So no, it is not dishonest to take only part of a story as literal or as metaphorical, so long as you have a valid criteria to distinguish where to draw the line.
Contents
What is the metaphorical view?
Metaphorical view – Some Christians believe the story of creation is a metaphor and not literally true. They say the story helps people to understand that God is the creator of everything.
Can metaphor be literal?
A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes something by saying it’s something else. It is not meant to be taken literally.
Are religious stories metaphors?
Biblical stories are metaphorical. They may have been accepted as factual hundreds of years ago, but today they cannot be taken literally. Some students in religious schools even recoil from the “fairy tales” of religion, believing them to be mockeries of their intelligence.
Is all language metaphor?
At the other extreme, some recent linguistic theories view all language in essence as metaphorical. The word metaphor itself is a metaphor, coming from a Greek term meaning “transference (of ownership)”.
What is metaphorical interpretation of the Bible?
Allegorical interpretation of the Bible is an interpretive method (exegesis) that assumes that the Bible has various levels of meaning and tends to focus on the spiritual sense, which includes the allegorical sense, the moral (or tropological) sense, and the anagogical sense, as opposed to the literal sense.
What do Christians believe about creation?
The world was well planned and is sustained by God. God blessed creation; all creation is holy . God created everything in Heaven and on Earth in six days. On the seventh day, God rested.