sozobe wrote:The bible rocks as literature.
True.
Quote:(Well, often. Not always. The begats drag a bit.)
That's a translation issue.
Quote:But you don't seem to be saying it's just literature.
Of course not. But don't forget that literature, as a form of art, is a very powerful expression of mankind's ability to touch the depths of reality. So there is "just literature" (airport fiction that you throw away as soon as you get off the plane), and classical literature, which is something totally different.
Quote:I've gotten curious; the Bible says that God created the world in 7 days. Do you believe that?
That is a common question, Sozobe.
I don't take my information about how the physical world operates from the Bible. There are other sources for that. Since in our natural world, a day is a time measure related to the earth rotation and the sun, no "days" (in our sense) could exist before time, light, the sun, and the earth were created. In addition, numbers are highly symbolic throughout the Bible, so it would be risky (and unwarranted) to take "seven" literally.
What I take from the Bible is information about our relationship with God. For example, from Genesis 1-3: That God is the source of everything, that He created the universe, that He created man and woman, that all his creation is good, that man and woman broke with God, etc.
By the way, I don't just decide on my own how to interpret Scripture (at least, try not to). These things were never meant to be decided individually. As a Christian, there is a history and community within which these things are to be made sense of. Nobody becomes a Muslim just by reading the Koran without reference to the historical and actual world-wide community of Muslims. Nobody becomes a Jew just by reading the Torah without reference to the historical and actual world-wide community of Jews.
The same with Christianity. To fully understand the Christian Bible we have to situate ourselves in the context of the historical (tradition) and actual (Church) community. For both the authors and the intended audience were part of that community.
It makes no sense to claim the authority to interpret truthfully a sacred text, when one stands outside the community that generated it. Unfortunately, too many people try to do just that (in Christianity, not as much in Judaism or Islam). And there are those who follow them.
Hope this helps.
:wink:
We are not discussing my own beliefs, but what the Bible is and how it ought to be read. You can pose that question a thousand times if you like. It just proofs how off the mark you are.
