Metaphysics and the Bible

There seems to have always been a difference in opinion on whether the Bible should be considered as literally true, figuratively true or just a fairy tale. There is a branch of study called metaphysics which asks just where did the universe around us come from? Is there any truth in the Bible concerning metaphysics?

Many people just can’t accept the teachings of the Bible concerning the creation of the universe as literally true. Most of that skepticism comes from the narrative of the Bible after the statement where God created the world in 6 days. They figure someone (Noah) couldn’t have possibly gathered all the species of animals into a boat smaller than an aircraft carrier, or survive 3 days in the belly of a whale (Jonah), so the rest of the book isn’t likely to be true either.

Belief in the creation story of the Bible as figuratively true is easier to accept from an intellectual standpoint, but then one runs into having to decide which parts of the Bible are literally true, and which are only figuratively true. You are stuck with a cafeteria-style belief where you pick and choose what to believe. Is any of the Old Testament true? If not, and the New Testament speaks of the stories of the Old Testament as true, does that nullify the teachings of the New Testament as well?

If one believes the salvation message of the New Testament to be true, how can they not believe the stories of the Old Testament as well? If one accepts Jesus Christ as the one and only pathway to heaven, how can they not believe the rest of his teaching, which refers to the Old Testament as being true as well?