Okay, so here is my question: Do you have to
believe in the Bible' stories as literal in order to be in "right
standing" with God? I have had several conversations with people lately who
consider certain parts of the Bible to be poetry, or morality
stories, or myths taken from other cultures and incorporated into the
Hebrew writings. It seems that every week we hear of religious leaders, entertainers, and speakers who say publicly that they do not believe all of the Bible should be taken as historical facts. Some parts they say may be intended as poetry, or stories in morality, or fables from other cultures adopted by the Jewish people as their own.
The six day creation account, Adam and Eve, Noah, Jonah, David, Abraham,
...all the stories in the Old Testament that are presented as history,
as literal. Are they, or should they be taken as poetry? As morality
tales? As myth?
Here is what I will stand by until convinced
otherwise...Genesis chapter one and verse one starts with the words "In the beginning, GOD."
Four simple words, but they convey all I need to know about the rest of
the Bible, myself, this world, and my relationship to God. He existed
before anything else, and without Him, nothing would exist. He spoke everything into existence with just a word.
If
I can accept this one tenant of faith, this one truth, this one
foundational precept, (which I do by the way) then I can accept BY FAITH
everything else contained in the Bible. A literal six day creation? No problem.
A talking snake and life giving fruit tree? Yes. A flood that covered the entire earth? You
betcha. A man swallowed by a fish? Okay by me.
Jesus Himself states that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, known collectively as the "Books of the Law" or the "Torah" (John 5:45-47). Jesus also made reference several times in the New Testament to these accounts of creation, Noah and the flood, Moses and the exodus, and others (Mathew 24:37-39, 23:35, 19:4, Mark 10:6-9, Luke 11:50-51, 17:27-29).
For me, it is as simple as that. If you want to discuss the details of those stories, the original language used and the accuracy of the translation, the historical and societal norms in place at that time, we can. But, I believe in the Bible as historical, accurate, and reliable. Because Jesus referred to Moses as a reliable author, He acknowledged the stories as factual, and I choose to believe in God's Word fully.
