Who said the Bible had to be interpreted literally? Most of Christendom throughout history prior to the Reformation and even then, prior to the 1978 Chicago Statement saw metaphor and allegory as viable methods for interpreting it. Origen of Alexandria in particular especially utilized this method, which in turn inspired Ss. Gregory of Nyssa and Basil the Great. In fact, most of the Alexandrian Church Fathers interpreted the Bible in such a way. The Orthodox Church still does to this day. Contrary to Evangelicals who tell you the Bible must be interpreted literally and that anything else is a liberal modernization, history actually says the opposite.