Why do fundamentalists insist on a literal interpretation of the Bible?

Answer 1

Because Man has taught us not to change the interpretation of The Bible not God:) Another reason might be that like many Christians, fundamentalists would simply be seeking to do whatever God wants them to do. In order to do this they would need to determine what God's clear will is wherever possible. They would believe along with many other Christians that the best way to do this is to read the Bible as it is intended by the various authors to be read. This means poetry is read as poetry, history as history etc. Included in this would be the idea that the Bible is authoritative for Christians insofar as it is relevant to their circumstances. Allegorical and other types of non-literal interpretations tend to impose a meaning on the text which often can be coming from the personal bias, tradition, or doctrinal slant of the interpreter and are in a sense imposed on the text from outside. The exception to this is of course where the text itself is an allegory. Further to this, the Bible itself has a number of principles for its own interpretation.

20Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.21For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Thus, since the Bible is not ultimately man's creation, he has no right to interpret it as he pleases, according to his own private views, but is just there to listen and submit to its teaching. Although this kind of thing is really a 'no-no' in any situation, taking Bible verses out of context is particularly invalid as it usually alters the meaning or the understanding to something which was not intended.

Answer 2

Interpretation of the bible, or any religious text, is often difficult. If any interpretation is possible.

Many see it as guidance and not strict unbreakable rules.

Fundamentalists say the the rules are unbreakable, but only as their own perceptions allow. They will allow some things and not others as they see fit. This is generally known as hypocrisy.

Different fundamentalists do not agree on what can and cannot be done or allowed.

This is true of all religious groups.

Answer 3

The reason is very simple and all the reasoning of the belief is based on facts, when one looks deeply into it. An example is in Zechariah, written over 400 years before the birth of Christ. It speaks of the effects of a nuclear explosion on the human body as a warning. "Their eyes will dissolve in their sockets; their tongues from their mouth; and their flesh from their bones before they hit the ground!" How about some Star Trek facts from the Bible? A Believer is standing in Israel just after the crucifixion! He is suddenly transported to another country, Ethiopia. He is place on a dirt road and sees a cart coming his way. The man is reading something as he goes. He stops and asks the man standing their if he knows what he is reading means? The Believer explains Christ to him and leads him to believe. Suddenly the man asks, what is it that I cannot be baptized as there was a stream nearby. The result is this man in the cart lead most of his country to believe in Christ. Beam me up without any twinkle! Another. Jesus got in the boat and immediately they were at the shore. He had power over nature because the Gospel of John tells us who He was in the Old testament as the "I am" and the same in the New. He would command nature and it had to obey Him.

I gave some of these evidences on Yahoo Answers in a question of what do Atheists think of these things. The nuclear explosion results on the flesh were said to be that the writer of this watched Terminator! I dod not know they had movies 400 years before Christ was born!

Answer 4

they dis-honor the scripture and they make no good meanings in the bible.