Are you a christian if you don't take the Bible verbatim? Ed

Yes. There is a great stream of Christianity that does not find it necessary to believe in the literal statement of the Bible. We can still read and study the Bible as a holy book, but a literal interpretation is not necessary.

It's difficult to explain. As a Catholic we don't take the Bible word for word as some Protestant religions do. And yes, Catholics are Christians because we believe in the Holy Trinity. Here's a good example I found on catholicscomehome.org  We "interpret the Bible in the literal sense whereas many fundamentalists, Evangelicals and others interpret the Bible in the literalist sense."  Here's a good example, if in the Bible it said it was raining cats and dogs outside the Catholics would interpret that to mean it was raining very hard and forcefully outside whereas the fundamentalists, Evangelicals and others would interpret that to literally mean cats and dogs were coming down from the sky. 

I consider myself a Christian and I am a Catholic. I don't take the Bible word for word. 
 

I haven't done extensive research, but I know that some parts of the Bible were written as songs and poems, and were never intended to be literal. Some of the "laws" in the Old Testament were intended as guidelines for healthy living in that day and age, in that place. I call myself a Christian - I know that Jesus existed and I believe that He was sent by His Father to save us. I do not believe that the earth was created in 7 days. I do not eat unleavened bread, because we no longer have to worry about the ergot which was the reason for avoiding leavening at those days.

I'm a presbyterian.. and our ministers have to take both greek and hewbrew, so they can read the Bible for the most part in the original language. We look at the text both as a translation (into english) and at the culture in which it was written.. so you are reading something written in a specific time and place and you should look at it in that context. Each translator makes choices.. so the English is not exact.. and our understandings have changed.

It is the Word of God.. but not literally as translated and out of context. many take one or two verses out of context to prove their point. doesn't make sense to me.  We read the Bible in every worship service.. so no one kind of christian church should claim to be "a Bible" church with the implication that the rest of us do not base our faith on the Bible.

I used to live near a church that had a big sign with its name out front: “The Bible Believing Baptist Church.” No other name listed anywhere. I always chuckled when I drove by, imagining that they were afraid someone would mistake them for “The Satan Worshipping Baptist Church.”

If I could like this 1,000 times, I would.  

In my opinion - being a christian is professing a belief that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and he came to earth to save us from our sins by dying on the cross, and he rose again from the dead.

The bible presents the preachings of the prophets, and the teaching of Jesus and his disciples. the teachings are to guidance and comfort.

The greatest lesson in the bible is that we are to love one another as God loved us. As Christians we need to follow that teaching and think about how Jesus would interact with others. The Bible can provide us with guidance, but I don't believe we need to follow every word exactly.

And everyone needs to realize that we all have differing beliefs, and just because I don't believe and worship the same way you do, doesn't make it any more right or wrong, I believe it is all part of God's plan.

Absolutely! Your faith is built from your life and your experiences and your beliefs are your own, probably developed over the years...I think you can be Christian and not have a literal belief in the bible.

My faith is in my salvation through Jesus Christ. I believe the Bible is a guideline and not to be taken out of context. Finding one particular phrase in the Bible to justify one's actions or beliefs is unrealistic.

The Old Testament is but one portion of the Bible, and describes the covenant God had with His people, a contract or promise if you will. In the New Testament it is described how God fulfilled that promise.

I also believe that God has blessed and allowed to stand the Bible as His holy word for generations. There are not very many books that have been printed in so many languages and spread so far around the Globe as the Bible. To me that is not by accident, but by God's will.

If we search our hearts and read with an open mind, there is the possibility that the passages that we don't take literally might make some sense to us and give us new meanings. The parting of the Red Sea? To me that shows that God was looking out for His people and had led them to a natural occurrence that they were able to take advantage of. And so on for other instances in Bible that might be unbelievable at first glance. Every word, every phrase has been allowed to stand and in one way or another had meanings to someone, somewhere. It is up to us to find our own meaning, just as it is up to us to define our own relationship with God.

Well said.

I always say the bible was interpreted by human beings over the years. Jesus Christ himself didn't sit down and write it.

I follow the "love thy neighbor" and "judge not, lest ye be judged" and not much else!

I suppose I just didn't understand your post given the endless threads we've had about what is and isn't a Christian on these boards.  Sometimes those threads end well, sometimes they do not.  And admittedly, I've been away for a while, so maybe things have changed.  If you were looking for support for your own feelings, I get that.   And I'd want support too if I felt my faith was challenged, but that's not how your post read to me.   You are comfortable with your own faith, I hope.   But really, your faith is between you and G-d, and that's what should matter.

I like you too GulfCoastGirl and I apologize if my post was out of line.