Question: I grew up in a Christian tradition where literal interpretation is the only way to read the Bible. I have always loved stories such as Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18) and how God came to him after Elijah fled for his life (ch. 19). But there is a lot of violence in so many of these passages that I am truly not sure how to view them as anything but literal accounts.   Response: Drawing from my book, A More Christlike Word, when we read the Bible, we certainly do begin with a literal reading. This is just the first or surface reading, bearing in mind that the Scriptures have layered meanings as ...