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hrmjustin

(71,265 posts) Wed Jun 4, 2014, 06:15 PM Jun 2014

28 Percent Of Americans Believe The Bible Is The Literal Word Of God

Yasmine Hafiz

Many debates within Christian theology revolve around the the origins of the Bible, who wrote it, the nature of its authority, and its relationship to the Divine. According to a Gallup poll conducted in May, a solid twenty-eight percent of Americans believe that the Bible is the literal word of God and should be interpreted accordingly.

That's a 3% decrease since 2007, when about 1/3 of the United States answered that they believed the Bible was the actual word of God. However, in the late 1970s, 38% to 40% of Americans told Gallup that they believed in the Bible as God's word.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/04/americans-bible-word-of-god_n_5446979.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

11 replies

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28 Percent Of Americans Believe The Bible Is The Literal Word Of God (Original Post) hrmjustin Jun 2014 OP

I wonder what percentage of the 28% have actually read the whole thing. n/t PoliticAverse Jun 2014 #1

lol not many I am sure. hrmjustin Jun 2014 #2

Way too high. Literalism is ridiculous. cbayer Jun 2014 #3

As usual you make good points. hrmjustin Jun 2014 #5

How can a book, which is an anthology written by dozens of humans over centuries... Starboard Tack Jun 2014 #4

I guess it is just too easy to follow and not question for some. hrmjustin Jun 2014 #6

I'm fascinated by the claim that it as the literal word of God. Starboard Tack Jun 2014 #8

I don't know where it originated but I think the 19th century evangelicals really perfected it. hrmjustin Jun 2014 #9

I remember seeing a painting Fortinbras Armstrong Jun 2014 #7

It might also reflect a change in what the words "Literal Word of God" mean el_bryanto Jun 2014 #10

What I'm seeing as current usage among evangelicals okasha Jun 2014 #11

PoliticAverse

(26,366 posts)

1. I wonder what percentage of the 28% have actually read the whole thing. n/t

Reply to hrmjustin (Original post)

Wed Jun 4, 2014, 06:41 PM

Jun 2014

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)

2. lol not many I am sure.

Reply to PoliticAverse (Reply #1)

Wed Jun 4, 2014, 06:44 PM

Jun 2014

cbayer

(146,218 posts)

3. Way too high. Literalism is ridiculous.

Reply to hrmjustin (Original post)

Wed Jun 4, 2014, 06:49 PM

Jun 2014

There are too many contradictions, too many cultural contexts that made sense at the time and no longer do.

Even Jesus said that some of the old teachings needed to be discarded.

The only way to make sense of their responses is to add a follow up question about whether they think god could change his/her mind over time. Then you could say that god wrote it, but he evolved his POV over time and didn't mean for what he wrote to be taken literally over time.

It would be a lot easier to understand if that question were asked.

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)

5. As usual you make good points.

Reply to cbayer (Reply #3)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 03:07 AM

Jun 2014

Starboard Tack

(11,181 posts)

4. How can a book, which is an anthology written by dozens of humans over centuries...

Reply to hrmjustin (Original post)

Wed Jun 4, 2014, 10:20 PM

Jun 2014

be considered the literal word of God?
If there is a God, I'm sure he would be the first to express his dismay at such a notion.
God is described by believers to be a perfect entity. Would such an entity relinquish his perfection to such a collection of contradictory writings, which are all ascribed to humans?

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)

6. I guess it is just too easy to follow and not question for some.

Reply to Starboard Tack (Reply #4)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 03:09 AM

Jun 2014

Starboard Tack

(11,181 posts)

8. I'm fascinated by the claim that it as the literal word of God.

Reply to hrmjustin (Reply #6)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 01:32 PM

Jun 2014

Where did that originate? I don't recall it being mentioned in the Bible itself. Maybe I'm wrong.

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)

9. I don't know where it originated but I think the 19th century evangelicals really perfected it.

Reply to Starboard Tack (Reply #8)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 01:34 PM

Jun 2014

Fortinbras Armstrong

(4,473 posts)

7. I remember seeing a painting

Reply to hrmjustin (Original post)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 06:56 AM

Jun 2014

By, if I remember correctly, Lucas Cranach the Elder, of one of the Evangelists writing his Gospel. It showed an angel whispering into his ear as he wrote. I'd say that 28% would consider it to be a reasonably accurate depiction.

el_bryanto

(11,804 posts)

10. It might also reflect a change in what the words "Literal Word of God" mean

Reply to hrmjustin (Original post)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 03:33 PM

Jun 2014

I usually use the term divinely inspired - but I wonder how much of that is that since the 80s and the affiliation of large segments of evangelical Christianity with political conservatism have changed the meaning of those words.

Bryant

okasha

(11,573 posts)

11. What I'm seeing as current usage among evangelicals

Reply to el_bryanto (Reply #10)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 04:53 PM

Jun 2014

and literalists is "God-breathed,"--the uh, literal translation of of "inspired." As ST says, it's not even a single book. Ta biblia is "The Books," not one book. We regard it casually as a single volume because that's how it's currently bound, but it took Christianity about 300 years to settle on the canon, and even so, different churches accept different selections.

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