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Christians regard the Bible as their holy text. They follow the rules it contains for living life and can turn to Jesus' teachings for moral guidance.

As with many different things in life, the Bible can be interpreted differently by different people. Each and every section of the Bible can be open to interpretation by the person reading it. As a result, there are different types of Christians who can have slightly varying beliefs about the teachings in the Bible.

Christians can be broadly categorised into three groups, depending on their interpretation of the Bible.

• Literalist Christians, also known as fundamentalist Christians, regard the words of the Bible as being the true voice of God. For example, when reading the creation story in Genesis, fundamentalists would believe that the world was literally created in six days.
• Conservative Christians believe that the Bible was written by humans who were inspired by God. They still follow its teachings but don't necessarily take every word as being the voice of God. For example, when reading the creation story, conservatives might accept that one of God's days may not necessarily be the same length as one of our days; meaning the world wasn't literally created in six days but that God did create the world as outlined in Genesis.
• Liberal Christians regard the Bible as words that have been written about God. Although these are a good guide for Christians in understanding their faith, they might interpret passages differently to fit modern society. For example, when reading the creation story, a liberal Christian might believe that the Genesis account is simply a story to help Christians understand that God is the creator of the world.