[Southflanknorthpawsis]

(adapted from An Urgent Plea to Pastors by Doug Phillips, J.D. in Back to Genesis, No.119, p.c.)

It is a dangerous thing for someone to say that the Bible is just 'subjective' or 'allegorical' when the plain meaning of the writers is literal as it is if a father warns his son of a dangerous snake but is just joking. The moment you undermine the authority of the Bible as God's Word you undermine faith and the possibility of learning to trust in the Creator, when the fact of the matter is that the Creator and His Word are utterly trustworthy.

And whilst it is true that some parts of the Bible are allegorical and poetic, the context will clearly indicate that it is so. If I compare my sweetheart to a tropical dawn everybody knows I am not being literal, but if I say that I am going to meet her at the bus stop at noon the following day she knows I am being literal. It is only the proponents of false religion who wish you to believe that the Bible is not to be taken literally or convince you that matter and pain are illusiory.

[whattajoke]

Leviticus is a very clearly written book, which contains many "laws" for Jews and Christians to follow. As one who apparently has a firm grasp on the bible, I'm sure you understand that it can't be taken literally.

[ZULU]

I think you and I disagree about the intrepretation of the Bible.

I don't believe that makes you a bad Christian. We just don't see things the same way.

I believe the Bible is a religous and theological work, not a science textbook. When Science and the Bible contradcit one another on a matter of purely scientific importance, I review the Biblical passage and attempt to interpret its meaning in light of what are proven facts.

When the Bible and Science contradict one another on matters of faith and morality, I look to the Bible.

[VRWC_minion]

So, all metaphors are literally false ?

[Virginia-American]

It is a dangerous thing for someone to say that the Bible is just 'subjective' or 'allegorical' when the plain meaning of the writers is literal...

As Martin Luther said:

"People give ear to an upstart astrologer who strove to show that the earth revolves and not the heavens of the firmament, the Sun and the Moon. Whoever wishes to appear clever must devise some new system, which of all systems is of course the best. This fool wishes to reverse the entire science of astronomy; the sacred Scripture tells us that Joshua commanded the Sun to stand still, not the Earth."