I believe that all of the Bible was given to men by inspiration of God. Exactly how it was given (dreams, visions, dictation), I don’t know. I accept that most of it is literal, but not all. Some of its books are history, some are laws, some are prophecies, some are wisdom, some are poetry, some appear to be symbolic rather than literal. Those collected writings of approximately 40 men over 1,500 years have a united theme that convinces me of a higher Authorship.
Good, not very Christian of me, but hey.. If I have to deal with all these crazies down here then what good is Salvation.
Nose to the grindstone.
Take it from me.
God is truth and love.
Treat your neighbour as yourself want to be treated.
Add John 3.16
All the rest if fluff.
Whatever is symbolic is still explained within its pages.
William Shakespeare wrote one of the psalms. And the King James Bible was a government publication. The Geneva Bible refered to the various kings in the Old Testament as Tyrants. It was the Geneva Bible which traveled on the Mayflower to the New World. Much of the U.S. Constitution is based on the premise that the Kings of the old world were tyrants and the new nation did not want a return to the days of tyranny. In other words limit the power of the Federal Government.
I believe that all of the Bible was given to men by inspiration of God. Exactly how it was given (dreams, visions, dictation), I don’t know. I accept that most of it is literal, but not all. Some of its books are history, some are laws, some are prophecies, some are wisdom, some are poetry, some appear to be symbolic rather than literal. Those collected writings of approximately 40 men over 1,500 years have a united theme that convinces me of a higher Authorship.
There are also encoded numbers that relate to the Sacred Geometry. The Bible is not only the only religious tract that has such encoded numbers.
“So let the Brahman hear the praise we utter. This has the four horned buffalo emitted. FOUR are his horns,. THREE are the feet that bear him. His heads are TWO. His hands are seven in number.” RG Veda
I accept that most of it is literal, but not all.
Literal has a lot of different meanings to a lot of different people. The poll might reflect changes in definition and common usage. Just look at the common use of the word literal in todays media.
for reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literal_and_figurative_language
Just reading this morning:
Mat 13:10 His disciples came and asked Him, “Why do You use parables when You talk to the people?”
Jesus almost always spoke figuratively in parables. Why? I will let the reader do their own research in reading before and after the above.
Personally, I find the parables echo to other parts of the Bible.
Amen.