Why must the bible be taken literally?

Your evidence for flat earth is that the bible refers to the earth having four corners, right?  God dictated scripture to people with ideas, not words.  Issiah felt God telling him about the "Corners of the earth" because thats what he could understand out of Gods basic Idea.  Doesnt that make sense?  Its not contradictory to the faith.

I thought the whole idea of the bible was that it was a dumbed down version of science before it was explainable....

hell. It's a bunch of metaphors that most people recognise as figurative speech. Unfortunately some crackheads are taking it word for word literally.


.....I think I've gone off focus. Hm.

Why must the Bible be taken at all?

Fundamentalist Christian Bible literalists scare me. They are growing in numbers too. I'm for people believing in whatever they want and praying to whatever god they choose too. But when these people start getting in positions of power and end up get legislation passed that affects people who dont believe what they do and worship how they do(or at all) Then we have problems. For example, Look whats going on in various school districts around the country with the Evolution vs Intelligent design debate. The bible thumpers want "creationism" (Intelligent design dressed up in a lab coat taught in science class along side Evolutionary theory(or instead of) These people will not be content of stop until every American is carrying a bible and believing that earth is 6000 years old and that Man lived with dinosaurs.

Fundamentalist Christian Bible literalists scare me. They are growing in numbers too. I'm for people believing in whatever they want and praying to whatever god they choose too. But when these people start getting in positions of power and end up get legislation passed that affects people who dont believe what they do and worship how they do(or at all) Then we have problems. For example, Look whats going on in various school districts around the country with the Evolution vs Intelligent design debate. The bible thumpers want "creationism" (Intelligent design dressed up in a lab coat taught in science class along side Evolutionary theory(or instead of) These people will not be content of stop until every American is carrying a bible and believing that earth is 6000 years old and that Man lived with dinosaurs.

The sad part is, they chalk it up to freedom of speech. The ulterior motive for such a push in our school system is transparent at best, and insidious at worst: Eventually, God gets fed into the soup, and before long, you have an "army of the willing".

It is a classic example of the Delphi technique in practice and, of all people, I hate to say it the most, but, it is working.

Delphi explained comprehensively:
(note, the overall site is filled with opinionated things, but this is a literal reality article):
http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NewAge/Delphi_Technique.htm

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,263801,00.html Check this out. Texas lawmakers are trying to get a law passed where the bible is taught in school as a textbook. It's getting crazy.

The Bible is a self-fulfilling prophecy:

I was waltzing through the square at my university yesterday and there was this fundamentalist bible-banger standing in our little 'free-speech' area (I can't believe they actually designated a spot for this at one point), preaching relentlessly about acknowledging your 'one true savior' -- this is the protagonist.  Then, of course were the antagonists, the several passers-by who heckled him and told him that he needed an education , yadda-yadda-yadda....

This cracks me up.  By egging this guy on, all they're doing is feeding his self-affirmations about his place among the 'chosen people'.  The Bible says, 'you will be persecuted'.  Guess what's happening?  He's being persecuted. 

Religion is just another crutch. Some people drink, some pop pills, some people go to church.

some people take vitamins.

Some people take vacations.

  You're on the right track

You're on the left rack.

And I'm on the highway to the danger zone!

*vroomvroom*

Boy could I go for a beer right about now.

Yeah, all that talk about airplanes in the flat earth forums makes me want to go to the danger zone!  High-way to tha danger zone....right into thaaaaaaa danger zooooooooooooone! 

*snore*

To answer the question "Why must the Bible be taken literally?"

I think a better question is "how can a person be a Christian and not take the Bible literally?"

If you believe that God exists, and your evidence for that is the Bible, how can you accept that part as being true, but not accept other parts.  Either the bible is correct, and God does exist, or it is false and the God described in the Bible does not exist.

