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Author Topic:   The Bible is literally true, but each detail is not.
Taz
Member (Idle past 3291 days)
Posts: 5069
From: Zerus
Joined: 07-18-2006


Message 1 of 88 (472384)
06-22-2008 1:14 AM


Over the years, I have seen many arguments regarding the literalness of the Bible. On the one side, people are arguing that every detail of the bible must be taken literally in order for the Bible to the true word of God. On the other side, people are arguing that if some details of the Bible can be brought into question, the veracity of other details in the Bible could also be brought into question.
In this thread, I offer a compromise. What if the Bible is literally true and yet the details can be less than literal?
It helps to think of it this way. Every once in a while, you'd read a headline in the sports section that says something like Team A Gets Annihilated by Team B. No one actually believes there was some kind of social sanctioned mass murder. And yet, it is literally true that one team got pounced by another.
Case in point. Perhaps the same thinking should be brought to claims such as that there was a global flood that covered the highest peaks of mountains and wiped out living creature on Earth except those that survived on Noah's Ark. It could have been literally true that there was a flood that, to the people living at the time, wiped out what they knew of the world, but the details about covering the highest peaks and wiping out all but a few creatures saved on the ark could be less than literally true.
What do you think?
Edited by Taz, : No reason given.
Edited by Admin, : Moderator modifications.

I'm trying to see things your way, but I can't put my head that far up my ass.

Replies to this message:
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 Message 9 by New Cat's Eye, posted 06-23-2008 2:17 PM Taz has replied
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 Message 37 by Peg, posted 11-22-2008 5:45 AM Taz has replied
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Taz
Member (Idle past 3291 days)
Posts: 5069
From: Zerus
Joined: 07-18-2006


Message 3 of 88 (472562)
06-23-2008 10:10 AM
Reply to: Message 2 by Admin
06-23-2008 8:14 AM


I fixed it.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by Admin, posted 06-23-2008 8:14 AM Admin has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 4 by Admin, posted 06-23-2008 11:07 AM Taz has replied

  
Taz
Member (Idle past 3291 days)
Posts: 5069
From: Zerus
Joined: 07-18-2006


Message 5 of 88 (472582)
06-23-2008 12:05 PM
Reply to: Message 4 by Admin
06-23-2008 11:07 AM


I suppose your version is ok. I just don't understand why you'd have a problem with using the "special i*io*" description for the sports example, that is unless you believe some people actually do believe there was a mass murder involve. Anyway, your version is good, too. Beam it up, Scotty!

I'm trying to see things your way, but I can't put my head that far up my ass.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 4 by Admin, posted 06-23-2008 11:07 AM Admin has not replied

  
Taz
Member (Idle past 3291 days)
Posts: 5069
From: Zerus
Joined: 07-18-2006


Message 11 of 88 (472609)
06-23-2008 2:35 PM
Reply to: Message 9 by New Cat's Eye
06-23-2008 2:17 PM


Re: Is it really literal
CS writes:
So no, the headline is not literally true.
It depends on how you use the word "literally". Do you or do you not agree that if you read a headline that says team A is annihilated by team B, you'd think that it is literally true that team A got pounced by team B?

I'm trying to see things your way, but I can't put my head that far up my ass.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 9 by New Cat's Eye, posted 06-23-2008 2:17 PM New Cat's Eye has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 12 by New Cat's Eye, posted 06-23-2008 2:45 PM Taz has not replied
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Taz
Member (Idle past 3291 days)
Posts: 5069
From: Zerus
Joined: 07-18-2006


Message 39 of 88 (489049)
11-22-2008 11:05 AM
Reply to: Message 37 by Peg
11-22-2008 5:45 AM


It is only a matter of time before someone makes the claim that you just made. I've heard this many many many many times before.
Let us start with this.
Peg writes:
the story of a worldwide flood is not unique to the bible... there are hundreds of very similar stories told by different nations around the world
Can you provide some kind of reference(s) for this claim? While it is true that there are various "world wide" flood myths found in various cultures around the world, they are only a hand full, NOT hundreds.
almost every nation and religion on earth teach it to some degree
Um, no. Most of the nations and religions that have ever existed never had a flood myth. Again, YOU make the positive claim. YOU give the support.
i agree with you that some things in the bible are not literal but figurative... but i dont think the flood is one of them
I want to discuss a little about the possible and more simple explanation for the hand full of various cultures who have had some kind of "world wide" flood myth. Can you think of a single other disaster that (1) could destroy an entire civilization (or at least bring it to its knees) and (2) happens more than just a few times in a generation? Where I'm from, I read about floodings every year on the news.
To the people of ancient times, the land where they grew up was literally the entire world TO THEM. If they lived in an area that had the potential for regular disastrous floodings, it does not take the imagination far to come up with a "world wide" flood that wiped out everything.
If what I just said didn't stick, try to think of it this way. How come major ancient cultures like the Greek, Chinese, Mongolian, etc. never had a "world wide" flood myth? All of these cultures' histories pre-date the biblical flood myth. You'd think that someone would have noticed about a flood that covered the highest of mountains.
The closest single historical events I can think of that were almost universally recorded by ancient cultures all around the world were great volcanic eruptions. For example, the santorini eruption happened in the Mediterranian but it affected areas as far as China and its effects recorded by various cultures all around the northern hemisphere.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 37 by Peg, posted 11-22-2008 5:45 AM Peg has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 40 by Asgara, posted 11-22-2008 11:19 AM Taz has replied
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Taz
Member (Idle past 3291 days)
Posts: 5069
From: Zerus
Joined: 07-18-2006


Message 41 of 88 (489053)
11-22-2008 12:02 PM
Reply to: Message 40 by Asgara
11-22-2008 11:19 AM


I didn't say flood myth. I said world wide flood myth, especially one that supposedly killed off everyone but 2 people.
If you're talking about just a flood myth, everybody's got one. Heck, I got my own flood myth about how after 4 hours of driving from out of state a few months ago I had to wander around my town looking for a route that hadn't been flooded yet to get to my house. My neighborhood was literally at the top of a hill which surroundings had been flooded.
The explanation for that is already given in my previous post. Flood is the only single devastating event that happens regularly. Again, where I come from, I read about floodings every year. When a culture wanted to create a myth involving large number of deaths by the wrath of some kind of supernatural being(s), it doesn't take much of an imagination to refer back to floodings simply because it happens regularly and everytime it happens it seems to the victims like the world has come to an end.
Edited by Taz, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 40 by Asgara, posted 11-22-2008 11:19 AM Asgara has not replied

  
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