There are many people today who believe that religion is outdated and not relevant to our times. The scriptures were written in days long past when life was simpler. Why study the scriptures when the stories are so irrelevant anyway? Besides, how can we believe the stories be true? To answer those questions, we look at some of the more debated Old Testament stories - Noah’s Ark, Job, Jonah and the whale.

What it all comes down to in the end is that the stories in the Old Testament may or may not be real. If real, they may or may not be exaggerated upon. In the present life, I don’t expect we will ever know. But the point of this episode is that it really doesn’t matter.

Jesus Christ used fictional parables, as we all know. But in only a few of Savior’s parables does He mention that the upcoming story was a parable. Maybe the Savior’s listeners figured it out from the wording of the story. But maybe… it just didn’t matter to the Savior or His listeners whether the parable was true or not. Parables were teaching devices, like metaphors and similes. The point of the story was the principle being taught, not the story itself.

The truth of the Old Testament stories has been debated for centuries, when, in all actuality, it does not matter if they are true or not. We should have testimonies of the principles and moralities of the Gospel which we have spiritually confirmed through prayer. Our testimonies should not require that our Bible stories, parables, or metaphors be historically accurate.