Should every word of the two Testaments really be taken literally?

Question

After so many years, so much can be lost in translation, and a lot of G-d's commandments have to be misunderstood. G-d gave us free will for a reason. If he or she wanted us to do everything perfectly in the way that is proposed in the Testaments, the world would not be as beautiful of a creation. I really think people can follow G-d's message without being concerned about whether everything they are doing is a sin. If you have a good heart, no matter what kind of person you are, you don't deserve to be anagonized for things like being gay or such.

BTW I am Jewish, but know even my religion has uncertainties as well.

Answer 1

NO!

Answer 2

Clearly, Jesus taught using Parables which were stories to explain things. I think that just because every thing that has ever happened is NOT in the bible doesn't mean that the Bible is wrong or that the things didn't happen. Usually, there are no math problems solved in English books, that doesn't mean the the English book cannot be believed or that mathematics does not exist. This was an attempt to say that Dinosaurs and the Bible are not mutually exclusive.
Many creationists believe that the God created the world in 6000 years. I say that there are several possibilities, none of which deny Genesis. First of all, the Bible says that God created the world in 6 days and on the seventh, He rested. It goes on to say that to God a day is like a thousand years. Remembering that the people, to record, read, and understand the Bible first, did not have modern technology. If the writer of Genesis had said that to God a day was like a hundred trillion years, the people would have concentrated more on just how long was this period rather than what God did. If 1 day is like a thousand years, then can't 1 day of that thousand years be like a thousand years? A year is the amount of time it takes the earth to go around the sun. Has the earth's orbit always been the same distance at the same speed? I do not believe that the earth was created in the time period which we would identify as 6,000 years. Likewise, I do not believe the Bible to be in error, I just do not believe that it was in the interest of accuracy to be exact and scientific.
I don't think we can be as cavalier with sin as you suggest. What does having a "good heart" mean? We have a commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." And we have someone with a good heart going around killing people. Or stealing or violating the other commandments.

Answer 3

No...not literally. First, they have translated by man in many ways. Second, the books were put together by man. Whether the inspired word of God or not, some things were left out and other things were allowed in.

For example...Genesis, seven days. Does God really mean a week? No. Seven specific events occurred. We created a time table around that.

The New Testament - The gospels were written within 40 years of Christ's death. Gives them some validity. But, the ending doesn't make sense. You have all these books about love your neighbor and the old ways are dead. And the final book is the most divisive, destructive, horrible thing imaginable.

Answer 4

After so many years, it is amazing that the translation has stood the test of time. All the various versions of the Bible contain the same meaning, even if the style of language differs. I can read the King James version or The Message, and while The Message is easier for me, the KJV is still miraculously similar in meaning.

I have to disagree with you. If everyone placed upon themselves the boundaries imposed by God's laws in scripture, such as the ten commandments and the Torah, the world would be a much safer place for everyone. And it would truly be heaven on earth if everyone followed Christ's command to "love your neighbor as yourself." That sums up all the law completely.

If we did that, then people would not be being antagonized for being "gay or such," they would simply be loved.

I am a Christian, btw

Answer 5

"I really think people can follow G-d's message without being concerned about whether everything they are doing is a sin"

i found that snippet especially interesting

the question on that bit is

do we sin because we are sinners?

or are we sinners because we sin?

i lean towards the second rather than the first

also your question about the two testaments - i would say that generically yes you can take it literally. there are people who have studied it for years and find that over time if they do revise their opinion of it it does tend towards taking a more literal view than they did previously (chuck mizler - the bible in 24 hours)

as a christian who is well conversant with the old testment as well as the new i can say that the person of jesus is key to understanding how it all fits together. the old points towards the messiah. the gospels reveal him and the rest of the new testament shows us how to live in the light of his revelation PLUS to look forward to his return to israel one day where he will rule the world from there.

there are passages that do specifically talk about jesus in the old testament. try reading isaiah chapters 52 and 53, also psalm 22 and compare with the gospel stories of jesus for example and see how closely they match dispite being written centuries before. also read through the stories of jesus and see how often he fulfills prophecies given that ony the messiah would be able to fulfill. there are an astounding number of those.

Answer 6

I think that the Ten Commandments are the only thing in the Bible that can be taken as fact. I believe in God and in the holy book but what a sentence means to one person might mean something totally differently by another. Also I believe that a lot of the real meanings of the original text might get lost in translation. The English language has more words that any other language. That means that they use one word to means several things, where as we use several words that mean one thing. Makes it really hard to translation the correct meaning doesn't it. You are basically to the mercy of the translator.

Answer 7

if your Jewish, then you should know that the old testament was originally written as a story book for the Jewish children of Alexandria Egypt in the first century A.C.E by the scholar hittel and is of no religious significance. As for the new testament it's a work of fiction for non Christians.there are some Christians who belief all of the testament is to be taken literally, but most interpret it as there are so very many denominations

Answer 8

No. I think the Scriptures -- whether we're talking about the Torah, the Tanakh (Old Testament), or the New Testament, contain some timeless wisdom ("do unto others as you would have them do unto you", for example), mixed in with a lot of fascinating and dramatic stories, and, in the Torah, a whole body of law originally intended to govern a nation of 12 tribes of illiterate Bronze Age nomadic shepherds. The Gospels, in the New Testament, were all written decades after the death of Jesus, by men none of whom ever actually met him, and who were relying on stories told by others, with the goal, I think of creating a mythology (for lack of a better word, sorry) on which to found a new church. The Epistles were Paul's personal opinions and not the teachings of Jesus.

I think, in light of what we now know about the world after 2000 years of of discovery in the fields of medicine, psychology, human sexuality, paleontology, archaeology, astronomy, physics, etc, to say that every word of Scripture is literally true is -- dare I say -- delusional. That's not to say that you can't read it and find figurative or symbolic or metaphorical meanings, but taking the Scriptures as literal, historical fact is ridiculous.

Answer 9

I can only say you are in the right path. You are thinking and questioning, and that's the only thing that brings us knowledge and enlightenment.

I agree with you.

Peace!

I want to add something here. I think the Old Testament was meant to make people get closer to God through fear. It is full of rules and punishment kind of message. However, I think that was necessary to reach the purpose of getting those people's hearts.

The New Testament changed all that quite a bit, by showing Jesus' message, full of love and mercy. Jesus made us get closer to God through love, not through fear anymore. He embraced the prostitutes and the thieves, to show us that there is no right and wrong anymore, and that we have to submit ourselves solely to love, forgiveness and help others.

I think our current civilization is ready to some sort of new message and it is spreading already, and it is about a higher enlightenment and knowledge. Jesus promised a Counselor to come in the future and it is already among us.

Answer 10

The bible itself is clear on this point. While every word is inspired by God, we cannot take every word literally. The bible says study to show thyself approved, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word. It also say that we are to add line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. It is only by studying a truth as it is presented throughout the entire bible that we come to truley understand that truth. If we look at only one or two verses in order come to an understanding, we are not following biblical instruction and are subject to misunderstanding that truth.

Answer 11

They were used in different contexts and different times, different cultures. Language changes and because of that you can not take each words as is.

There will be a lot of conflicting ideas and contradictions. Choose one of the two testaments especially the New.