I

was recently reminded of a question that I used to hear while I was serving as a chaplain at Stillwater Prison. Someone would ask me whether or not I believed that the Bible was literally true. Generally the ones who asked this question were not seeking knowledge; they were trying to determine whether or not I was a genuine, authentic, Christian. If I answered yes I would be OK, but if I were to answer no, then I would be somewhere between a heretic and the antichrist.

The trouble with this question is that those who ask it generally don’t understand the Bible, or they don’t understand what the word literal means. Let me illustrate the problem.

The second and third verses of the 22nd chapter of the Psalms read,

“2. He said:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

3. my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold and my refuge,

my savior; you save me from violence.”

For this passage to be literally true, the Lord would have to be made out of granite, amethyst, or possibly even taconite. He would have to be shaped like a shield, and a horn would have to be involved in some way. I’m pretty sure this passage is not to be taken in a literal way. There is some type of figure of speech being utilized by the author here. If I were an English teacher I could tell you whether or not we should understand this as a simile or a metaphor, or something else. I’m not an English teacher. All I can tell you is that I doubt very much that this passage is meant to be taken literally.

Most people who think about the question for a while and actually know what the word literal means and actually think about the wide variety of passages in the scripture come to the realization that not every word in the Bible is intended to be taken in a literal way. When Jesus says, “You are the light of the world”, or “You are the salt of the earth”, it is a good thing to not interpret this in a literal way. John the Baptist referred to Jesus as, “The Lamb of God.” It isn’t a false statement; it isn’t literally true either. It is a statement that is true in a non-literal way.

I believe the Bible is true. I believe that much of the Bible is true in a literal way. I do not interpret every word of the Bible in a literal way. The task of interpreting the Bible is in part the task of determining how the various authors intended us to understand the things they wrote. They didn’t write words like sarcasm, literal, metaphor in parenthesis in each sentence so we would all interpret each passage the same way.

There are other questions that people use in a similar way. One is, “Do you believe in the inerrancy of Scripture?” Could there be some type of mistake in the “Word of God?” I’m not sure how helpful this question is either. Let me illustrate using another text. Read I Samuel 21,

and then read Mark 2. Notice the name of the priest. Was it Ahimelech or was it Abiathar? Did the Old Testament author get the name wrong, or did the author of Mark get the name wrong, or did Jesus make a mistake when he told the story? It has to be one of those three options. The point of the story is still true even if someone got the name wrong.

I believe that the Bible was written by human beings who were inspired by God. I also believe that even when human beings are inspired by God they are capable of making mistakes. There appears to be at least one in the Bible. I believe the Bible is true. I spend more time reading it than most people do. I am not convinced that the word inerrancy is a good word to use when describing the Bible.

I’m not so concerned with people saying things that they don’t fully understand. I am more concerned about another aspect of those questions. When I have been asked whether or not I think the Bible is literally true, I have been asked by people who are trying to judge me. They are trying to determine whether or not I am a genuine, authentic, Christian. Please take an opportunity to read the first few verses of Matthew 7, or Luke 6:37-42. If you have a question that you like to use to determine whether or not someone else is a genuine, authentic, Christian please don’t use it.

Thanks for listening.

Sincerely,

Pastor Birk