What is (Literal) Truth?

It seems, according to an item I read on a website called Rasmussen Reports, that you can divide all Americans up neatly into two categories, based on how they respond to one simple question.

What's that question? It's simple: Is the Bible literally true?

In Alabama and Arkansas, 75% of those surveyed said yes.

In Vermont and Massachusetts, only 22% of those surveyed said yes.

Now what does this mean (except that we should all move to either Vermont or Massachusetts as quickly as possible)?

Well, if you live in the South (in the aptly-named Bible Belt), you're far more likely to believe that the Bible is literally true. West Virginia (70%) and Tennessee (68%) aren't far behind Alabama and Arkansas in their belief in the literal truth of Scripture.

According to the Rasmussen item, 54% of American adults believe that the Bible is literally true.

54%? Really? Last time I checked, that was almost half.

Now you have to admit, that is a fascinating statistic. But I find it a little incomplete. I think that the person who made up the poll should have added the following questions, to round out the sampling somewhat:

• Do you believe the Moon is made of green cheese?
• Do you believe in reincarnation?
• Do you believe in ghosts?
• Do you believe in Santa Claus?
• Do you believe in the Easter Bunny?
• Do you have a High School diploma?
• Do you believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in planning 9/11?
• Do you believe that George W. Bush is a great president?
• Do you believe that Jesus would want large corporations to make billions of dollars in profits while poor Americans sleep on the streets for want of affordable housing?
• Do you believe that Jesus loved the rich?
• Do you believe that liberals are evil?
• Do you believe that all people who don't believe in Jesus as their personal savior should die a slow, painful death unless they convert to Christianity?
• Do you believe that Jesus would bomb abortion clinics?

That would tell us rather more about the people who took the survey, don't you think?

I would add one more question, for my own personal reasons:

• If you believe that every word in the Bible is meant to be taken literally, then why did Jesus talk in parables?

Because, of course, if you believe my dictionary (which states that a "parable" is "a usually short fictitious story that illuminates a moral attitude or a religious principle"), parables are not, by definition, meant to be taken literally.

And then of course there's this final question. If you really think that every word in the Bible is to be taken literally, then what do you do about this?

"Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." (Matthew 19:21)

If you believe the Bible is literally true, have you taken Jesus at His word? His literal word? Have you taken everything you have -- literally everything -- and given it away to the poor, so that you can follow Jesus the way He commands you to follow Him?

Yeah, I thought so.

Tom Moran