Okay, last one:

The debate about the “literal” truth of the Bible is hardly new. During the 11th century (or whenever it was), Aelfric was appointed to translate the Old Testament from Latin (the Vulgate) into Anglo-Saxon. He was reluctant–not only since certain Latin words or phrases did not have exact Anglo-Saxon counterparts, and interpretation was instrinsically part of translation–but also because he feared that people would read of patriarchs having 4 wives or marrying their sisters, and want to have, well, 4 wives, marry their sisters, etc. His concern was not just that people would follow some of the worse examples of Biblical conduct, or things that were acceptable in that day and culture but were now considered abominations, but that they would misread or not perceive at all the symbolic or allegorical meanings of Biblical events. In the Middle Ages, all events in the Bible were interpreted on 4 levels, only one of which was the literal sense.
Guess you never thought of yourself as having an Anglo-Saxon mindset, eh Jonah?