Can every word in religious books be taken as literal truths?
I can not speak for all the books, but the answer for the Bible is a yes and a no. There are parts of the Bible that are historical records, such as the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, which were the official court records of the kings of Israel and Judah. Books like those are to be taken literally. The history contained within them actually happened. Other parts of the Bible, such as the book of Psalms, are poetry and use flowery language and images that obviously are to be treated as such. However the truths taught by these poems are to be taken “literally”. Other parts of the Bible, such as the books of the prophets, often include dreams or visions that the prophets saw. Such as one prophet who dreaming of women flying in baskets and talking horses walking among candlesticks. It is obvious from the text that there were no physical women flying in baskets, but it is literally true that the prophet dreamed about them. As the different teachers in the Bible, including Jesus, use the same
