Should We Take the Bible Literally or Figuratively?

CatholicExchange.com ^ | April 17, 2007 | Mary Harwell Sayler

[Salvation]

Mary Harwell Sayler	Other Articles by Mary Harwell Sayler Printer Friendly Version
Should We Take the Bible Literally or Figuratively?

---

April 17, 2007

Question: I started going to a Bible study in our parish and usually enjoy it but am thinking about dropping out. Several people in our group said we should never take the Bible literally, but what's the point of reading the Bible if it doesn't mean what it says?

Discussion: The Bible does mean what it says. However, God's ways can be so mysterious that people do not always understand what's said or why, especially on first reading. Some may write off the whole Bible as being merely symbolic or allegorical, while others take every word as the kind of literal truth you get when you say something like, "The fire is hot." Symbolically, that same fire represents the power, warmth, and enthusiastic fervor poured into Christians by the Holy Spirit. You can approach the flame literally or figuratively, but either way, the fire is "true." 

As the living word of God, the Bible is also true to itself and the spiritual truths expressed in a variety of tones, formats, and literary styles. Many themes and purposes arise in its pages, but the overall goal shows the salvation and redemption of man by the Almighty God, beginning in Genesis and going all the way through the final Amen in Revelation. So as you study the Bible, don't worry about whether you should take the words literally or figuratively. Just take them. Read them. Study them, and get to know what the Biblical record shows about the ongoing relationship between human beings and the God of love.

You might also take another tack in your Bible study. For instance, try thinking of yourself as an investigator or a Christian reporter looking for the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your Judeo-Christian heritage and the life-giving truth of God's loving mercy and forgiveness. As you do this, consider:

the Who of God — i.e., the character and power of the One to Whom you speak;

the what of the conditions, circumstances, or context surrounding the larger spiritual truth that a book or chapter presents;

the when of the past, present, and future as well as the timelessness of eternity in which a Biblical truth or statement affects God's people, including you;

the where of the place and culture from which the text arises;

the why of the law recorded, the wisdom taught, or the prophecy spoken;

the how of the literal, figurative, or poetic words that the inspired writer utilized to tell a story and present a spiritual truth in the most effective way.

Generally speaking, the Who, what, when, where, and why of the Bible will express our Judeo-Christian background and beliefs, whereas the how has more to do with the means by which the Bible presents a spiritual truth. Unlike modern libraries that separate fiction from nonfiction and both genres from poetry, a single book of the Bible may contain an eclectic mix of Godly commands, historical events, poetic lines, and allegorical tales. Between genres, thin lines may overlap, but don't let them trip you up. For instance, if you read something that troubles you or that you don't understand, just do a little research by looking up the verse or passage in a reputable commentary. Better yet, see if the Catechism of the Catholic Church covers that specific topic. To ease the search, just look for a key word on a website that contains the complete Catechism.

Most importantly, begin and end each Bible study session or independent reading with prayer for God to guide the discussion and increase your understanding. Then trust that He will. The same Holy Spirit who scripted the story of God's love into the Holy Scriptures knows how to write His word into your spirit today.

 

© Copyright 2007 Catholic ExchangeMary Sayler has studied the Bible since early childhood and leads discussion groups in her local parish. In addition to being a poet, freelancer, and assignment writer for the religious markets, she works with other writers and poets through her website http://www.catholicpoetsandwriters.com/.

[Between the Lines]

Everytime I try to get out, they keep pulling me back in!

[MarkBsnr]

My apologies.

My point: The Catholic Church was commissioned by Our Lord Jesus Christ and they then went out and evangelized the world. They also wrote down a whole bunch of writings and then selected the ones that they figured that God wanted them to.

They then selected a univeral language (Latin) so that they could give a complete and identical message to the world and also have the thousands of monks copying the Bible do so in identical fashion.

They then figured out a Catechism of what God wants us to do and why.

You can either hep onto that or not. I rather prefer the hep. It seems to me to be right thing.

[D Rider]

Thank you for your response, I would like to give a reasoned response other than “your wrong”, but I do not have time right now, so have a good evening. Hopefully I will get back to this thread soon.

[MarkBsnr]

What church do you belong to? Perhaps, as in a number of the Protestant and Restoration churches, this might be black in comparison.

But in any case, we have not had centuries of whoremongers and murderers. Neither have we had the Papacy bought and sold by the leading families in Europe. You have been out on websites that have large text in multiple colours and in very large sizes. Amusing but inaccurate.

