TITLE:
Why the Bible Cannot and Should Not Be Taken Literally
AUTHORS:
Randall S. Firestone
KEYWORDS:
Bible, Literal, Cannot Take Bible Literally, Bible Literality, Bible Literalism, Religion, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Religion
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.4 No.3,
August
6,
2014
ABSTRACT: This paper argues that there are at least five reasons why the claim that the Bible is to be
taken literally defies logic or otherwise makes no sense, and why literalists
are in no position to claim that they have the only correct view of biblical
teachings. First, many words are imprecise and therefore require
interpretation, especially to fill in gaps between general words and their application
to specific situations. Second, if you are reading an English version of the
Bible you are already dealing with the interpretations of the translator since
the earliest Bibles were written in other languages. Third, biblical rules have
exceptions, and those exceptions are often not explicitly set forth. Fourth,
many of the Bible’s stories defy logic and our experiences of the world. Fifth,
there are sometimes two contrary versions of the same event, so if we take one
literally then we cannot take the second one literally. In each of these five
cases, there is no literal reading to be found. Furthermore, this paper sets
forth three additional reasons why such a literalist claim probably should not
be made even if it did not defy logic to make such a claim. These include The Scientific Argument: the Bible
contradicts modern science;The
Historical Argument: the Bible is historically inaccurate; and The Moral Argument: the Bible violates
contemporary moral standards.