in 1992 that the" earlier church leaders took the bible too literally". Doesn't this mean the same as saying that some parts are not true, and if that's the case, what parts are true? Do we just pick and choose to suit our own purposes?
2006-11-11 14:23:50 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Why not include the rest of the passage, rather than simply trying to create issues?
Besides, John Paull II is dead now, and not exactly in a position to clarify his remarks for you.
2006-11-11 16:10:45 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Do you know the date of that speech? I would like to see the context in which he said that. I an not saying that I don't believe you, I do, but I am curious what the subject was.
Taking the Bible too literally is not the same as part of it not being true. Much of the bible is done in metaphor and stories that are meant to convey a deep meaning that can not be conveyed in any other way.
One does not "pick and choose". There are biblical scholars and theologians that sort these things out and write book for those who teach religion to read. IMO, a person should have some credentials before they attempt to teach about the bible to others. I abhor Bible studies where the blind lead the blind. That way they all fall into heresy!
2006-11-11 14:47:27 · answer #2 · answered by tonks_op 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
John Paul II lived an excellent existence to contain a 26-3 hundred and sixty 5 days papacy. He fought for freedom and did not back off on the Catholic perspectives of the sector. His incredibly hit upon develop into once Karol Woljtyla, the traditional non-Italian pope in 456 years. there'll maximum commonly lower than no circumstances be one better pope like him, a authentic man or woman who exuded administration, piety, faith, and love for the sector's people. tricky on those aspects and also you'll have a standout speech.
2016-10-16 08:37:56 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it does not mean that. Catholic exegesis is a very specific science, and it is too broad a subject for Yahoo Answers to cover it in detail.
Suffice it to say that in Catholic bible study, the literary genre of the book, the time period and context it reflects, the point the inspired writer is aiming to put across is very important to understanding what the book is about. We believe the bible to be "literally true", but in the context of the above. For example - if the principle truth of the Book of Jonah is that it is the telling of a parable, shouldn't that be what we receive as its principle message?
For the church does not believe a man named Jonah spent three days inside a fish. Instead, we recognize the Book of Jonah belongs in a special Hebrew literary genre, a kind of satire. Jonah is making an important point in its exaggerated message, and gives this message so as to so clearly illustrate that God's concerns were not limited to the Israelites.
God says to Jonah, "You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor and which you did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it perished. And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left, not to mention the many cattle?"
God's rebuke to Jonah is framed in - well basically - a parable, almost exactly in purpose like the parables that Jesus told. In that sense, it is LITERALLY true, in that it is exactly the message God wants to give us. It may not be the retelling of a historical event, but it is both a truth and a literal message.
For details on how we understand the bible - exegesis - and what it means in a Catholic standpoint, read "Understanding the Bible" by Fr. Ignatius Hunt, or St .Augustine's "Confessions" Book V, when he meets Ambrose.
2006-11-11 14:47:14 · answer #4 · answered by evolver 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure.
There is this "literal" and "figurative" aspect and it could be true.
But then there is Einstein and Relativity.
Newtons laws work FIND in our universe but not exactly the same in Einstein's Relativistic universe, where he said bricks can stand still or fall upwards.
If that can happen then people CAN walk on water.
Take the 4 horsemen in Revelations. By today's standard we'd say figurative, but in 200 years oil runs out so man may have to go back to riding Horses again, then it could be LITERAL.
There is a passage, I think it was Jacob, about a man made of metal who ate a parchment and spoke.
Back 2,000 years ago that would have to be taken figurative.
Today we have computers, so it could be literal.
Jesus raises the dead with a touch and today we have CPR.
If you close your mind you undestand nothing.
If these Bibical passages are thousands of years advanced who knows what we might see.
Man is on the verge of creating life. Gene spicing, cloning, genome mapping. Man is on the verge of "Intellgent Design"
Can man create a universe, no, we are a long way away from that!
Can man create a microbe or a species of life, in 500 years maybe.
So, maybe man is like God, it's only taken thousands of years to catch up to a fraction of what God knows!
2006-11-11 14:33:47 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Literality has nothing to do with truth. That's just the point! Some passages are meant to be taken literally, others are not. ALL these passages contain truth, but if you take a passage literally that was not meant to be taken literally, you have missed the truth of the passage! Likewise, if you take a passage as metaphorical that was meant to be taken as literal, you have received untruth, not truth, from that passage. Knowing what is literal in intent and what is symbolic is the very first step in valid exegesis, a step which Protestants unfortunately often skip entirely.
2006-11-11 15:07:01 · answer #6 · answered by PaulCyp 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, I think he was saying that the early church leaders took the bible too literally lol. In other words, not that the Bible isn't true, but for example, Jesus told many parables. And I think he is saying that the early church leaders took things like parables and made them true stories.
2006-11-11 14:27:56 · answer #7 · answered by arewethereyet 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No The energy of spirit that runs through the bible is true but the book is written for Gods children (for spiritual infants/written like a parable) and if taken too literally can be misinterpreted.
2006-11-11 14:27:48 · answer #8 · answered by lit_spirit 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
it doesnt mean it is not true
but it does mean that certain things in are meant to be parables and symbolisms
but people have and do take this quite literally at times
now i say this even as a non christian... that if things were taken in the right context in the bible .. it would appeal to many as a book of great teachings
2006-11-11 14:27:37 · answer #9 · answered by Peace 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
give the document that Pope John Paul II said this in.
2006-11-11 14:27:42 · answer #10 · answered by Midge 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