Does anyone know...

[pinstikfartherin]

any good books on bible symbolism?

I do not believe in the literal meaning. I am curious about the symbolism.

Are there Christians that believe in what the symbolism represents and not the literal meaning? Are there any books that go along with this belief?

As I know DUers are very knowledgeable on many topics, I'm sure someone has an answer!

Any help would be appreciated!

[dbonds]

1. Google astro-theology for a starter.

There are also many meditative meanings of the stories, but you might need a background in ancient spiritual concepts - such as sacred directions.

[dhpgetsit]

2. Not a book recommendation

I think there is some work out there suggesting Genesis is partly about the agriculture vs the herding/gathering nomadic societies. The forbidden fruit being the adoption of agrarian lifestyle, and the story of Cain and Abel being about bloodshed between people over this controversy, in spite of being basicly of the same culture.

[knitter4democracy]

3. Eastern Orthodoxy probably comes the closest to what you're looking for.

We're the mystical side of the faith, and we're really big on symbols. Maybe looking around conciliarpress.com will help you find what you're looking for.

[poetsdream]

4. Metaphysical Bible Dictionary

A book by Charles Fillmore, the founder of the Unity movement. It gives a metaphysical or symbolic meaning of words, phrases, names, cities, etc. Also by Charles Fillmore, The Revealing Word. If you go to link before, you can access a copy of the Revealing Word at no charge.

http://www.websyte.com/Unity/rvl.htm

Unity is what has been called, 'practical Christianity' and is focused more on the symbolic meaning of stuff from the Bible instead of literal meaning which too often lead to divisiveness and even violence.

[drmeow]

5. You might want to look in

the academic press - people do teach the bible as literature, for example. There may be textbooks and journal articles about it. Try google scholar, maybe.