http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/ Sun, 02 Aug 2026 03:26:41 +0000 en Interpretation — Ship of Fools http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6543/literal-symbolic-historical-figurative Tue, 12 Aug 2025 04:28:19 +0000 Purgatory LatchKeyKid 6543@/index.php?p=/discussions
In one of the teaching sessions, a Lama told about a person who in his life had killed a variety of animals. He was later reincarnated as an animal with a body consisting of different parts from all of those animals. When I took my opportunity to have an audience with the Lama, I asked if that story was like stories we had in Christianity, told to convey a message (about karma). His answer was, "How do you know it isn't true?!" However, it wasn't a story I could take literally.

I grew up in the Open Brethren, who were fairly literalistic about the Bible - e.g. the creation stories. (Though they were not literalistic about the elements of the Lord's Supper actually becoming body and blood).

There is a range of opinions on the subject between and within the different faith traditions of Christianity (and other religions as well).

I've come across those who say that everything in the bible literally happened, including the parables etc.
Others say that the Bible contains metaphors, symbolic stories, and uses contemporary literary styles that modern scholarship has identified.
The Jesus Seminar indicates that the phrase "Jesus said it, so that's good enough for me" can be questioned as to its accuracy, and other scholarship allows belief not to be limited to literal belief.

I find the Gospels not to be literal-historical accounts of events by people who had slightly different memories of the events, but are theological works created for their different intended audiences. I think the unity and thrust of a book is missed by the fragmentation in the way it is mostly used in churches.

I know there are varying understandings of this matter on this board. However, it seems to me that it is an area where "Christian Unrest" is not welcome.]]>