Questions of Faith

I am participating in a Bible study class. Some others in the class believe that the stories in the Bible are meant to be taken literally. Is this true? How should I respond to them?

It is important that we make a distinction between dictation and inspiration. When an executive dictates a letter to a secretary, every word has to be taken down accurately. St. Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Notice Paul says “inspired” not “dictated.”

God has inspirited the human authors to write an important message for the people so they can grow in their faith. They have to decide what is the best type of literature to use to deliver this message. They can use stories, prophecies, songs, parables, historical narratives, poems, etc.

The grace of inspiration does not exempt the writers from personal effort, nor does it ensure the perfection of their work from a literary or artistic point of view. Without losing anything of their personal lives, their liberty, or even their spontaneity, the human authors become the interpreters of God. This is the most comprehensive notion of divine inspiration.


A problem we often have to deal with is the wording of Scripture. The biblical descriptions of our world use the language of a “three-story universe” to describe God’s message. This is the only reality that the biblical authors knew. With our Copernican understanding of space and time, we know our dwelling-place is not a flat earth with four corners held up by pillars. God is not above the bright blue sky with his feet resting on the earth. The dead do not descend into Hades or hell in the lower parts of the earth. The earth is not the center of the universe.

We can appreciate the logic of the Hebrew cosmology. If a watery chaos threatens us from all sides, then we would need a solid sky to hold back these dangerous seas. If the sky is a solid dome, then it will need pillars to support it. If the earth is a flat disc floating on “the deep” then it would make sense for it to have some support to hold it in place. Talking about the universe as a three-storied reality is meaningless to modern society.

Another problem is that we insult God who created the cosmos and all of reality when we believe that the almighty is “dictating” a misunderstanding of our universe. What kind of God is that? Heaven is not up or hell down. God is all knowing and would not lead us astray.

Once we understand that heaven is not above the clouds, we have to ask ourselves, “Is heaven a place or is it a dimension of reality that we cannot see?” Heaven is basically being with God, and God is everywhere. Maybe our loved ones who have died are not far from us praying that we will overcome our sinfulness and join them.

In the Old Testament, God is portrayed as a cosmic architect. Isaiah asks, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span?” (40:12). God challenges Job with the famous question, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who determined its measurements or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone” (38:4)?

The Genesis accounts of creation are primarily concerned with the meaning and purpose of God’s creative work and not with precise scientific details of how it was accomplished. We look to the science of genetics to answer the scientific question of when human life begins and to the Bible for revelational answers concerning the value and purpose of human life.

The question that we should ask is not whether the story is true, but what is the truth of the story?