Do Catholics take the Bible literally?

All Christians accept that the Bible is God’s inspired Word. That invests it with a reverence accorded to no other literature.

But Christians are split on just what this perspective means. Biblical fundamentalists interpret it to mean the Bible is inerrant, containing no errors whatsoever, whether scientific, historical or spiritual. Catholics and many Protestants, however, acknowledge that the Bible might contain errors in historical or scientific data, but not in matters of faith or spiritual teaching.

The former position promotes a literal interpretation of biblical passages. The latter recognizes that the literal sense does not apply in every age. The deeper meaning of the Bible—the spiritual teaching—is timeless.

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