Literally?

Saturday, August 11, 2007

“Why do people try and use science to explain a literal interpretation of the Bible?”

This question was posed to me on my travels, after (or during, rather) a 4 minute video presentation of how Noah’s Flood could have happened. The comment didn’t end there, moving to other aspects of thoughts about the Bible and it’s interpretation.
This took me back, as not having a literal interpretation of the Bible was not even a thought I had (and wondered why people entertained the thought of an allegorical interpretation.) I could have engaged in a more meaningful discussion here, but didn’t see any openness to discuss this further. But it did get me thinking a little on the subject.
If people have a allegorical interpretation of the Bible, then who decides what it is actually saying? Everyone. It’s up to the individual to pull its meaning, which, in turn, puts the individual in the seat of ultimate authority, not God. Don’t forget that the heart of man is “desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9). I was presented with the thought that ‘God speaks to each of us individually when we read His Word.’ I would agree to the point that the thought being communicated by the Spirit is from a literal interpretation, not some ‘hear say’ thoughts of the scripture.
The only way to understand what God was trying to teach us, is to read the Bible in such a way that it’s a letter from God, to be interpreted in a factual, literal, and understandable way. To do otherwise will not give the truth of the message. And if it’s not truth, then it’s a lie.