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"The bible is allegorical. That doesn’t mean that it’s not “true”."

OK, OK... here's what I've got...

Allegory [al-uh-gawr-ee, -gohr-ee] 1. a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another. 2. a symbolical narrative: the allegory of Piers Plowman. 3. emblem (def. 3).

Synonyms: 2. fable, parable.

I've stated I have no problem with allegory itself. The bible is full of parables. The problem with your premise is exactly what you say is allegory and how you come about deciding what is and what is not indeed fable(see synonyms).

1. What possible spiritual purpose does it serve for God to give us allegory pertaining to our creation?

2. How much of the Bible do you actually believe is true?

3. There are specific instances of parables or allegory in the Bible. How do you personally determine which are and are not where it is not outlined?

4. Do you believe Jesus is the only way to heaven?

5. Did Jesus really die on the cross as a substitute for our sins?

6. Was Jesus really the Son of God (in the sense He was the ONLY begotten Son of God)?

I am really interested in your answers because if I'm missing something I'm always open to learning. I have made up my mind about God, but if I'm misunderstanding your point of view I don't want to mischaracterize you.

I don't think that you two are in real disagreement with one another. Buck, I think that I would reword your statement to say that "The Bible contains allegory." It also contains poetry (a lot more than most Christians realize), history, metaphors, and all the standard literary devices. For example, the creation story in Genesis is written in typical Hebrew poetic style -- repetition. That's why some people claim that are two creation stories that conflict. Actually, the creation story is repeated four times, but I'm digressing.

Gordon, you may be limiting yourself to the modern notion that allegory or fable cannot be literally true. C.S. Lewis and Tolkien both wrote of myth becoming true. From Tolkien:

The Gospels contain a fairy-story, or a story of a larger kind which embraces all the essence of fairy-stories. They contain many marvels - peculiarly artistic, beautiful, and moving: ‘mythical’ in their perfect, self-contained significance; and among the marvels is the greatest and most complete conceivable eucatastrophe [the good outcome, ending, or consolation]. But this story has entered History and the primary world; the desire and aspiration of sub-creation has been raised to the fulfillment of Creation. The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man’s history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation. This story begins and ends in joy. It has pre-eminently the ‘inner consistency of reality.’ There is no tale ever told that men would rather find was true, and one which so many sceptical men have accepted as true on its own merits. For the Art of it has the supremely convincing tone of Primary Art, that is, of Creation. To reject it leads to sadness or to wrath.

A number of good examples of double fulfillments in the Bible can be found in the Psalms:

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away. I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. (Psa 31:9-12)

David wrote these words describing his own situation. Literally did he know that Jesus Christ would fulfill them again later. The pagan myths of a dying and rising God were a distorted image of the one who made the myth come true: Jesus Christ.

Everytime I read the Bible, I find that it speaks to me in different ways. As we continue to pray for wisdom and understanding, God reveals more of himself to us.