‘How we interpret the Bible matters’

A few months ago, I received a comment on a Substack post from a pastor who, after 25 years of ministry, had looked around at the state of the world and just started to believe in demons for the first time. I was surprised. I had no idea you could be a Christian and not believe in demons. After all, wasn’t casting out demons a big part of Jesus’ ministry? 

Coming from the new age, and hearing testimony after testimony of people’s ‘spirit guides’ shapeshifting into demons when they started following Jesus, I had no doubt that demons were real. In fact it was the belief in demons that came first for me. Then I quickly thought: “If demons are real, then Jesus must be too.”

When I asked the pastor how he’d gone so long not believing in them, he told me that he didn’t take the Bible literally. 

Shortly afterwards, I saw a post from a Christian who described himself as a ‘universalist’. When I asked how he came to this conclusion, he also informed me it was because he didn’t take the Bible literally. 

These two interactions left me wondering: “Should we be taking the Bible literally, and what exactly does that mean?” 

Unpacking what ‘literally’ means

The Oxford dictionary defines ‘literal’ as: “taking words in their most basic sense without metaphor or exaggeration”. From this definition we can see that nobody takes the Bible completely literally. 

Nobody believes that followers of Jesus are literal sheep, or that Jesus is a literal door. The Bible consists of many different genres, and styles of writing. There’s no doubt that the voice of ‘wisdom’ in the Proverbs is not a real person, but a metaphor by which to share truth. When we read the Bible we see that it is full of metaphor – and stories. 

Perhaps what people really mean when they talk about taking the Bible literally is: did these things really happen? Was there literally a talking snake in the garden of Eden? Was earth really created in six days? Did Jonah really get swallowed up by a whale? 

I tend towards thinking these things did happen. They are not descriptions of dreams or visions, where metaphorical language is richly employed – as we see in Daniel or Revelation. They are not obvious fictional parables like the ones Jesus told to illustrate his points.

Recognising truth

I can’t help wondering if non-literal readings are a tempting way to fit into the world more comfortably. For example, evolution is just a theory, but if Christians think of the biblical story of creation as a metaphor, then they can believe in evolution while maintaining their faith. I’ve heard some Christians describe anyone who doesn’t believe in evolution as “silly”, but the apostle Paul did say that “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27). 

When it comes to universalism, it’s a comforting thought to believe everyone goes to heaven, but it isn’t what the Bible says. Whether or not we believe that hell is a literal burning fire, we can be certain from the accounts of the Gospels that Jesus warned about hell a lot. We also know that he warned that the gate is narrow, and few find it. 

When I first read the Bible, I thought I would read it to see what parts were true and what parts had been ‘edited’ or ‘corrupted’. At first I was sure the parts about slaves obeying their masters couldn’t have come from God, but gradually the Holy Spirit gave me the faith that, in fact, it was all true, and this is what scripture tells us: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). For this reason, how we interpret the Bible matters, and that we take it as truth – whether or not that truth is conveyed via figurative speech or the plain telling of events. 

Perhaps one of the most richly allegorical books is Revelation. It has been the subject of much debate, and many different interpretations; some more literal than others. It’s a prophetic vision of the future, and while the last days on earth may not involve literal locusts or dragons, these images are used to convey meaning about events that will really happen. 

When it comes to interpreting the Bible, and understanding which parts are literal, and which are figurative, we may not always get it right. Perhaps what matters most is that we seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance to reveal the truth, even if it’s radically different to what the world tells us is true.