The Bible is effectively as I see it a book of parables for it is the uninterpreted word of God.
I've been giving some thought to this.
While the Bible certainly contains parables, it is more than that. It is also a book of history. In fact, in the Bible, we have the only true history of the earth, and of the nations, and of God's dealings with man. At least so far in the portion it covers.
That history is a history of God declaring to His creation Who He Is, and then showing His creation that reality. And there may be many lessons about God that we can learn from these seemingly insignificant details, where did Jesus spend His childhood, or what was the name of the man who cast the pillars for the temple, so much is included in these things as you well know, just the same, I cannot escape the fact that the Biblical history is as true about it as everything else.
There
really was a man who cast 2 bronze pillars, because the Creator of the Universe commanded this be done. And Jesus of Nazareth really isn't "John Doe from Nowhere", as I've heard it put, as if none of this is real, instead, His is the Last Man, who is the Lord of Heaven.
I'm not saying the natural man can understand the things of God. But the natural man is certainly able to verify whether Quinirius really was a ruler at the time, or whether there really was an island Patmos. For years people didn't think the Hittites were real. Then that was discovered.
Does it matter in the modern day between man and God whether there was a Hittite kingdom? I don't know! But I do know it matters whether we can, as God's children, read Scripture without the filter of first questioning whether the things we read about really happened or not. I think we can receive the Word of God in the same way we normally receive language.
If we are looking at whether we in our Christian walk are moving more towards life or death, well, as we both know, I believe that we have passed from death into life. I think you believe we are in a process of doing that, or that we hope we will one day pass from death into life.
But in terms of what is the way of life, and what is the way of death, of course we have to have a roadmap, and that roadmap, the one that doesn't get us lost, like the maps in our minds do, the true roadmap is that Bible.
So if the Bible is a book of riddles, or a book of parables, that's a much different sort of map that the one I'm looking at.
I would say that the difference in how we see the Bible is foundational to the differences in our different understandings.
But at the end of the day, I don't have any question that you are looking to Jesus, and we are brothers. And I appreciate the time you spend with me, and I truly do apologize that my manner has offended, I truly want to not trouble you!
Much love!