Allegory, Faith, and Literalism, Part 1 of Many

There is no "one way" to interpret Scripture. If such a singular thought were possible, there would be one universal church to which every Christian belonged. Part of why I stepped outside of the box and founded my own ministry is because I got a little tired of the literalism out there being used in an attempt to stifle the understanding of God's mysteries. Let's take a short at allegory and how important is it through the words of some of the greatest thinkers in Christendom. We'll do this aided by that often-maligned summarizer of human knowledge, Wikipedia. Now, before everyone goes all "Wikipedia isn't reliable" on me... bear in mind that tests have shown that Wikipedia is as accurate as any other "established" research tool (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4530930.stm).

We'll start with my favorite book of the Old Testament, and for that I'll refer you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegorical_interpretations_of_Genesis. One of the key things to note is that prior to the Reformation, literal interpretation of the Bible as a science wasn't nearly as widespread as many people believe it to have been.

I will leave my trusted readers to follow the link, read about Saint Augsustine's statement that sound so modern, yet is rejected by so many. In short he says that God works in myserious ways, and understanding those ways through science is as important as understanding the allegorical truths of the Bible. Being ignorant of them, he also says "is ruinous".

Do I believe in the greater truth, the allegorical meaning and inerrant lessons of the Bible - YES, with all my heart.

God gave us the power of thought and the freedom of will to think and decide for ourselves. He did this to share with us His world, His creation. By denying ourselves an understanding of the incredible mechanics, the amazing precision, that the Lord used to make the universe for us, we deny ourselves the full measure of His amazing gift to us. If we truly wish to prosper in the eyes of God, we must keep our own eyes open, we must think, we must seek, and we must not shrink behind narrow literalism. Look past such narrowness to the openness of His glory, see the greater truths, the important lessons God has given us in how to live our lives, and you will find yourself freed. Ask yourself, is your mind open enough to accept that it's not all black and white? If you are, then you have taken the first step into the larger understanding of what God has in store for you with His plan. Letting your mind rot in literalism, without seeing the incredible beauty of allegorical truth is just denying yourself the chance to understand what the Bible means, who you are in God's great creation, and what wonders you can accomplish in His name, for yourself, for your loved ones, for your God.