Why can the Bible not be metaphorical?

Question

I'm an atheist, formerly christian, specifically Seventh Day Adventist, and I have a query for all to ponder.

The bible begins with genesis. God created the universe and the earth. Then god made the earth pretty. Then he added animals, and finally people.

The universe begins with the big bang. The earth slowed down and cooled. Evolution took its course, one branch eventually evolving into man.

God gave Moses the ten commandments. All must abide by them or go to h**l.

Social interaction requires general rules, otherwise we live in chaos.

There are so many reasons that the bible makes a good metaphorical teacher.

There are so many reasons why the bible makes a very poor literal history.

I have nothing against the bible, assuming that it's not taken literally. There's good lessons to be learned.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

The Tower of Babel teaches that, if you do not cooperate, you shall accomplish nothing.

Thou shalt honor thy mother and thy father. Makes sense to me. They raised me, provided for me. I owe them.

Even if you take the Bible as a metaphor, it doesn't necessarily mean god is not real. It simply means that he's not as the bible portrays.

What's so wrong with that?

Atheistically yours,

JM Gendron.

Answer 1

I have been saying this for a long time, and I whole-heartedly agree with you.  I consider myself a Christian, and I have a very metaphorical interpretation of the bible...which means others say I'm not a "true Christian"...go figure.

Great points in there.

Answer 2

To make the Bible metaphorical only removes the purpose of giving the gospel and places only a nebulous literary significance on the Bible.

To say it is entirely metaphorical means it is all subjective, there is no absolutism in it at all.  Any experience is, by nature, partly subjective, being defined and understood specific to the individual; however, the written prophetic account is particularly there for the saints in the last days.

Genesis is the beginning of the Bible; the Revelation is "the revealed" or the revealing of the end of the story, the purpose of the gospel, the finishing of salvation, the last book of the Bible.

The Bible begins with the creation and fall of Adam and ENDS with the restoration of humanity both in character (Rev 7) and location (Rev 22).  The last book of the Bible talks about the history of the church (Rev 1, 2 and 3) and the condition of His people in the end times (Rev 3).  Revelation talks prophetically about the world and religious powers of the day, a confederacy of church and state (Rev 13, lamblike beast and Rev 17 leopard like beast).  The Revelation prophesies about a key power, an image to a satanic beast (Rev 13: 5 to 14:1) that facilitates the joining of church and state against God's people.  

  Now you could answer how do you know who what beast is, blah blah blah and I could tell you I, too, am Seventh-day Adventist.  You would probably say, so how can you be sure.... etc.

  I will just tell you this, the purpose of the Bible is not as a history book (although I, too, know there are some small inconsistencies in this regard) but as a prophetic interpretation of the end time events.  That is the sole purpose; "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. " 1 Cor 10:11  To limit the Bible to metaphor is to erase the purpose of the gospel: to inform the saints in the latter days as to what shall happen in the end times and to prepare, perfect and seal the saints for translation ("For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Eph 4: particularly 9-12).  And, as the KEY point of the SDA message (which has been sorely lost sight of due to our Laodicean condition) is the sealing of the 144,000 (see Early Writings page 15, Adventist Home 544 and particularly Volume 3 of the Testimonies 266, 267 "The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin in its real, sinful character. They will always be on the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God. Especially in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are to stand without fault before the throne of God, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of God's professed people. This is forcibly set forth by the prophet's illustration of the last work under the figure of the men each having a slaughter weapon in his hand."  Alluding to Ezekiel 9 and the purification of the SDA church.) we see a separation within the SDA church and a commission to preach the gospel (free from error by those who are free from sin) to gather a great multitude (Rev 7:9) and prepare them for translation.

  To conclude, to make the Scriptures solely metaphorical is to remove the purpose of the gospel, to make it prophetic and applicable to the saints in the last days.  It is to remove God's purpose in the redemption and restoration of human kind and to FINISH the work of grace and the saving of man in the last days.

Patti Williams

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Answer 3

Whatever good is in the bible is mixed up with some rather atrocious and/or absurd passages. Take a close look at then first 4 commandments. No other gods before me? Freedom of and from religion anyone?

Take a look at the slavery manual. Exodus 21

If it's taken as a metaphor, what's the criterion? It doesn't fit with our modern understanding? Then why should we read it as a guide in the first place if we have better guides?

Oh and isn't the Babel myth the one when god confuses the tongues so they WON'T get together and try to surpass him?

Also, the good stuff in the bible is not exclusive to the bible or any religious text. But the bad stuff, that's a holy book right there.

Answer 4

Wow, a breathe of fresh air! Well said pal.

By the way, have you watched AJ Jacobs' "My Year of Living Biblically" talk? Its from TEDtalks. I'm sure you'll enjoy it, in case you haven't watched yet. Its on youtube.  

Answer 5

If, by metaphorical, you mean bovine excrement, I'm certain that it is.

Answer 6

When the bible is taken as a metaphor, it can then mean anything the reader wants it to mean. At this point, it becomes useless. Imagine a dictionary that allows you to define your own words. How useful would that be?

Answer 7

JM.. Some of the Bible is metaphorical and symbolic and Christians don't dispute that.. Prophetic books such as the book of Danial and Revelations would be a good example of metaphorical and symbolic type books of the bible . However not all of the bible is metaphorical..An example of the literal books would be the creation account in Genesis.. Hope this helped...God bless you !

Answer 8

How could it not be?

Answer 9

Because it's truth - a frog cannot be a prince just because I want it to!  Neither can the bible be anything but God's word just because you want it to be fiction.

God is Holy and so is His word

Answer 10

I completely agree with you.  It's how I and millions like me DO take it.  We get fantastic learnings from it.

To those who are saying things about 'truth' and suggesting there is only one way to understand the bible - I'm finding it hard to accept that you really mean this.  Haven't you noticed that different people understand even the LITERAL meanings of parts of the bible in very different ways?  There is no such thing as a simple, straightforward and obvious reading of anything.

EDIT:  for the literalists amongst us - there are two different versions of the creation story (Genesis 1 and Genesis 2: 4 onwards - the creation of humans, that is).  How do you reconcile the two?  And, out of curiosity, how do you understand Genesis 1:27 "And God created man in his image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."?

Answer 11

If the Holy Bible was metaphor it would be as much use as an ashtray on a motorcycle.