Should We Interpret the Bible Literally?

I often get emails that claim that if we interpret Genesis literally, we need to interpret the whole Bible that way. But is this true?

Actually, we interpret the Bible “plainly.” This means we read the Bible how it was meant to be read. Scripture is made up of many different types of literature that aren’t all meant to be understood the same way. For example, we don’t read a newspaper and a love poem the same way! They each have their own rules of interpretation.

The Bible is the same way. We read history, like Genesis, in a straightforward fashion. But poetry, like the Book of Psalms, clearly uses non-literal language.

We need to read the Bible plainly so we can properly interpret its message.

Dig Deeper

• How Should We Interpret the Bible, Part 1: Principles for Understanding God’s Word
• Why Do You Take the Bible Literally?