'Some still living' disproves literal truth of the bible

Hi Peepul!I'm a newbie here. (1st reply). I'm by no means a Bible scholar - just a casual reader and admirer of the book. I've read through all the replies to this post (*phew*) and while I can't argue the picayune details of its many possible interpretations, I think you presented your case very well, and appreciated the amplifications by hERICtic and gragbarder.When I asked some Christian friends about it, they shrugged their shoulders and didn't know what I was talking about. When I showed them the passage, they interpreted it as you (and I) did - in a straight-forward way - but insisted that we must be misunderstanding it.What confuses me is this: Why would the authors, translators, and re-translators of the Bible keep the passage that you cited? As was argued well, it describes a failed prophecy of Jesus, and makes him appear sort of like an ancient doomsday cult leader - with an imminent doom. Why do you suppose this error was never corrected in the verbal and/or written versions of this tale? There were plenty of opportunities to fix it. Do some versions of the Bible tell it differently?

I happily stand on the sidelines, more or less prepared to meet doom, natural or supernatural. I'm certainly not going to base my morality (degree of wickedness?) on threats of non-compliance with an ancient book so convoluted that life-long scholars can't agree on its interpretation. History, and this forum demonstrate beautifully how its meaning can bent to a wide variety of purposes. I prefer to stand by a moral code of my own, not one that varies from pulpit to pulpit or preacher to preacher.I take or leave parts of the Bible as I please, as I would any other book of philosophy, mythology, history or fiction.

Nothing, except for myself on rare occasions. Yes, I do quite well. When I falter, I use my regret to strengthen my resolve, ask forgiveness from those I may have hurt, and then forgive myself in time. Through interactions with people and introspection, my code becomes better defined, as with all decent people. I think you have to live life to learn and apply the Golden Rule well.Do you think the convoluted and contradictory text in parts of the Bible make it a poor guide to morality and truth, for those who aren't skilled at coercing these words into a cohesive and comprehensible meaning? It seems you have to think like an ancient Hebrew and spin like a radio talk show host, to even get the gist of some parts.

Ah...Often imitated, never duplicated...The Original Christian Doomsday Cult! (OC/DC?) Imagine the world today if they had been into suicide as well...Many of you here are very serious scholars of the Bible. During your coursework, when issues like this failed prophecy became clear, did you or any of your classmates ever kind of freak out? Was faith sometimes damaged?

If it is easy to grasp...outward and objective, then why is there such a variety of interpretations? A few people say? It seems the consensus among scholars and the first impression among more casual readers is that Jesus actually meant that the second coming was coming very soon.Jesus promised the end was near. It wasn't. What other promises has he broken? What more might he break in the future?

A failed prophecy by Jesus doesn't seem like a fine point. He wasn't off by just a little ... he said less than a generation. That was a long time ago. We're still waiting. OK, so Jesus' estimate was a LITTLE OFF. What does this scheduling problem say about the inerrancy of the Bible? Why do IDer insist on a literal interpretation of the Bible, although it is sometimes blatantly inaccurate? Did God actually create the universe in only 6 minutes, but He didn't like to brag? Was Noah's flood just a rainy day? Yeah, you're right. It was sorta gloating. Sorry. Whether the prophecy has failed or not is a simply a question of timing. So how long until I can righteously gloat about his failure? 3000 AD? 666,666 AD? *sigh* As long as it takes, I suppose...

I see. It's like making lemonade from life's lemons. Thanks to Jesus' underestimate of the End time's timing - by a factor of about 50X so far - believers have more time to work the system and reserve a seat in heaven. I think the wise thing to do is take the Bible metaphorically in its entirety. In my opinion, if it's taken literally on almost any level, it's as likely to retard peoples' search for spirituality and truth, as it is to promote it.Please jaywill, back off on the random fits of proselytizing and bible-thumping. I know it's Sunday, and you're probably obligated to do this by your religion; but please consider those who have to wade through screen after screen of fluff to find something (possibly) on-topic.

It seems to me that you've simply dug up an alternative interpretation of generation in order to weasel out of the implications of this topic's offending passage...

quote:

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...there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom

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This doesn't even use the word generation. It explicitly describes some fraction of an actual human generation. OK. So which things are you after? I don't think your sermons are necessarily targeted at the person to whom you're replying. I don't care to guess why you do it, I'm just asking that you cut it out, please.