I skimmed the thread and I haven't seen this emphasized yet.
The authors of the Bible, whoever they were, did not realize they were writing for a divine anthology. They were just writing what they believed to be divinely inspired Scripture. Keep in mind that it was man who compiled the Bible and deemed it a holy book. The stories/letters/accounts were not written with the conscious intent of being compiled with eachother.
As such, nowhere in the Bible will you find the words 'all stories in this book are factual'.
Wanna feel God? Step onto the wrestling mat and you'd be crazy to deny the uplifting spirit.
http://www.BadPreacher.5u.com (incomplete, but look anyway!)
™ Version 4.2