Hmmm. A favorite verse of anti-Catholics is Matthew 23:9...
"And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven" (King James Version).Taken literally, this means that you may not call your biological father, "father." If you say it is not literally meant that way, welcome to the Catholic Church!
What has that got to do with whether or not Jonah actually existed, or with the claim that a belief in the historicity of the Book of Jonah is less "intellectual" than a belief that a dead man rose from his tomb some 2000 years ago? Both are miracles, both are violations of the rules of nature. But Jewish miracles are offensive to the intellect while chr*stian ones are not.
Catholics attack Fundamentalist "literalism" by invoking parables, hyperbole, and figures of speech. But the fact is that Fundamentalism is not based on "literalism" defined in this way but in a simple belief in the supernatural--ie, that miracles actually occurred. That is the "literalism" that Fundamentalism is "guilty" of, and Catholics can only respond by saying that the world isn't literally square with four corner. I'm sorry, but this whole argument is dishonest.
Since I was Catholic for six years and am no longer a chr*stian, no way am I ever goin' back, Geezer, nor would I be welcome.