Keeping context in Bible stories and verse often seems an uphill battle. Is there a passage/verse you feel is often misrepresented, and if so, how is it best explained?
Alternately, are there passages you wish were not in the Bible?
This pretty much says it all.
Canât have a discussion there, but if you choose a passage, we can discuss it here.
Wait. Isnât the Bible supposed to be the word of God?
From talking snakes to Godly temper tantrums where he murdered millions maybe billions of people not to mention billions of innocent animals.
EVERYTHING has to be true.
No only the good stuff is God
Explain whyâŚ
I canât. You are the one that believes it is the word of God. You tell me.
The world of God and the word of God, that is our belief, but it does not stop there.
We also believe:
The Word of God, inspired by God, was written by man and seen through the lens of the knowledge, language, and culture of that time.
We know that the Bible is not written in textbook, Encyclopedia, or newspaper format. Most of it was written in story form.
What is true now is true then; what is not true now wasnât then. Each story has a lesson, and those lessons were true then and are still true today.
We should take heed of what Jewish Rabbis have said all alongâŚthe Bible is to be studied, not read.
Sorry for the typo.
You are saying the guy who is capable of poofing an entire Universe into existence in a mere seven days knows all and sees all, couldnât provide clear instructions on how He wants us to act and this doesnât sound the least bit fishy to you?
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AhhhâŚYou are among the one-third minority who takes the Bible literally. I am among the two-thirds majority who do not. Back in the 1970s the Evangelicals made a big push for everyone to follow them and take the Bible literally, but didnât have much success.
Why read the Bible literally? All throughout the Bible there are other examples when âdayâ is used to designate a time period (i.e. like âin my grandfatherâs dayâŚâ). We know God did not âpoofâ then, any more than He âpoofsâ now. Why not join with the majority?
How do you know itâs not supposed to be taken literally?
Do you get to choose which parts are real and which are not?
If not you, who?
Maybe the part where the dude gats nailed up on a cross is fake and the part with the talking snake is real?
How do you know?
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How confusing were the instructions âdonât eat from that treeâ?
An we Bible literalists believe it was 6 days. He rested on the 7th.
Depends on how tastey dat fruit looked.
God rested on the 7th day to watch NFL
Reasoning. Isnât the basis for your non-belief of God based on taking everything in the Bible literally? Science tells us the world was not created in seven days. Everyone knows that snakes and donkeys do not talk. Being human, we are all familiar with human nature. Genesis is a brilliant synopsis of both creation and human nature told in story form. The story format is allegory.
Anyone who remembers back in their school days being taught how to write allegories, fables, just-so stories, symbolism, metaphors can usually, fairly easily, identify which parts of scripture are allegory and which are not. For example, the stories of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah; the crucifixion; the destruction of the Temple are judged true because they are not told in allegory form. We cannot label a story âallegoryâ just because; we must point out where it is allegory.
Yes, sometimes it is up to interpretation. The story of Jesus walking on water is a fine example. People cannot walk on water, and this indicates allegory. One interpretation Iâve read is that the boat was near the shoreline, it was fairly dark, and Jesus may have been walking on a shelf or outcropping of some kind, but the waves around him gave others the illusion he was walking on water. Hard to say. Some days I take it literally, there are days I do not. Some find it hard to take changing water into wine literally and point out the allegory aspects of that one. In cases like this, who gets to decide? Each individual.
So maybe Satan was cast out from Heaven for taking a kneeâŚ
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Regardless of the nitpicking the question is valid.
The belief is there is a God who created the Universe and supposedly wants us all to know himâŚbut makes himself known only in stories that could be interpreted in hundreds of ways, or else in wholly subjective experiences.
And this seems right to you.
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Or for being a Bears fan
And even if it were aligned with the times of the writers, God should probably help us write a new edition for 2020. We are still on v1.0
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As I have said many times, I have had actual experiences, so for me it is more than simply subjective. God is. That being so, I take an interest in accounts of other experiences of God. Jesus was not blowing smoke when he taught, âSeek and you will find.â Nor was Isaiah when he wrote, âLook intently but you will not seeâ.
The point is that priests and rabbis (or at least some) teach finding the universal human experience/reaction in the story and the lesson that is learned. In that way the lesson may be of help to the universal (but still unique) experience we are currently making our way through.
And yes, when the lessons work time and again, it not only seems right to me, it is right for me.
Iâve decided that the Earth is really Purgatory (thus why everything is so vague) and God is watching how every single one of us treat each other and then will decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.
I donât believe heâs going to accept asterisks for how people were evil/heartless in certain situations.
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