Do you take the Bible literally or do you think its more symbolic?
I think the Bible has a lot of content meant to be taken literally, and some that's meant to be symbolic. The general rule of thumb is to take it literally unless there's something in the context of the passage you're reading that suggests a figurative or symbolic meaning.
Examples: Exodus 20:13, and Deuteronomy 5:17 both say "You shall not murder." There's no figurative meaning here. The text says what it means and means what it says. The vast majority of Scripture is like this.
Daniel 7:2-8 reads, "2 Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things."
This isn't literal. Daniel isn't seeing actual kaiju coming up out of the ocean. How do we know that? From the context. The first clue is Daniel 7:1, the verse that precedes the bit I quoted, where the text states that this is a dream. Dreams are often symbolic. But there's more than just that. If we continue reading down to verses 15-18, we read that an angel tells Daniel what the beasts in his dream are. V. 17 reads, "These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth."
When a Biblical text is meant to be taken figuratively or symbolically, the text will tell you. Either it will say it plainly, like in Daniel 7:17 quoted above, or other context clues will give it away. The type or genre of the text in question plays a part, too. Dreams, visions, songs, and poetry can all be figurative. The Psalms, which are all songs, often contain hyperbole, exaggeration to make a point, like when David says that God makes his feet like the feet of a deer (Psalm 18:33), or says that he floods his bed with his tears (Psalm 6:6).
So, generally speaking, take the Bible literally unless the context says otherwise. And if you come across something specific you're unsure about, you should definitely study it out. And if you're not sure how to do that, you can ask me, or your pastor or another teacher at your church, or ministries like GotQuestions.
Hope this helps! Be blessed!
