For me, some of the Old Testament can be a bit strange. Did Jonah get swallowed by a whale? I don’t know, I find it hard to believe but does this mean I don’t believe the Bible…no. Jonah didn’t do what God told him to do and he was punished…God punishing sinners is a known truth; was it via a whale, I don’t know. Does this make me think the Bible is non-sense? No way. This would be like me not believing in aliens so I must not believe in space.
My argument is extensive but I’ll keep this short for reading purposes. Jesus said if your hand causes you to sin cut it off. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Does Jesus really want us to do this or was he trying to get the message across that if there’s anything in our lives that causes us to sin then cut it out…get rid of it? This makes much more sense.
With this in mind it seems rather simple to me that we shouldn’t take the Bible literally…filled with truths galore of course but if someone takes certain verses out of context and/or literally, it could cause irreparable like splitting a church apart; this has happened.
We have our opinions and mine is that the Bible is inspired by God and is filled with truth but I also think that we shouldn’t take bits and pieces out of context and run with it literally because it can be dangerous. What never to take out of context…God loves you. Amen.