The Bible is many things to many people. Of course, like anything else in the world, the reality is that it can only be one thing to everyone. There must be one absolute truth and observation to the Bible. Otherwise, multiple interpretations would obviously contradict themselves.
The only question is, what is that thing? What should the Bible be seen as to the people who read it?
Traditionally, the Bible is seen as the unerring, everlasting word of God. It was God-inspired, indicates what we are to believe regarding Him and shows us how we are to live. In the modern era, some say this interpretation is wrong. Many seem to believe that the Bible is an allegorical, philosophy book. This latter interpretation brings up two important questions.
Can it be and is it?
The answer to the former question is, technically, yes. Though one should not detach God and Christ from the principles we have been given, His principles are still timeless. We go much farther as human beings following them because God knows what is good and healthy for us. Following those precepts without the Holy Spirit in our hearts and guiding us will only take us so far, however.
The answer to the latter question is no.
The Bible is far more than philosophical guide; it is a promise. We are promised salvation from eternal damnation through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The Bible and Christianity itself mean nothing without that event. Furthermore, that event is dependent on fulfilling hundreds of disparate prophecies scattered throughout the history that is the Old Testament. If only one of these are untrue, if only one is allegorical, then our faith is for nothing. Christ died for nothing.If the Bible can not be counted on for its truthfulness, then God is a liar. God claims to keep His promises, but if we cannot trust His words to us (as we are told in 2 Timothy 3:15-17), then we cannot trust Him. The Bible would contradict itself if it was only meant to be taken as philosophical allegory, as God makes important promises to people in it, whether it is land to the Hebrews or salvation to all of mankind. Also, if God lies to us, He has no reason to expect us to follow His commandments (Deuteronomy 5:6-21; note God Himself would be violating verse 20), as He would be holding us to a double standard. If He is just, this cannot be so.
It also suggests that the millions of martyr's through history died for a simple philosophy. It denies them the honor of having been executed for an unshakable faith in the saving power of Jesus. Their deaths merely become trivial and possibly foolish. This makes no sense. For the 11 apostles, ten of whom were executed and the last exiled, it would be senseless to die for a mere philosophy. As noted earlier, the Christian philosophy has no power without Jesus or God behind it. For those men who walked with Jesus Christ, they would know better than anyone whether it would be worth dying for.
Under pressure, they did not renounce their faith. They had found a line they would not cross in their lives and it was their faith in Jesus. Not a faith in a nebulous philosophy, but faith in the son of God, who gives far more than mere words ever could.
A big part of why many people relegate Christianity and the Bible to "philosophical guide" status is that they assume it is a just like other religious texts. However, this assumption creates false equivalency between Christianity and other world religions. Other religions and philosophies are not dependent on having unerring accuracy or internal cohesion. Indeed, most do depend on their philosophies, not their histories. The Bible, however, is different. As noted earlier, the Bible requires its history and prophecies in order for the New Testament to make sense. Without either, it falls apart.
We should not be tempted to concede to the idea that the Bible is allegory or philosophy. Doing so is to claim that God's promises are false and serve only to lead people astray from salvation.
