How do we know what parts of the Bible to take literally and figuratively?

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In a debate I had with an agnostic person, one of his main arguments was, “How do we know which parts of the Bible to take literally or figuratively?”
I just was at a loss of words after not knowing the answer. But here’s the question: How do we know what to take figuratively or literally in the Bible? Is there an official Church document stating what is to be taken literally or not? Are we just supposed to use applied knowledge in accordance to Church teaching? I would really appreciate your answers. Thank you!
 
Great question Facite:thumbsup:

This actually forms the basis behind my second question I was about to raise about Catholicism. If you don’t mind, I would like to explore this interesting area of theology with you 🙂

I hope that the answers we get are not “the Holy Spirit has guided the Church on this matter”

Thanks
Kam
 
You spend time with God about the answer

You listen to the priest in sermons as there he will guide you on what is to be applied in your life if you find it hard going to work it out yourself. He may be talking generally to the congregation as a whole but if you are really listening, each week you will find there is something that you can personally apply to yourself. The penny will drop. May be not instantly but in time it will

You ask for spiritual guidence and talk about it there.

You book a time with your priest and talk about anything you are not clear on when you are reading the Bible. Some will ring him up and just chat over the phone. Some will email. It depends on you and the priest chosen method of prefered communication. But priests are there to listen and guide us. Don’t ask too many of us because you will get too many different answers and be back at square one. Listen to what your priest says, try it out, go back and keep asking and keep trying etc. Its the life journey that all Christians are on.
 
Facite said:
In a debate I had with an agnostic person, one of his main arguments was, “How do we know which parts of the Bible to take literally or figuratively?”
I just was at a loss of words after not knowing the answer. But here’s the question: How do we know what to take figuratively or literally in the Bible? Is there an official Church document stating what is to be taken literally or not? Are we just supposed to use applied knowledge in accordance to Church teaching? I would really appreciate your answers. Thank you!
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Check the “Index of Citations” which follows paragraph 2865 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition.
 
More objectively,

The Church Magisterium has many scholars who have studied ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, ancient Greek, and other biblical languages as well as the culture of the time. You basically need enough information of the time period to understand how they used language, what types of word play were common, and what people may have done to emphasize a point that was supposed to be taken literally or as very important. It is by all of this knowledge that one can know what is meant to be taken literally and what isn’t.

Now, you do not need to be a part of the Magisterium to be able to tell, but it does take a lot of study, and to really know which of each and every passage is to be taken literally or not, you would essentially have to be a scholar with many, many years of study into the areas I mentioned above. There may even be more areas that one must know to be absolutely certain. This is part of the reason why I do not believe in private interpretation of Scripture, because I would venture to guess that most people who do, do not have knowledge of all these areas. But that is just IMHO.
 
Kam_Fanaian said:
I hope that the answers we get are not “the Holy Spirit has guided the Church on this matter”

Thanks
Kam
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But that* is* a big part of the answer. There are many and various interpretations of Scripture but without the Holy Spirit guiding the Church since before one word of the New Testament was even written, she would have no sure way of knowing the gospel with any degree of certainty. So, without even needing to refer to verse by verse interpretations, we know that, for example, the Church teaches the literal, physical resurrection of Christ, the Virgin Birth, the necessity of Baptism, the Real Presence, etc, all supportable by Scripture but also held independently of it within her lived, received Tradition, both infallibly understood by the light of the Holy Spirit.

Very few individual verses have been interpreted in an official manner; while the faith, itself, is promulgated officially and Scripture used as support. While many passages and stories in the OT aren’t given a yea or nay in regard to their literalness, others are. So, for example, while the story of the creation and Fall of man uses much symbolism and figurative language, the Church nonetheless affirms that a literal first pair of parents whom we’re all descended from existed who literally disobeyed God, committing the first sin which set man upon the course we all experience now in this life.

Also, beginning in paragraph 101, the Catechism gives guidance in reading, interpreting, and understanding Scripture.
 
Yes but, is it considered that what is said and done by the Church is equivalent to what Jesus says and does Himself?

Kam
 
Facite said:
How do we know what to take figuratively or literally in the Bible? Is there an official Church document stating what is to be taken literally or not? Are we just supposed to use applied knowledge in accordance to Church teaching? I would really appreciate your answers. Thank you!
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grannymh said:
Check the “Index of Citations” which follows paragraph 2865 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition.
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👍 The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the official document you want.
 
fhansen said:
Also, beginning in paragraph 101, the Catechism gives guidance in reading, interpreting, and understanding Scripture.
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May I respectfully add,
that in order to understand the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, it is essential to read paragraphs 18 - 22, section "Practical Directions for Using This Catechism.

When it comes to the first three Chapters of Genesis, there is a special CCC paragraph devoted to one of the basic doctrines of Catholicism. It is CCC 390. For a better understanding of doctrines related to human nature (Genesis, chapters one, two, and three), one should study CCC -355 - 421. This is difficult reading but it is well worth the effort.
 
first understand the difference between “Literal” interpretations and “Literalist” interpretations.

Literal = the meaning intended by the author
example: raining cats and dogs = it was raining extremely hard

Literalist= takes meaning of each word without consideration of anything else
example: raining cats and dogs = cats and dogs are actually physically falling from the sky.

The Catholic church interprets every passage in scripture by its “Literal” meaning not by its “Literallist” meaining. in addition there are 3 spiritual methods of interpretting that go beyond the literal, but each spiritual meaning is based on the literal interpretation. we always start with the literal for every passage in scripture.

recommend the tape/CD/mp3 by John Martignoni called Catholics and the Bible - found at the website “BibleChristianSociety.com”

the catechism section 110-119 describes this for learned theologians and clergy. John Martignoni succeeds better than anyone I have heard, in putting it into layman’s terms that the average person can understand and benefit from. Start with Martignoni and follow up with a read of section 110-119.

God Bless
 
grannymh said:
Check the “Index of Citations” which follows paragraph 2865 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition.
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The problem is though, that you won’t always have your Catechism with you when you read the Bible or debate with a Protestant. 🙂
 
+REMEMBER ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD_BREATHED AND IS GOOD FOR TEACHING+
Take it all in AS the TRUTH it IS.
 
You can look in the past on how a part of the Bible has always been interpreted by the Catholic Church. This is why you cannot interpret the Bible without sacred Tradition.
 
Andre1000 said:
You can look in the past on how a part of the Bible has always been interpreted by the Catholic Church. This is why you cannot interpret the Bible without sacred Tradition.
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However, those pieces of information are not always readily available.🙂
 
Facite said:
The problem is though, that you won’t always have your Catechism with you when you read the Bible or debate with a Protestant. 🙂
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I was referring to an individual studying for her or his own benefit.😃
 
Kam_Fanaian said:
Yes but, is it considered that what is said and done by the Church is equivalent to what Jesus says and does Himself?

Kam
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The Catholic Church goes by Divine Revelation since it considers that Jesus is True God and True Man. Jesus is more than a prophet among prophets.
 
grannymh said:
I was referring to an individual studying for her or his own benefit.😃
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What about casual reading of the Bible? How will that work? Should we always keep a Catechism with us when we read the Bible?🤷
 
Kam_Fanaian said:
Yes but, is it considered that what is said and done by the Church is equivalent to what Jesus says and does Himself?

Kam
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Jesus established the Catholic Church and gave it authority in matters of faith and morals. That means the Church can never err in such matters as all teachings have the authority of Christ behind them.
 
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