In your opinion, which of the following are of the truer faith?

Question

A. Religious literalists who take the text of their holy book at face value - believing it to be true to the letter (whichever it is).

B. Religious non-literalists who use their holy book as a guide that is subject to interpretation.

PaulCyp, I agree. Just wanted others' takes.

Wonderful comparison, no1home

oops... clicked Submit too quick.

Meant to say that I think that's a wonderful thought, no1home but I disagree. For example, each individual's surgical case is different. It *is* up to a surgeon to use their judgement in how to use a book regarding techniques, anatomy and physiology, etc and apply those to the situation.

Answer 1

Odin will smite your religionists!!
.

Answer 2

There is no difference between the two. Those who think they are literalists are simply defining their own interpretations of the text as the literal, "face value" meaning. Which is why another group of "literalists" comes up with conflicting "literal" beliefs from the exact same text. Anything written, even a STOP sign, has to be interpreted before it has any meaning. Interpretation is the process by which little black marks on a page are transformed into concepts in the brain. If you read something, and do not have an authoritative, objective guide to the meaning of what you are reading, you are self-interpreting the text.

Answer 3

Neither A nor B. The extent of your faith is what you have found to be true in your own experience, regardless whether you can prove its validity to a single other soul.

Faith is not believing. Faith is knowing….that That which is true cannot be anything other than true.

Faith is knowing, not believing, that 2+2=4, regardless where or when or why you operate the principle that produces the answer correctly. Or regardless whether you are a religious literalist or a religious non-literalist.

Whether called the Qur’an, or the Torah, or the Bible, or the Upanishads, or the Dead Sea Scrolls, or the spoken traditions, Mother Nature, or what have you, these are nothing more than manuals, PREPARATORY INSTRUCTIONS for the real lessons. These tools are only mirrors pointing back to THAT inside of us from which the real inspiration comes. The "manual" is written (not "in"), but AS our very being. Our own being is the "book" to learn from. That's why we don't have to go anywhere else for the answers we seek. But the only way you can know this for yourself is to see the principle in operation yourself.

The books themselves are not the word of God, nor is any religious scripture. Their sole purpose is only to reflect the Divinity of the I AM within OURSELVES.

You are the LIVING WORD of God..... made flesh.

As such, it is NOT scripture that is sacred.

You are.

YOU are the Holy Book!

Belief is the crutch you utilize until you arrive at the place of knowing within YOURSELF where your faith stands on its own.

When YOU can under-“stand” on your own, without crutches, you KNOW, in perfect faith.

In my opinion....

Orin

Answer 4

A person with true faith would follow the unwritten Word written on the heart. The Bible only awakens or confirms the heart because the same spirit has written in both. To take the Bible literally would be a mistake because one subjects oneself to something that can mean different things depending on the translation. But to use it as a guide could also be misleading because people often use this approach as a license and excuse for false living and when we can't face the truth about certain things or lack the courage to face off against an enemy of truth. Like most things, Bible reading requires a balance and understanding that comes from a unique perspective gained from spiritual maturity.

Answer 5

simbha.... whether a literalist or not, the Bible is so full of parables and such that the Holy Spirit is needed in gaining full understanding....that was how the Bible was written...it is easy enough to understand at face value, but, God had them written so that only those whom made a commitment to Him, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit was able to understand His book without someone else having to teach them.

LOL I once imagined it was sort of like having a secret code that we kids always played around with where if anyone found your note they would only see what they were meant to see and not the real message we had inside our notes. :)

Every kid has done that one way or another...in my youth it was Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys that influenced us...as my kids grew up we went through stages of He-Man and She-ra, Inspector Gadget, and so on...all with "secret codes" lol

Peace be with you! :)

Answer 6

And I would ask YOU a similar question:

In YOUR opinion, which of the following are true surgeons?

A. A person who is a literalist, who takes the text of the medical books at face value - believing it to be true.

B. A person who uses the medical books as a guide that is subject to personal interpretation.

In other words, do you want someone operating on you who re-interprets the medical text books based on their own subjective feelings? or would you want someone who goes by the book and knows exactly where the spleen (or heart or lung or liver) is, without personal interpretations or guessing?

Answer 7

A. Your first category is a desperate form of faith, needing literal magic to be forced to believe. In fact, Christ said the old testament was a book of parables. He told his followers it wasn't real, just stories to convey ideas. But the followers ignore Christ and now modern christians worship the old testament and ignore almost all of Christ's teachings.

B. Your second category is more thoughtful, and understanding that the books are parables, tries to make an informed meaning from them and looks for guidance to be a better person.

Who has more faith? The first. But it's blind faith and serves no purpose but to lose the meaning of Christ. The second category is less given to faith in this regard, but are getting something much better from the book: an inquiring mind lit by the purpose of serving good without needing magic persuasion to do so.

Maybe faith is a problem.

Answer 8

Well, if you are going to be religious and follow a book...I would hope you would be B.

The Bible can be taken in hundreds of different ways...and it is. Using it as a GUIDE rather than a RULE BOOK is always the safest and best option.

Answer 9

both A and B, whichever brings the blieve comfort and closer to his/her chosen deity. There is no one way to worship. that is the problem with world today religious intolerance and the ability to not respect anothers chosen method of worship and or belief.

Answer 10

A. but we all use it as a guide and it is subject to interpretation. You have to understand it then interpret it and then apply it.