30%: Literal Bible
Posted by Todd Rhoades in Trends on Jul 11th, 2011 | 3 commentsThree in 10 Americans interpret the Bible literally, saying it is the actual word of God. That is similar to what Gallup has measured over the last two decades, but down from the 1970s and 1980s. A 49% plurality of Americans say the Bible is the inspired word of God but that it should not be taken literally, consistently the most common view in Gallup’s nearly 40-year history of this question. Another 17% consider the Bible an ancient book of stories recorded by man.
via In U.S., 3 in 10 Say They Take the Bible Literally.
Do these numbers surprise you?
Todd
3 Responses to “ “30%: Literal Bible”
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It’s a bad question. Much of the Bible should NOT be taken literally, but in context with the whole book.
For instance, you should not actually gouge out your right eye, should you… Jsus isn’t really a chicken… is he? things need to be understood in the context of how they are communicated, the proper figure of speech.
So the question is flawed, because it can be the actual very word of God and yet contain sections that are not to be taken literally, because they were not written with that in mind.
Agree with Peter – the question’s are flawed. If given only those 3 choices I would have gone with the 49%. I’d say that a combination of the first two choices is the proper answer.
I know many people who claim to interpret the Bible literally, but I don’t know anyone (not a single one) who actually does.