Do You Take the Bible Literally?

Here's this week's question.

Do You Take the Bible Literally?

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As Christmas approaches, I offer this "teaser" to jump-start your thinking.

This question is offered to followers of Christ, sometimes as a challenge, sometimes simply asking for information. I don’t like the question because I think the question is ambiguous the way it’s asked. Saying yes doesn’t really give an accurate answer about the “literal” view of the Bible. I don’t mean that the people who are asking it have bad motives. I think this is the way they think of asking the question. It’s not surprising then that followers of Christ who believe in the Bible and take it “literally” get themselves into a little bit of a bind when they answer directly because what they mean when they say yes is something different than what the questioner means when he asks the question. - Greg Koukl at Stand to Reason (https://www.str.org/)

Consider these "talking points."

1. Does literal mean every word has only one option for its definition?
2. When a Biblical author writes in poetic verse, is every word factual?
3. Is it okay to decide which parts of the Bible must be taken literally and which do not have to be taken literally?
4. If your answer to question 3 is YES, what criteria do you use to determine which parts to take literally and which are open to interpretation?
5. Is there a difference between points critical for salvation and points that are not essential for a salvation experience? 
6. If you answered yes to #4, list two such points and explain why you classified them that way and list two other points which you do not consider to be essential for a salvation experience. 
7. If you answered yes to #4t, explain why not.

I encourage each of you who take the time to read and hopefully react to these blog posts a joyous Christmas and a blessed start to 2020.

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