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July 2016

July 26, 2016

Fundamentalists aren’t “Biblical”

I thought I would turn something I said in a recent post into an image,...

November 2015

November 14, 2015

Is Heaven a Metaphor in the Bible?

There is such a thing as being too rigidly literalistic. But sometimes we fall into...

September 2015

September 03, 2015

There Are No Scriptural Literalists

A quote from Dan McClellan, which I mentioned in another recent post, and have now...

September 01, 2015

Take the Bible Literally

N. T. Wrong reminded me of this great quote from James Barr: In my opinion,...

August 2015

August 06, 2015

Taking the Bible “Literally”

I used a photo of A. J. Jacobs trying to live Biblically as the background...

July 2015

July 03, 2015

No Adam, No Christ?

I was asked a question on Facebook, and thought I would share the answer I...

April 2015

April 21, 2015

Genesis 2 is Not Literal (The Bible Tells Me So)

The quote comes from my recent post "Marriage is Sacred." The point is one that...

April 21, 2015

Marriage is Sacred

I talked about this topic in my Sunday school class this past Sunday, as we reached...

September 2014

September 15, 2014

The Big Lie

In a blog comment, Brooke Lester made the comment that I've shared here: It's never really...

August 2014

August 20, 2014

Please Take Genesis 1 Literally

I am really tired of those pseudo-literalists known as young-earth creationists. I really want people...

July 2014

July 15, 2014

Is That a Metaphor?

I've shared both of these before, but thought they should be circulated again, since I...

June 2014

June 15, 2014

John Dominic Crossan on Literalism

February 2014

February 02, 2014

N. T. Wright on Literalism

From Biologos HT JK Doyle

January 2014

January 08, 2014

God at Work

There are lots of problems with a literalistic approach to Genesis, and to the Bible...

January 06, 2014

Reading Genesis Literally

There's a new blog, Scribalishess, written by a Hebrew Bible professor. Here is a quote...

January 04, 2014

Literal or Symbolic?

On Reddit I came across this wonderful bit of wisdom about interpreting the Bible, from...

January 02, 2014

I Take The Bible Too Seriously To Take It All Literally

This quotation is often attributed to Karl Barth, but it is verifiably the words of...

December 2013

December 10, 2013

Bible from a Parallel Universe

A comment on Facebook yesterday seemed to me it would be a great premise for...

September 2013

September 27, 2013

Take It With A Grain Of Salt

The Salis Bible. HT Hemant Mehta. And Allan Bevere shared a cartoon illustrating the limits of...

August 2013

August 28, 2013

Read Genesis Literally

Indeed, I've made the case here more than once for Jesus having interpreted Genesis 2...

August 14, 2013

According to Google, Literally Literally Means Not Literally

I learned today via IO9 that Google has made it as official as Google can...

March 2013

March 20, 2013

Young-Earth Creationism vs. the Plain Meaning of the Creation Stories

Having recently addressed a number of points of incompatibility between young-earth creationism and Christianity as...

March 06, 2013

Jesus and Paul were not Literalists when it comes to Genesis 2-3

It is interesting how some modern readers simply assume that ancient individuals and authors shared...

February 2013

February 09, 2013

That’s Not Taking Revelation Literally

One media outlet described the man who quit his job over a form with the...

January 2013

January 26, 2013

How Can We Tell That Genesis 1 Doesn’t Offer Scientific Information?

Someone asked a question along these lines on Facebook recently, asking what one piece of...

January 10, 2013

Theistic Heliocentrism

In a Facebook group I really love, one member has been doing a fantastic job...

December 2012

December 29, 2012

Grumpy Cat on So-Called Biblical Literalists

November 2012

November 10, 2012

Ancient Hebrew Cosmology

Nick Norelli shared the image below depicting ancient Hebrew cosmology, i.e. the cosmological assumptions of...

September 2012

September 08, 2012

Admiral Ackbar on Genesis 3

Joel Watts shared the above photo on Facebook. I remember some people not getting the...

August 2012

August 27, 2012

Lecture on Genesis 2-3

I have recorded a lecture covering some of the topics I normally discuss in class...

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