Why is it that the Bible is not meant to be taken literally?

For the most part, those reading the Bible may or may not read it as fiction depending on their personal bias. The truth is, the Bible is such a transformational book; it's lessons and teachings are so in-your-face challenging that the reader is required to judge its purpose in their lives at some level or another. People read the Bible through their own eyes, either to believe and accept it or to disprove it - they have to - and that by me, is okay. It's their choice, and it should be.

Personally: I believe that the Bible is completely true. I accept it wholeheartedly. Some of the Bible's passages are indicated as parables; these have spiritual meaning beyond that of the words printed on the paper.

I don't have all the answers, but I believe that God does. I hope that everyone out there will keep asking questions, too.

Some things in the bible could not have happened exactly word for word as it says, such as God creating the world in 7 days. So if that could not have literally happen, why is it written there? It is a fable meant to explain how the world came into being in a dumbed down version that people in 500 BCE could comprehend (the whole concept of evolution and it taking millions of years for everything to form wouldn't have gone too well).

Everything in the bible can be interpreted in thousands, if not millions, of ways. Why? The bible, at least the Old Testament (being Jewish, I'm not familiar with the new testament) is written in a very sparse, outlinish form. Not many details are given. So this leads to a wide variety of interpretations based on the information given, which admittedly isn't a lot. For example, it says somewhere (not sure where) that in order to commemerate when Bnei Yisrael, the Jewish people, lived in booths during their time in the desert, we should live in booths for a week. Well, what exactly IS a booth anyway? How high, how wide, what can it be made out of, do you have to spend 24 hours in it or do you only have to sleep and eat in it, what exactly is eating, is it the entire meal or only the blessing over the food, and for sleeping, what if the weather doesn't permit, and do you have to do activities that you would normally do inside the house inside the booth instead, and to what extent, etc..... LOTS of interpretation.

The great rabbi Rambam (also known as Maimonedes) once said that if science contradicts the Torah, you should interpret the Torah so that it fits science. As we learn more and more about the universe and life and science, some (actually, many) things from the Torah have to be interpreted differently in order for everything to make sense.

You have to remember how the Bible was written. If Jesus was born in the year o and he would have died around the year 34. People did not write things down until around year 120ish. These are stories that have been passed on year after year. Some of the Bible was written like a Parable it is a story but not always actual when it come to facts (history). Example as a Catholic I believe God created the Universe I do not believe he did it in 6 24 hour periods and then rested for 24 hours and then went back to work. I believe the idea of the story more than the history of the story.

The problem with language is that it is a compromise, an imprecise, symbolic approximation of thought. And language changes over time and distance, so the common meanings of one age and culture do not translate well to another. Focusing on the literal words of an ancient text practically guarantees misunderstanding. It is much better to understand the intention behind the writing and look for a consistent ethic in all of the scriptures. Even this can be tricky, but the approach relies more on what humanity has in common than in how it varies.

If you read the bible in order to find some ultimate truth that is right, leaving everything else as wrong, then you'll certainly have a difficult time of it. But I can't see any reason to read it that way. After all, if you read Greek myths, you don't need to believe that a literal divine being called Zeus took the form of a swan and ...... well, etc. But the story has meaning, it resonates with us, and that's why these stories have survived. They survive because they contain deep truths about the human psyche, about human society and relationships, about what it means to be human. So it is with the bible. I don't read the bible in order to say "that's the way it has to be done and anyone who lives differently is bad and evil". I read it to try to discover more about me, about life, about the psychology of being human. I don't read it to make a personal argument, and certainly not an argument with anyone else.

The Jewish way of reading the bible is outlined at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardes_(Jewish_exeges... We place a lot of emphasis in understanding how particular words (in the original Hebrew) connect through the bible, giving layers of meaning, as well as on literal and mystical meanings. ALL of these meanings are understood as relevant.

I think the difference is between reading the bible as a set of rules and of judging others and oneself, and reading it as an aid to exploring.

I do take it literally when feasibly possible. The interpretation of the Bible is governed by hermeneutics, which recognized that if a certain book in the Bible is written as a poem or other form not meant to be taken literally by its very nature then you follow other principles. The best advice my undergrad prof. ever gave when interpreting the Bible is when the common sense makes good sense seek no other sense.

for information on the principals of hermeneutics see http://www.gotquestions.org/Biblical-hermeneutics....

Because a literal interpretation of the Bible would require you to believe that the world is flat, that snakes eat dirt, that bats are birds, that insects have four legs, cows can inherit coat patterns from sticks, plants can grow without sunlight, and that someone could fit millions of species of ecologically diverse organisms onto a single boat, keep them alive for 40 days, and then somehow return them to their original geographic distribution.

Basically, a literal reading of the Bible is incompatible with observed reality.

The Bible is supposed to be taken literally. People don't like what the Bible says and try to reinterpret what it says. They take pieces out here and there that they don't like. The Bible is the inspired true Word of God. Men are fallible and make mistakes but God is true. The Bible is meant to be taken literally. Don't believe the lies that it isn't.

I'm guessing that when it was first preached people were not very literate so it was easy for them to believe what they were told.... since the development of printing presses & education another means of sustaining belief was required.............. I'm not christian either although I have qualifications in religion & I feel the leap of faith required to believe something so farcical very odd..... the world created in 10 days, a virgin birth?..... I could go on & on...

Because literal interpretation of the Bible is a modern concept. It was never practiced by early Christians or in the past. People in the past understood it was symbolic in nature.