world and the messages given from that level are especially important. The Sermon on the Mount didn't happen literally nor did the miraculous production of bread and fish, both metaphors of spiritual growth. The man at the water's edge who won't follow... water is a hugely important metaphor, the border between physical existence and entry into the spiritual world.

Please, if you're offended that scriptures can be understood other than literally, don't tell me off. It's a free country and, anyway, I've been there and you may not have.