[Southflanknorthpawsis]

You might enjoy this.

Scroll down to the Eleven Principles of the Literal Method of Interpreting Scripture.

[VRWC_minion]

I agree with it all. However, it still leaves room to appreciate a passage on two levels. It need not be an either/or approach. Heck, even the names God chose for people were dual purpose. They forshadowed the charachter and they were their name.

We often get too tied up in the literal and we underestimate God's ability of expression in his scripture. What a masterfull God we have that can express both literal meanings for the child listening and metaphors for the adult listening.