Opus 2026-296: Figurative Is Inclusive

I was walking down the path of foods we can, or should, eat.  

Vegetables came early.

(Gen 1:29 KJV)  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Keep in mind that “meat” is basically food not steaks and chops.

Meat was added with Noah.  Up until this time you could be a vegetarian, but I have been down that road before.

(Gen 9:3 KJV)  Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

Then the Lord’s Prayer came, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  Is that literal or figurative?  Yes.  The point that hit me here is that the figurative often includes the literal, it does not eliminate it.  The same is true from the other direction.  This where I am going today.

One of the debates I am always involved in when trying to understand the Bible is whether a statement is literal or figurative.  If you want to join the argument go to a church where the pastor uses the KJV and announce that the book of Revelation is mostly figurative.  You might want to have your will drawn up before you go because you might not be coming back.

Take the statement from the Lord’s prayer.  Does it mean that we are to eat bread every day and that God is supposed to make sure that happens?  If you lived in a day and age when bread was the major food in your culture then that would be a literal request.  You would not be asking for variety but for sustenance.  Today with our abundant choices in what we eat it could be understood just as well as getting enough calories.  If you are gluten intolerant then you definitely want it to be figurative.  

Let the Holy Spirit guide you as you seek to understand truth.  There is often a basic literal quality but that is often applied in many ways to your unique situation.  

homo unius libri