Opus 2024-434: Literally Figurative

I have trouble with people who insist on interpreting everything in the Bible literally.  I believe that the Bible is inspired.  That is one of those points you can’t prove.  Either you accept it or you don’t.  When we get to other words such as “inerrant” you need a bit of wiggle room to define what you mean.  There are places where you can take the Bible literally.  When it numbers the warriors in the tribe of Judah, I acceept that number.  When John 3:16 say “whoever” I think it means whoever.  On the other hand there are many places that must be looked on as figures of speech or literary devices.  I have already written about God being a chicken.  I might also point out that when Luke says that “all the world should be taxed” he was not making an application of “nothing is certain but death and taxes” he was talking about the known Roman world.

We are to take the Bible literally when the author intends it to be taken literally.  We are to assume that the Holy Spirit has as much literary skill as Shakespeare and is fully capable of using hyperbole and metaphor.

To be honest, much of my problem is that they still get figurative when necessary to “prove” their own system of belief.  I have a friend who is constantly telling me that some great truth of the Old Testament does not apply to me because it was written to the Jews.  In other words the 23rd Psalm has no application to me since I am a Gentile.  Since I love a good argument I will then tell him that the book of Romans does not apply to him since it was clearly addressed to the church in Rome.  As you may guess, he does not live in Rome.  As you may also suspect, he does not agree with me applying his own principles to understanding the Bible when it does not help his case.

What brings this up?  I was thinking about the creation account and the provision God made for food.  Note the verse,

(Gen 1:29 KJV)  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Don’t get hung up on the KJV use of “meat”.  It just means food.  Do you notice what is lacking?  Not only is bacon not on the list but neither is your favorite steak.  It seems that we were originally crated to be vegetarians, even vegans.  Don’t get mad at me.  God is the one who declared this.  Of course if you keep reading you will notice that the lions and wolves were also to be vegetarian,

(Gen 1:30 KJV)  And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

I don’t know how technical you want to get, but since we are looking at being literal, consider that it refers to “bearing seed”.  If my analysis is correct this means reproducing by spreading seeds.  This might rule out things that grow underground or spread by extending sprouts.

Why do we enjoy a good hamburger today?  Because as a good Bible scholar you have continued to read and came across this revealed to Noah after the flood,

(Gen 9:3 KJV)  Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

Don’t build your theology and values on cherry picked verses understood literally.  We serve a living God who is smarter than the people who disagree with you.

homo unius libri