Bible: Instruction Manual & Love Letter

The idea of taking the Bible literally is not very clear. It has at least three possible meanings. First of all, we do not take it literally when we recognize that some of the assertions in the Scripture are figurative, that is, not standard or normal or plain speech. The second meaning of taking the Bible literally is somewhat similar. We do not take the Bible literally when we recognize that some text is speaking about an event in an extended or analogical sense. In Genesis 3:7 it says, “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.” Human nakedness is something seen by human eyes, but the text is not speaking about the simple registering of a physical sensation. Rather it is speaking about knowing something about what is seen, in this case the recognition of the significance of being without clothes. The third meaning of taking the Bible literally is more relevant to our topic here. We decide not to take something literally when we judge that the literary genre of some narrative is not intended to convey historical events.