If you agree with the teachings of Jesus, then surely you have to agree with all the teachings, or are you happy to admit that Jesus was wrong about some things?  For example Jesus says  'Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of Moses or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.' - Matthew 5:17

Jesus is saying that what is written in the old testament is true.  If he is wrong about that, how do you know he's not wrong about other things?  How can you believe only the teachings you agree with, and if you do, are you following Jesus, or are you following yourself?

If Jesus is right, then do you agree that it is a sin to pick up sticks on a Sunday, or is it more likely that the whole book is mythology and should not be used as a moral guide, or as truth.

Well said.

'Religion is never moderate, only ignored.

I think a better question is "how can a person be a Christian and not take the Bible literally?"

If you believe that God exists, and your evidence for that is the Bible, how can you accept that part as being true, but not accept other parts.  Either the bible is correct, and God does exist, or it is false and the God described in the Bible does not exist.

Well, to put it simply; the Bible was written by man. And man is nowhere near perfect. How can God (a perfect being) and his teachings truly be understood/interpreted by such simple creatures?

Its not conttrary to the faith to think that its a metaphor

This is what I think of taking everything literally: 

The Bible is true because the Bible says the Bible is true.

The Bible is true because the Bible says the Bible is true.

Thank you for adding nothing to the conversation, and just taking a cheap shot at religion.  hehe haha. you made your point.

I mean, it wasn't even funny...

@Jesus Reborn:

Because God revealed it to him. If the Bible is not taken as truth, and if you believe that man has made an error somewhere, than the entirety of the book comes into question.

@Evan Y:

Certain parts are metaphorical, but for the most part, it is written as a history, with little interpretation required.  The parts that require interpretation are the indirect revelation, such as when God speaks to a 'prophet' through dreams or visions.  For the most part, when God speaks, he speaks.  Jesus speaks in parables, but these are explained as such.

The Bible is a moral parachute for mass murderers, tyrants, pedophiles, and bad parents.

@Jesus Reborn:

Because God revealed it to him. If the Bible is not taken as truth, and if you believe that man has made an error somewhere, than the entirety of the book comes into question.

That's another common error among humans; the inability to find a grey area. It's either one extreme or the other.

edit: I might add.... I didn't mean you when I said this.

Quote from: beast on April 05, 2007, 06:48:54 PM

I think a better question is "how can a person be a Christian and not take the Bible literally?"

If you believe that God exists, and your evidence for that is the Bible, how can you accept that part as being true, but not accept other parts.  Either the bible is correct, and God does exist, or it is false and the God described in the Bible does not exist.

Well, to put it simply; the Bible was written by man. And man is nowhere near perfect. How can God (a perfect being) and his teachings truly be understood/interpreted by such simple creatures?

If God is perfect, why isn't the work he inspires also perfect?  Clearly if he inspires imperfect work, he is not perfect...

Quote from: Jesus Reborn on April 07, 2007, 07:20:30 AM

Quote from: beast on April 05, 2007, 06:48:54 PM

I think a better question is "how can a person be a Christian and not take the Bible literally?"

If you believe that God exists, and your evidence for that is the Bible, how can you accept that part as being true, but not accept other parts.  Either the bible is correct, and God does exist, or it is false and the God described in the Bible does not exist.

Well, to put it simply; the Bible was written by man. And man is nowhere near perfect. How can God (a perfect being) and his teachings truly be understood/interpreted by such simple creatures?

If God is perfect, why isn't the work he inspires also perfect?  Clearly if he inspires imperfect work, he is not perfect...

Exactly how I meant to state my post @ JesusReborn, I just didn't articulate it as such.

Exactly, the claim is that the Bible does not require independent substantiation because it is completely accurate. If it can be shown that any of it is not accurate, then the whole claim is brought into doubt. If I admit I am capable of making mistakes, my making a mistake does not necessarily cast a shadow on any other of my endeavors. If I claim to be infallible, then any mistake can result in my being totally discredited.

The Bible is a moral parachute for mass murderers, tyrants, pedophiles, and bad parents.

My thoughts exactly.