Should We Interpret the Bible Literally?

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If we interpret Genesis literally, do we need to interpret the whole Bible that way?

Actually, we interpret the Bible “naturally.” 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. We don’t read a newspaper and a love poem the same way! They each have their own rules of interpretation.

The Bible’s the same way. We read history, like Genesis, straightforwardly. But poetry, like Psalms, clearly uses non-literal figurative language.

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

Dig Deeper

• Why Do You Take the Bible Literally?
• Is Genesis 1 Literal, Literalism, or Literalistic?