Do you take your preferred Holy Book for face value/literally?

I've seen that many quetsins about religion are often answered in one sentence with the source listed as "the Bible." Yet the purpose of the these forums is to generate discussion and debate, whether scholarly or layman.





The truth is that the Torah, the Bible and the Qur'an all have parts in whichthey are clear, bu also parts which can have several (or hundreds) different interpretations. Islam, for example, has several different ways of discussing the contents of the Qur'an and even the beliefs and attitudes of believers (Tafsir, ijtihad, halaqa...) (as do the Jewish and Christian folks--all three seem to have lost this attitude favoring discussion).





My point is, how do answers like "Because the [Book] said so" further knowledge, understanding and spirituality? Is there merit in in asking in depth questions about the morals, codes, and laws in whatever Book you go by?

Do you take your preferred Holy Book for face value/literally?
I don't take the Bible at face value. I think that insisting upon literal interpretation of a book full of mysteries is a bit frightening. I don't think that anwsers like "Because the Bible says so" are good for anyone, most of all the person who says them. I can't always anwser a faith question without the Bible (though sometimes), but even with it, you need to have an understanding of WHY. Recently, in preparation for the sacrament of Reconciliation, I was doing an examination of concience. At one point, a question came up about having serious doubts about my faith. I spent some time thinking about this. I believe the word "serious" is important. There are many parts of my faith that I don't understand. As I study them, I gain understanding, but this usually involves a process of questioning the belief, looking at various points of view, etc. It is important to THINK about what you believe. (I also happened to believe that it is important to trust in your belief system; as a Catholic, I trust what the Church teaches, though I often spend time trying to understand WHY she teaches what she does.)
Reply:I really think that a well thought out answer should include the path taken to arrive at the conclusion (at least in summary) for this very reason.


How can an asker be really helped, by an answer that does not also include the reasoning and references that formed the answer?


If a person holds an opinion, they should be able to at least reference (if not quote) the passages that led them to that opinion.