Do we have the luxury of picking and choosing which parts of the Bible we believe and which parts are fictional?? Do we have the option of deciding which parts of our lives we will give to God and which parts we will keep for ourselves because we know better than He??
A few months ago I received an envelope from a friend. Honestly, I had no idea what it was and was a little hesitant to open it!! It was a copy of a guest editorial in The State. The Unitarian pastor that wrote the editorial was stating that there is a lot of good stuff in the Bible, but we have to dismiss the mystical as something fictional that was added in to keep our interest. Honestly, I believe Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead. I believe He healed the blind, lame, leprous, and fed 5000 with five small loaves and two small fishes.
And I believe Revelation 22:18-19, which says “18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (NIV)
Friends, we don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing which parts of this book we believe and which parts are fantasy. It’s all true. And the very nature of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive to us because it shows us that we are sinners and God is Holy, Righteous, and Blameless. We cannot stand in His light and NOT see our sin. And that bothers us. And we don’t like being uncomfortable with ourselves. The word of God is confrontational because it shows us that our base nature is not like that of God, but it strives for and desires our own will and our own way. And Jesus Himself said that we cannot serve two masters!! We must choose one!
And the end of the book of Joshua, Joshua challenged the Israelites with the same kind of challenge. Choose THIS DAY whom you will serve … but as for me and my house, we will choose the Lord!!
As for me and my house, we believe the whole thing. And we will try our best to serve Him with our WHOLE LIVES!!!
The Random Thinker 
I’m with you David. My Mama always told us the same thing you just did and that if you believe one part of the Bible, then you have to believe it all because it’s all God’s word. I never understood the people who could just pick out pieces they want to believe. It’s all applicable even today and forever.