1. Literal or liberal? How do we understand this story? What parts of the story might not be literally true? Which parts are literally true?

2. Liberal Interpretation of the Feeding of the 5000 To understand how liberal Christians might understand this miracle To evaluate how likely the miracle was to happen

3. p.80-81 – The miracle – not literal multiplication of bread, but people sharing what little food they had with each other – The size of the miracle – crowd exaggerated? – The meaning – the story is all made up to present Jesus as the new Moses & Messiah, who symbolically fulfils people’s needs by his teaching. 1.Explain what parts of the story you think could be doubted. 2.What is your view about what happened? Are you a literalist, or a liberal? **Does it matter if the story is only symbolic? Why?

4. Does it matter if this story really happened? Give your opinion, showing you have thought about another point of view. -YES IT MATTERS -If Jesus didn’t really multiply food, how can we know that the Eucharist is really multiplied for all? -If Jesus did not really fulfil people’s physical needs, why should we believe he can really fulfil spiritual needs? -If Jesus cannot make matter out of nothing, then he is not like God – so why should we worship him as if He is? Conclusion: if this story is not true, it casts doubt that Jesus is God, that the Eucharist really is multiplied from his body, that he really does feed us. -NO IT DOESN’T MATTER -spiritual things like the Eucharist, could still be “multiplied” for all - The crowd were hungry for Jesus’ teaching. That is what satisfies. The loaves and fish are just a symbol of this. Conclusion: the story is symbolic about Jesus’ power as a teacher & the way his teaching could inspire people to share. So it doesn’t really matter if it is true or not.