Literal vs Literalist

I like to use analogies in life to teach to others and better understand them myself. The cartoon strip Frank and Ernest actually has several cartoons that are faith related. This one appeared recently and offers a great example of interpreting what is said by someone. It is not faith related, but relates perfectly to this discussion!

I must thank John Martignoni for his commentary on Literal vs Literalist interpretations of the bible. I've used it to explain many discussions relating to interpreting the Bible, with the most famous being "It's raining cats and dogs". Certainly, we have to understand what we are reading and what the author intended us to see. One certainly can't expect to pluck their eye out if it is causing them to sin, however getting to the root of the problem is a good idea...

Simply put, Catholics take the bible in a literal sense, which means how the author intended the passage to be taken. Many Christians, take it in a literalist fashion, which means that the passage is exactly how it is read in today's words.

More info on John's explanation here: http://www.biblechristiansociety.com/apologetics/two_minute#7