How I view and interpret the Bible
Seriously, which is to say I take it at it's word. I am not a literalist and I am not a figurativist. I am actually both. Let me give you some examples.
Figurative: In Mathew 23:37 Jesus states that so many times He would have gathered His wandering children to Him 'as a hen' gathers her chicks. It does not say that Jesus is a hen but it uses comparative language, a simile. He wanted to gather them together just like a hen gathers her chicks together for safety. Oh but wait a minute, back in the book of Psalms it says that God has feathers. Indeed it does, in Psalm 91:4 it describes how God will cover with His feathers. In the context of the passage where David is describing how God will deliver you from the fowler (that is a trapper or a bird hunter) it makes sense that God would continue the use of this image of a bird hunter and take the role of the larger bird protecting their off-spring.
Literal: How about this one, in the book of Jonah it describes how Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and nights. The Bible uses pretty straightforward language, the fish swallowed up Jonah. Jonah was in the fish for three days and nights. No symbolic language here is there? But to be sure we are reading this passage right we can go to the New Testament as well. Christ Himself refers back to Jonah and states that as 'Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly' so shall He be in the tomb for the same length of time. Taking this two passages together we can know that Jonah was literally in the belly of some type of great fish for three days and nights.
Summary: There are times that the Bible clearly uses figurative language to draw a comparison so we can better understand what is being taught. There are also times when the Bible uses very clear and plain literal language. There are also times when the language is not as clear but the surrounding verses help us out. And there are other times when I am just not sure what is being said, but that is my own limitation and not God's. Just because I can't understand it doesn't mean it can't be understood by anyone. To say all of the Bible is literal is as wrong as it is to say that the whole Bible is just a story, an allegory if you will, teaching good behavior. Both are in their exclusivity wrong. We just need to let God speak and listen, much as we in our own language everyday use figures of speech and very literal words too.
Figurative: In Mathew 23:37 Jesus states that so many times He would have gathered His wandering children to Him 'as a hen' gathers her chicks. It does not say that Jesus is a hen but it uses comparative language, a simile. He wanted to gather them together just like a hen gathers her chicks together for safety. Oh but wait a minute, back in the book of Psalms it says that God has feathers. Indeed it does, in Psalm 91:4 it describes how God will cover with His feathers. In the context of the passage where David is describing how God will deliver you from the fowler (that is a trapper or a bird hunter) it makes sense that God would continue the use of this image of a bird hunter and take the role of the larger bird protecting their off-spring.
Literal: How about this one, in the book of Jonah it describes how Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and nights. The Bible uses pretty straightforward language, the fish swallowed up Jonah. Jonah was in the fish for three days and nights. No symbolic language here is there? But to be sure we are reading this passage right we can go to the New Testament as well. Christ Himself refers back to Jonah and states that as 'Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly' so shall He be in the tomb for the same length of time. Taking this two passages together we can know that Jonah was literally in the belly of some type of great fish for three days and nights.
Summary: There are times that the Bible clearly uses figurative language to draw a comparison so we can better understand what is being taught. There are also times when the Bible uses very clear and plain literal language. There are also times when the language is not as clear but the surrounding verses help us out. And there are other times when I am just not sure what is being said, but that is my own limitation and not God's. Just because I can't understand it doesn't mean it can't be understood by anyone. To say all of the Bible is literal is as wrong as it is to say that the whole Bible is just a story, an allegory if you will, teaching good behavior. Both are in their exclusivity wrong. We just need to let God speak and listen, much as we in our own language everyday use figures of speech and very literal words too.
