A Literal Bible

I have been pondering a poll that Gallup just publishing, stating that "one-third of Americans think that the Bible is literally true."

http://www.galluppoll.com/content/default.aspx?ci=27682

" About one-third of the American adult population believes the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally word for word."

"Although even those who believe in a literal Bible can still be at odds in their attempt to interpret exactly what the Bible says about key areas of Scripture and moral issues, a literal belief structure has been the basis for justifications for a variety of important positions in American life. These have included opposition to evolution and the teaching thereof in public schools (going back to the days of the Scopes Monkey Trial), opposition to same-sex relationships, the proper relationship between husbands and wives with a marriage, observance of a day of rest, the belief that positions as preachers or priests should be maintained for men only, and even such seemingly unrelated topics as immigration."

My hunch is that one-third of Americans are testifying to something other than the notion that it must be taken literally word for word, since even a passing knowledge of the Bible shows that large portions of the Bible are figurative or have layers of meaning. The Song of Solomon makes no sense unless it is read symbolically. Also, consider two of the most beautiful passages in the Bible. In Psalm 23, when the divine Shepherd "maketh me to lie down in green pastures", it would surprise me if any read this to mean that we were to be treated as meadow animals. And, in I Corinthians 13, I think few people believe that the absence of love will really turn them into "a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal." A literal interpretation of the Bible would result in such ancient Biblical truths as a flat earth, the divine right of kings, polygamy, slavery, and the stoning of disobedient children. It could be that a slice of that one third is simply ignorant about the Bible. But perhaps the remainder are using the word "literally" as a figurative symbol that they are committed to a certain kind of Christianity, but fundamentalist only in a cafeteria sense-- in terms of opposing civil rights, rejecting evolution, promoting the subordinating of women, and the intrusion of sectarianism into public policy.