Let me be the first to say that I am fully aware that there are parts of the Bible that are allegorical. The parables obviously come to mind in this matter. The thing is, when Jesus was using parables, the Bible tells us that. Why would it not clue us in on the use of allegory on an issue as important as whether or not hell is a real place? That doesn't make sense to me.
Here's my problem with the argument that we can't take the Bible literally. One simple question. Who gets to decide what is literal and what is allegorical? Many proponents of this teaching would say that the piecing together of the Bible by historical councils leaves room to say that maybe they got it wrong with determining which books to include in the cannon. If that is the case, is it not problematic to give fallible man the opportunity to decide what passages are meant to be taken literally and which are to be taken as simple allegory? It becomes, to me, a catch 22 wherein you can't have it both ways.
Maybe I'm old fashioned on this one. If that's the case, I'll wear that label proudly on this matter. To me, either the Bible is God's word or it isn't. You can't pick and choose what you want to accept and what you don't want to accept. The concept of hell doesn't sit well with hyper-grace theology. But in an effort to fit their hyper-theology mold, they ignore the theology of the justness of God. A just God can not allow sin to go on without consequence.
Why this trend scares me is that it is just one more step in undermining the authority of scripture. How this is a good thing will never make sense to me. Attempting to take away the power of God's word is not only a futile effort, it is a step in the direction of humanism where we decide what is and what is not. Christians, be on guard and watch out for this kind of deceptive teaching.
2 comments:
Amen.
I agree wholeheartedly. The only point I'll add to the discussion is that it's also important to understand the historical implications of Scripture. For example, if I didn't understand the historical context of Paul's writings to the Corinthian church, I literally shouldn't be allowed to speak in church much less be the worship pastor. It takes time and study to understand such things (of which I don't claim to be an infallible expert), but truth is that most Christians don't dig deeper. There's so much more there than the written word that gives more meaning and a deeper understanding of who He is. Love you, Chris! Thanks for sharing.
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