The proof the the Apostles were Catholic is easy. Catholic means Universal and it has been written about by the Church Fathers. It came about within the first century and it meant the Universal Church of Jesus Christ. We have the Church Fathers’ letters saying Catholic. We certainly don’t have the Church Fathers saying “Baptist” or “Lutheran” or “Seventh Day Adventist” or “Anglican”.

Face it, folks.

The Catholic Church is the real, the true, the Universal, the only and the Real Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Everything else is a man made imitation. Give it up and come home to Christ.

[Diego1618]

We have the Church Fathers’ letters saying Catholic.

How about what the scriptures say the name of the New Testament was? Would that mean anything to you?

[Diego1618]

New Testament was

Should say...."New Testament Church was"....

[onedoug]

Would you print this out for me?

Thanks.

[jo kus]

I have repeatedly offered $1000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' The Catholic Church says: 'No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.' And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church.

Interesting. Do you feel the same way about circumcision? What gives the Catholic Church of Acts 15 the RIGHT to do away with the necessity of circumcision? I imagine all of those "sola scriptura" Jews were up in arms at that one, too. And yet, here we are, following a command that had absolutely no Scriptural precedent at the time...

Regards

[Salvation]

**I blame you and the other Catholics who keep trying to make this a thread about the Sabbath.**

I asked you way back in the first post to address the issue of the Bible only, not the Sabbath.

I am not to blame for your 17 interruptions in the first 64 posts as pointed out by sandyeggo.

[Salvation]

**Clearly, you are an Idiot. **

Why are you attacking someone personally. Against the rules and not OK.

[annalex]

I, too, with Mark, would be interested to know what community of faith do you consider in apostolic succession.

To answer your question, I find nothing un-Catholic in the teachings of the Apostles and the human authors of the New Testament, and I can tell a Catholic from non-Catholic. So, they are Catholic, and unsurprisingly, from 1c. on they call themselves that.

[MarkBsnr]

Well, we come down once more to the real point of it all.

The New Testament is the creation of the Catholic Church. She alone had the authority to write it and she alone has the authority to interpret it. There is more to the Church of Christ on Earth than the Bible, since many decisions were made before the Scriptures were finally written, but not covered in the Bible. Remember that much of the New Testament was written well after the fact, but many of the decisions were made BEFORE the writings were actually done.

Perhaps, there should have been another section of the Bible that lists all the decisions made up until Nicea. That would have put many of the Protestant objections to bed before they even started. It would not have completely addressed the motivation towards a replacement of God-given instructions by man-made ones, but it would have helped.

[al_c]

Which set of 10 came first ... Catholic or Protestant?

Jewish. :-)

Nice try ... but in reality, they've got more like hundreds. ;o)

[D Rider]

Why are you attacking someone personally. Against the rules and not OK.

I agree, it was a moment of weakness.

I just get a little sick of the Catholic claims that they are the only one and true way, and everyone else is a heretic and going to hell. I know that is not what was said, but that is the end result of that claim and other decisions of the church councils.

[Iscool]

"I have repeatedly offered $1000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy.

We are no longer under the law, but grace...

If you chose to live by the law, you will be judged by the law...

Since we are under grace, we are not obliged to keep the Sabbath...

Sunday is not a holy day...No more than Tuesday or Friday...

Church on Sunday works out good because most of us work the rest of the week and Saturday is fishing day...

[Iscool]

Colossians 2: 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Where did you get verses like these??? No wonder folks don't want to believe the word of God...

The KJV says:

Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

A shadow of things to come...NOT were to come like it's now not going to happen...

And the Catholic Douay Rheims bible says:

Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come: but the body is of Christ.

Says the same thing...

The Sabboth is a shadow, of things to come...Tribulation Jews will again observe the Sabboth...

[pgyanke]

You will not be able to find one scripture reference indicating the resurrection occurred on a Sunday morning. You will find the tomb empty.....but the resurrection itself took place on the Sabbath.

Hogwash. I can't believe no one else challenged you on this...

Mark 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb...9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

Luke 24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ...6 "He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'"

Matthew 28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

John 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

[pgyanke]

Please forgive the translation... can you point me to a good Catholic Bible online? I usually use the “Bible Gateway” and it’s just cut and paste...

[kerryusama04]

Say halo to my little friend:

[Seven_0]

Figurative or Literal?

I had to think about #24 for a while, but I would say that all points are both literal and figurative.