Religion is tricky stuff. To some extent or another, everyone ponders the weighty issues of "God". There is a fine line between seeking insight and tromping all over someone else's safe haven.
Christians, of course, revere The Bible. Different churches have different views about how it should be interpeted. There are different translations and some canons include books that others do not.
Taking a literal approach to biblical interpretation can provide the security of certainty. The chances are high that two different people reading the same verse will gather the same meaning. Metaphors and symbolism can create chaos. Meaning, seemingly, is in the mind of the beholder.
The Bible should be easy, right? Or........ not. The problem with literal interpretation of The Bible is that if you are in for a dime, you have to be in for a dollar. You can't just pick and choose what is intended to be read literally and what is not. That would be begging the question. If everything is read literally, you hit the problem of inconsistencies. For instance, right off the figurative bat, there are two accounts of the creation of man in Genesis. They are not consistent. There is also the problem of the use of "days" as a measure of time before the creation of the sun and the moon. I see these as literary signs that say "don't take this literally". If literalism was the intent, then there shouldn't be any inconsistencies. So, we find ourselves dealing with, yes, metaphors and symbolism.
Perhaps certainty is not the purpose of Biblical writing. It was written to keep us thinking, asking, and discussing. The problem with certainty is that, once we reach it, we stop thinking. Then we forget how we became certain in the first place. Apparently, the writers of the Bible don't want that to happen.
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Do you ever speak in metaphors or use a hyperbole or ever told a story as an illustration? So do we assume that EVERYTHING you say must then be metaphors, hyperbole or symbols? It is possible to take the Bible literally understanding the use of those methods of speech knowing that it was written for us to understand?
ReplyDelete"but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:31
What does the title of your blog mean?? We just started Latin...if that even is Latin?? :)
How do you decide what is symbolic and what is not? Why is it critical to some that everything was created in 6 "days"?
ReplyDeleteThe title of the blog is "I blog, therefore I am." It is a knockoff of Descartes's famous quote.
Good title! I like that.
ReplyDeleteYou decide what is symbolic the same way you can tell when you are talking to another person whether or not they are using some method of speech. As you study the whole counsel of God's Word you get familiar with the writing styles of those who God used to write and you get to familiar with the way they use language. This takes a lot of study because it might mean going back to the orginial languages and understanding the writing styles of the time, the culture, etc. But even if you didn't do the deep study the Bible is easy to read and understand if you have eyes to see.
Just like I'm getting used to your writing style. You have a dry sense of humor and use sarcasm and you like to ask questions etc, etc. I don't always get it though and then I misinterpret what you've said but as we continue to discuss things I usually can figure it out. If I don't, then I can easily misrepresent you because clearly, I didn't know you as I thought. See what I mean?
To me... a 6 day creation is not a hill to die on. I believe it...much, much less faith to believe that than the philosophy of evolution. But start another blog topic on that if you want to delve into subject! :)