cowboy....I look at the meaning behind things....I don't believe that the world was created in 7 days. I believe that the story of Job is just that, a story. (I can just see some of the replies I'll be getting for that last sentence! ) I also look at the Bible's time periods, especially the Old Testament, and how people had to live back in those days, and make sure that my Bible interpretations are based upon that. I believe that while some of the Bible is literal, other parts aren't. After all, God knows that people learn best by stories.

[trhoke]

Originally posted by froggee501
I agree with cowboy....I look at the meaning behind things....I don't believe that the world was created in 7 days. I believe that the story of Job is just that, a story. (I can just see some of the replies I'll be getting for that last sentence! ) I also look at the Bible's time periods, especially the Old Testament, and how people had to live back in those days, and make sure that my Bible interpretations are based upon that. I believe that while some of the Bible is literal, other parts aren't. After all, God knows that people learn best by stories.

I take it your use of "other parts" means parts that are normally taken by most people as literal, you do not? With that definition in mind, what are your grounds for taking parts of the Bible as "stories" instead of historic fact?

[Luke]

Originally posted by froggee501
[B]I agree with cowboy....I look at the meaning behind things....I don't believe that the world was created in 7 days. I believe that the story of Job is just that, a story. (I can just see some of the replies I'll be getting for that last sentence! ) I also look at the Bible's time periods, especially the Old Testament, and how people had to live back in those days, and make sure that my Bible interpretations are based upon that. I believe that while some of the Bible is literal, other parts aren't. After all, God knows that people learn best by stories.

So what parts are literal and what parts aren't?
Were there really ten commandments?
If Genesis 1-3 was a parable, when does that part stop? Was Abraham a parable?
...
...

I can understand believing something to be figurative if the Bible makes it obvious that it's figurative, but such is not the case with Genesis and definitely is not the case with Job.

And for all you people that don't believe in a six-day creation, what do those parts about each day represent? (And it's 6, not 7....)

[SccHarpGirl]

In most cases, literal.

[SnapCase]

This is cool...we just talked about this in my Biblical Hermenuetics class. heres some of the notes I took:

Guidelines to know when a verse is to be taken literally or figuretively:
1)Context may indicate
2)Literal meaning of a sentence may mean an impossibility
3)A literal interpretation may make a contradiction
4)Scripture may make another passage a contradiction
5)When it is said to be figurative
6)By use of common sense.

I like the last one the best. I think Revelation falls into number 6

[+Donny]

it depends, very hard to tell with many things but u must understand, there IS a right and wrong way to interpret it which is usually on ly found through prayer and reading

[shephard_pie]

Here's one rule of thumb I use and teach from as for if it is literal or symbolic. If it says God did it, He did. (see Creation, Job, Adam and Eve) I can't think of any exceptions to this off hand. Afterall, if it says God did it but he didn't really, wouldn't that give you reason to doubt all of it?

[realist999]

Donny- it depends, very hard to tell with many things but u must understand, there IS a right and wrong way to interpret it which is usually on ly found through prayer and reading

realist999- How does this work if god answers prayer with scripture?