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Post by Josh on Apr 17, 2007 15:45:03 GMT -8
What's wrong with this question:
Should we read the Bible literally or figuratively/ symbolically?
Well, the answer of course, is that it depends on which passage of the Bible you're reading.
It's dangerous to start off with a pre-configured way of reading the Bible along these lines because Biblical authors employ both literal language and symbolic imagery, often in very close proximity in the text.
The real question is, "How did the author intend this passage to be read"? A lot of times we can pretty safely determine an answer to this question. Even when we can't, it's better to leave the question lingering than force-fitting a passage of Scripture into a certain paradigm.
For other important concepts related to interpreting the Bible, please see the other posts in this forum.
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Post by Josh on Apr 23, 2007 16:44:12 GMT -8
I just read a great example of not applying the aforementioned wisdom:
Bart Ehrman, author of Misquoting Jesus, whom some of us have discussed elsewhere on these forums from time to time, jetisoned his faith because of 'problems' like the following he mentions in this quote:
"Maybe, when Jesus says... in Mark 4 that the mustard seed is 'the smallest of all seeds on the earth', maybe I don't need to come up with a fancy explanation for how the mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds when I know full well it isn't. And maybe these 'mistakes' apply to bigger issues" Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus, p.9-10
Ehrman apparently (when he was still a Christian) was trapped in an uber-fundamentalist mindframe which had to take statements like this from Jesus as wooden, literal fact instead of reading the statement as it was obviously intended to be taken-- namely, as hyperbole or generalization by Jesus to make a point.
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Post by Midnight Romance on Jun 24, 2009 16:45:02 GMT -8
I read a really good article about this (along the same lines of what you are saying) on the web-site Stand to Reason (str.org): www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7389My teacher told me a quick answer to the question is "I read it in the ordinary way." And then if they ask you what you mean by that, explain it the way it says above. We don't read the sports pages literally, we read them in the ordinary way.
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Post by Josh on Jun 25, 2009 12:32:17 GMT -8
That's a great overview from Koukl, and great practical advice from your teacher.
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