and which should not...
If you tell these stories to your children, and make them live their life by a set of rules from stories that are false in their claims, aren't you breaking some sort of Commandment?
I know some of the obvious answers here... but I'm curious as to how Christians explain to people that they should live their lives based on a book full of fictional stories written, with the apparent intent, to deceive.
I'm sure it's been asked before... Sorry.
2007-12-02
00:10:20
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23 answers
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asked by
Anonymous
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Society & Culture
➔ Religion & Spirituality
I'm basing this question on the Christian claim that "some of the stories should not be taken literally"... not my personal claim. If you have a problem with that statement, take it up with your fellow Christians and not with me... You all need to get on the same page... it does nothing for your accountability to continue to disagree on these, in my opinion, major problems...
2007-12-02
00:25:34 ·
update #1
Wow....not my forte, but here goes.
I do not attend church.I ascribe to the biblical passage "Where two or more are gathered in my name.... surely one will be telling the others they are doing it wrong". Trust me , it is in there somewhere. The fact that I don't go to church doesn't prohibit me from utilizing the Bible and many of its teachings to produce a framework for morality in my life and my children's lives. When I was younger, I used my distaste for organized religion to eliminate the presence of a "supreme being" in my life. I called myself an atheist. As the years passed and I grew older, my opinion changed. I won't try to give you examples or proof to try to change your mind. You are an intelligent, humorous and vibrant person. In your "heart", you are a good person. You know that when you look within yourself. That is where you will find your "God". It probably won't be (and doesn't have to be) the "God Of Abraham" or Vishnu or Allah etc.. Some people need a preset guideline because they lack the ability to recognize it within themselves. I do agree that people tend to bend religion to fit their personal needs. I have done no different. It is when people carry a "membership card" and want to change the rules that I too find disagreeable.
2007-12-02 01:30:32
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answer #1
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answered by General Leon Pleasant 6
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Certainly not, just as (((Fractal))) so rightly stated the bible isn't a complete one genre publication. I see the bible as an anthology, and if you try to teach an anthology as a factual text book you will have problems (as we can see in present day.) For example if a person picked up a book that it was an anthology of short stories, non-fiction literature,poems, and informative news articles about lets say city life and tried to teach it as a non-fiction text book on city life the publication isn't being interpreted properly. Thus it wouldn't make sense to take all of the information in that text literally as the text itself is comprised of many different forms of literature. But if the person was to realize that this book is a compilation of different sources, and genres of literature all under the same topic they would understand it's purpose better. When they say the book in its entirety isn't to be taken literally it isn't so much "Cherry Picking" as it is reasonable understanding of the diversity in the text. Same with the biblical studies, I think the mistake is that people treat the bible like a one genre book instead of an anthology and thus the understanding of the bible becomes muddled. So if you held the understanding that the bible is an anthology and you said some parts of that book were allegorical and poetic while other parts were informative and timelessly relative to the human condition it wouldn't be hypocrisy. It would be hypocrisy if you claimed the book was entirely 100% true and then when faced with a contradiction of terms tried to use the reasoning above. If people were to understand the bible is a anthology of poems, testimony, letters, etc all under the topic of Christian Spiritual Philosophy perhaps it's message would get through better. Hope you are well ((((Nikonf5))) take care! Peace and Blessings = )
2016-04-07 03:19:48
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Sheesh. Anyone ever bother to actually learn the meaning of the word "literal"? The Bible is a work of literature as is ANY book. The only way ANY book can be taken is literally keeping in mind that allegory, metaphor and parable are all literary devices. The trick is to know what's what. It also helps to understand the time, place and culture in which any writing is done.
2007-12-02 00:20:57
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answer #3
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answered by stoopid munkee 4
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There is something called a parable.
The Bible contains quite a few.
By definition, a parable should not be taken literally.
Its an invented story for the purpose of teaching a lesson.
Like Aesop's fables.
However, the parables mentioned in the Bible are referred to as parables ....no guessing work.
The other accounts are then to be taken literally.
Christians don't decide what is and what isn't, the book tells you.
2007-12-02 00:15:47
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answer #4
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answered by Uncle Thesis 7
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Anybody can interpret the Bible any way they wish, since its overall veracity has only been confirmed in small measure. This is why you have so many varieties of Christianity, as well as several varieties of Judaism, all claiming the Bible as their source. For the same reason, anybody can interpret the Quran any way they wish, for the same reason. The people who interpret and use one (or both) of these "holy" books range all the way from fanatical literal conservatives through balanced liberal thinkers to complete nut jobs.
2014-03-23 05:59:53
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answer #5
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answered by TitoBob 7
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Because it's Their Holy book.
Sorry. I wish things could be different, but I don't see a future in which evangelists thunder from the pulpit tracts from the 1965 Westinghouse Refrigerator service manual.
Sometimes the world is such unfair place.
2007-12-02 00:16:24
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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That's why we have the Holy Spirit of God - to guide us, to help us interpret His word - the Bible you see, is a very spiritual book - living and active and powerful - the exact same scripture can mean different things to me at different times of my life depending on the circumstance!
It is hard for an unbeliever to understand I respect that - but it is not really meant for an unbeliever to comprehend.
The Bible is a parable for the saved; not a textbook for the damned.
2007-12-02 00:16:12
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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either the bible is all true, or none of it is, or some parts are true and others are figurative but we have some way of knowing which is which.
the third option is obviously a non-starter: there is no manual to the bible which tells us how to read it. (rather: there are many such manuals, but they are all written by people with no qualification, and they all contradict each other).
so the bible is either all true (including the bits about the sky having a lid on it, and outer space being full of water)
or ...
2007-12-02 00:15:20
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answer #8
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answered by synopsis 7
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I'm trying to figure out the whole wine/grape juice thing.
The Bible says Jesus made wine at a wedding and they had wine for Passover, too (Last Supper) but out of the entire Bible God misspelled grape juice as "w-i-n-e".
And I'm a Roman Catholic, how did people say they knew Jesus' brothers and sisters if he was an only child?
2007-12-02 00:18:29
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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What fictional stories are you referring? Do you know something the rest of the world doesn't? Do you have proof of some kind or simply making a statement? There have been thousands of archaeological finds that both support and prove the validity of the Bible. In fact every verse in the Bible can be reproduced by documents found without ever looking at a current print Bible.
2007-12-02 00:16:24
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answer #10
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answered by Bob Lucero 2
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