The first thing we need to recognize any time we approach the Bible is that it is not a "book". It is FAR more accurate to call it a library.
There are 66 individual books (in history they would have been scrolls, not books like we have today- but we will stick with the term book), written by approximately 40 different individuals, and it was compiled over 1,500 years.
Within the library which is the Bible, there are different styles of writing, just like you would expect to find in any library you could go to today.
Within the Bible, you'll find three main styles of writing: Narrative, Poetry, and Discourse.
Why does this matter? Because to understand what you're reading in the Bible, it helps to understand what style of writing you're actually looking at.
Exercise:
In Psalms 19, it says (NIV Translation), "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens, he has pitched a tent for the sun....."
***If we read this passage literally, we take away that the sky speaks. Actually speaks. With words. To EVERY language known on planet Earth. Also, there is a literal tent in the sky for the sun to camp in. We understand this to be poetry. Meaning, it is using nonliteral language to express a truth.***
In Matthew 27, the following story is told (NIV translation). "As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut from the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away."
***This is an example of a narrative found in the Bible. There is nothing poetic about this section. It is meant to be read as an accurate and historical event that actually happened. There really was a guy named Joseph. He really was rich. He really did go to ask Pilate... you get it.***
The purpose of these exercises is to show that there are different ways of communicating a point, PARTICULARLY in a library like the Bible. In these examples, we see poetry. We know it is poetry because the sky doesn't speak. But for those who see the sky as a masterpiece of God's creation, it says A LOT about God.
We also see the narrative style. Joseph of Arimathea didn't metaphorically go visit Pilate after Jesus' death, the guy literally went and spoke to Pilate.
So can you read the Bible literally? I would argue yes, but it depends on which part of the Bible you're looking at.
Is the Bible metaphorical? Again I would say yes, but it depends on which part of the Bible you're looking at.
Regardless of your standpoint on the validity of WHAT the Bible says, it must be remembered. When you're reading the Bible, you're holding a library. Not a single book.
