Letter: Bible is not to be taken literally

Mr. Sakana (TCH, Nov. 22) impugns the Bible by literally quoting text from the Bible. Many folks have done the same and consequently resulted in the formation of more than 30,000 Christian denominations. The Bible needs to be interpreted with the scholarly knowledge of the times, cultures, languages, etc., to fully appreciate the context of its stories.

Biblical writers used literary techniques of repetition, parallelism, allusion, and alliteration which were not typically straightforward or chronological. As an example you thought the chronology of events in Genesis 1 discredits the Bible. Bible scholars suggest that in Genesis 1 that the first three realms on days 1-3 (time, space, and life) are the rulers over the realms in days 4-6 (sun, moon, and stars, birds and fish and beasts).

In your search, the Bible, especially the New Testament, may provide some answers that come from a paraphrased commandment — “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Also faith is needed to believe that the creation described in the Bible was a causal event. Something cannot come from nothing.

And finally, you are correct that celibacy probably would not help you in your search for “life’s big questions.”

This story was originally published December 13, 2015 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Letter: Bible is not to be taken literally."