Literal Interpretation of the Bible

I received a question regarding how literal should the Bible be interpreted. I don't propose to know all the answers; I do believe that the Bible has all the answers, however. So I won't spend much time on my opinions. I recommend letting the Bible answer the questions for you.

Perhaps the number one rule for understanding the Bible is to consider the context. Taking verses out of context will only lead to wrong conclusions, misunderstanding, and is "cherry picking" as one reader would call it. One must always consider the context, to whom the writing is being made, who is doing the writing and from what circumstance. An extreme example would be the book of Revelation. This book is written clearly in a form that is not to be taken literally. But every book has its special situation that must be considered in order to get the full meaning.

But beyond this, there are disagreements of accuracy of the Bible. Some will say that because of obvious discrepancies in the Bible, inaccuracies, the Bible cannot be taken literally. I pause here to recall 1Timothy 2:12, where Paul said, "..work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," so you are on your own here. For me, the Bible is accurate and contains no mistakes; it is from God, the Holy Spirit guiding the writers. And if that is true, it is mistake free. If it had mistakes, then I couldn't trust it.

As for taking statements in the Bible literally, yes, I see no other way than to take many things literally, at face value. That is, if it says it clearly, straight out, then it means what it says. An example: In Mark 16 where Jesus said to His disciples, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved. He who does not believe will be condemned," He meant that to be done. No interpretation required. But we also see that the Bible uses figurative language often. Jesus said "You are the salt of the earth." We understand that this is figurative language, not literal. Generally, it is easy enough to distinguish.

Enough for now. Whatever we believe about literal interpretation, we still work together to seek the truth in love, love for God and love for each other. Have a good week!