I don’t know you, but I wish I could study with you in preparing my GD lessons. I so appreciate your point of view, even if it was motivated as a rant. Imagine how wonderful it must be when it’s not!

I must admit to feeling as though I’ve been harshly spoken of by some of the comments here, but no harm has been done. I was raised to be what is being termed a “literalist”. It has only been in recent years that I have begun to move away from that view of the scriptures. In the past I’ve always assumed that anything that didn’t make sense didn’t matter anyway. I have loved the scriptures all my life, and have found great peace in them as well as marvelous teachings that, over time, have made (and are still making) a “new creature” of me. And for so many years this has taken place while I assumed that all the scripture stories were pretty much just the way they were written.

I’m not that different today, )I still haven’t reached to point of viewing them as poetry and metaphor), but as I’ve studied more deeply I have found more inconsistencies, and more reasons to assume that everything cannot be just as it is written. I’ve also learned more about how ancient texts came about, which leaves more room for inaccuracies, embellishments, and errors. But nothing has changed in regard to how the central theme of those stories teaches me about myself and my relationship with God or his children.

I suppose I’ve not been a true-blue-through-and-through “literalist” for many years, since I’ve been willing to just let things go if they get in the way of the message (the sun turning back, the fish/whale/3-day thing, etc). But I really don’t care. I’m also willing to let those things be true. (well, OK, never was ready to have God and satan arguing about Job…) Those details don’t matter. I’ll just skip over that detail and try to obtain the spirit of God to teach me and edify me. Mostly I want to obtain the spirit, so that he can change me. The scriptures, both ancient and modern have so much to teach us and change in us. I really don’t think the scriptures are meant to teach us history; they just use history to teach us about ourselves and our father in heaven and his son.

So, I wholeheartedly embrace your point “The story may be factual. I don’t have any strong opinion one way or the other, and certainly no special insight or expertise to offer. Frankly, I don’t think it matters at all whether Jonah’s three days in the belly of the fish was literal or metaphorical – it serves the Biblical purpose either way”. There were some comments that followed your post that were more critical of those who still take those stories literally, and I don’t embrace those points of view.

The “Biblical purpose” is fulfilled both for the literalists and the “metaphoricalists”. We can and should coexist in harmony. I am so sorry when either point of view is held up to be the “true and living” point of view. The spirit of God can teach us what we need to learn no matter which point of view we come from and that’s all that matters. (assuming we aren’t too extreme in either point of view).

Thanks for sharing your well articulated thoughts.

Video here

http://www.patheos.com/community/mormonportal/2010/09/12/jonah-the-insufficiency-of-the-new-testament-argument/

The topic of my ward’s adult Sunday School class today was ‘since Jesus referenced the story of Jonah, if you don’t think it is literal, then you don’t have any testimony of our Saviour’.

Aarrgh!!! I am bookmarking this page.