The Bible was not meant to be literally interpreted.

Wonderful perspective, it is always interesting to see the many views and beliefs that evolve from reliance on faith. "Some people feel that a literal translation is the most accurate. But this is often not the case" I agree with this statement, however when there are very specific references in text pertaining to troop counts, numbers of dead, accounting of plunder and how it was divided, it is very clear that the intent of the writer was not allegorical in nature. It is a good exercise to try and find hidden meaning in works of art and books, but sometimes "God struck Uzzah dead" means just that. As humans we always attempt to apply 'extra' meaning to things that are of importance to us, but it doesn't lead to a reliable understanding, as each human interprets perceived meaning through his own eye. The absence of unity amongst the Christian community, proves that the applied meaning approach to scripture must be false, or that God doesn't guide his children as he promised in the word. If God doesn't keep his promises then the word is not worth anything. The fact that my opponent believes that the Holy Spirit is only Allegory, should help readers of this debate vote for the affirmative, based completely on the fact that if the Holy Spirit is not real, then trinitarian doctrine implies that God and Jesus are also allegory, along with heaven and hell and salvation and judgement. That being the case, there is no point to being a follower of Christ verses a follower of Lao Tzu. The allegorical approach to the scripture is not satiated at any point, leading the adopter of this view to go in any allegorical direction to support his own subjective perspective. Perhaps the story of Jesus was simply about human empathy, and Jesus represents the selfless side of our humanity, that we should strive to bring to life? Why not. Perhaps God, is an allegory for the mean spirited ugly side of our humanity that will judge and kill to protect his own, when ever given the chance. Why not. There is no governor on an allegorical approach to interpretation, which by proxy leads to any outcome, including disasterous ones. There is no doubt that Jim Jones used allegory liberally in his sermons. And Yes, just because one nut utilizes an allegorical approach doesn't mean that all will, but isn't one mass murder/suicide enough? "Not that it has anything to do with this, but I would like to remind you that love, truth, and wisdom are completely subjective hypothetical constructs." I believe that this statement has everything to do with this debate. My opponent precisely correct that all emotion is made of subjective hypothetical constructs, which highlights where an allegorical approach to scripture leads. A comparison of God to human emotion which is ultimately only a subjective hypothetical construct. Therefor God does not literally exist as seen by his next concession, that God is only a human expression of the unknown. My opponent's argument shows its directive, and I argue that the original writers of the bible did not intend for mankind to adopt his perspective of God being no more than a human emotion. In conclusion, I would like to thank my opponent for his perspective and argument. I concur that a metaphoric approach to scripture is likely better for humanity in the long run, but only because I am an Atheist and understand that a mystical, non literal approach will ultimately lead to Atheism, which is better for humanity in the long run. I don't however agree with the original topic of debate "The Bible was not meant to be literally interpreted." It is not tenable to believe that the writers of the bible included literal specifics and meant something more than for the reader to take a literal approach. I urge the reader to join me in contention of my opponent's position as it is impossible, given that he conceded that "God is only a human expression of the unknown". This concession alone makes intent on the part of God impossible and his final statement; "uphold the message that "God" meant to share." invalid. Thank you for your time.