At what point does the Bible stop being figurative and start being literal?
This is a re-post of a thread I made GA that didn't get a lot of responses, so I'm gonna see what everyone here says about it.
I've been doing that thinking thing, and posted this on another forum and wanted to get opinions here.
If a person is a Christian who DOES NOT view stories like Genesis as literal, only figurative, at which point in the Bible do you stop being figurative and start being literal? What is the criteria for determining what is figurative and what is literal?
Examples:
Genesis - Oh, there was no real first man and woman. The Fall didn't happen that way, either. Man just did some mysterious thing that caused death to come into the world (even though evolution had been killing things for a while, but thats another thread)
The Flood - Noah may have been copied from Utnapishtim of the Epic of Gilgamesh, or Utnapishtim may have been copied from Noah. Either way, the Flood was probably a local event, and there most likely was no Ark. It was only meant to teach a lesson.
Now this:
The Resurrection - Oh, well thats read figuratively just like the other books, right?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!, Every single thing written in the gospels is 100%, absolute literal truth!!!
So, tell me. Where and when does it become literal?
Right. Like the healed leper. The love the Lord showed may well be the bigger lesson than the healing itself. The leper died sometime later but may have eternal life due to the love of the Lord.
The CC uses the criteria of reason, eye witness acount of the Biblical relate, importance of the message (is stronger literaly or figurative?)
The CC Cathesim have the criteria numbered.
I do not know about other churches.
God is Infinite, we are finite. The Bible gives us what we need for salvation in a way we can relate to it. It operates with our prayer life, and as we grow in Him, we understand more.
You wouldn't expect to understand a text-book on advanced physics without learning elementary physics, and at the elementary level things are often explained in ways that you will later understand in more complexity. So it is with Scripture.
It literally occurred, it was symbolic that it occurred as it did and it is prophetic to the what the Church would be....and Whom Christ would be.
God is a mystery, but everything was done for a purpose.
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Matthew Chapter 7
7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."
literal from the get go ... with deeper spiritual meanings too
__________________ "Acquire a peaceful spirit and 1000s around you will be saved"--St. Seraphim
For as it is not yet six thousand years since the first man, who is called Adam, are not those to be ridiculed rather than refuted who try to persuade us of anything regarding a space of time so different from, and contrary to, the ascertained truth? St. Augustine
It literally occurred, it was symbolic that it occurred as it did and it is prophetic to the what the Church would be....and Whom Christ would be.
God is a mystery, but everything was done for a purpose.
Good point.
I believe literal , but once I learn more about the Bible I understand the Bible contains different types of literature. Such as Narrative, Laws, Prophecy, Poetic And this helps to me to look whats important in the message.
Like I believe Noah built an Ark, yet with my level of understanding I don't need to argue with someone weather he lived 600 years as we know it or if there was room enough for 2 of every animal we have today? Yet more important he did as God asked even when others laughed at him. When it rained the Ark saved his family from the flood & he did live a very long time. I don't have a problem believing 600 yrs. or 2 of every animal that existed at the time.
So for me no matter if Science comes up with some data it may be interesting. Yet I don't need it to prove that a ship similar to the ark would float or something does not add up to their calculations, it does not disprove to me anything the Holy Bible states.
Whether some specific passage is literal history or not is not important. What is important is that it all contains literal theological truth.
It is important to remember though that Jesus taught from the Old Testament. If you are willing to believe he is the Son of God then why is there a problem in accepting the text he taught from as also being true?
My personal opinion is that everything after Abraham is probably literal history. That which occurred before Abraham may contain some poetic licence as to history, but contains perfect theological truth.
__________________ Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13, NASB95)
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