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Author | Topic: If the Bible is metaphorical then perhaps so is the God of the Bible | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CarlinKnew Junior Member (Idle past 5440 days) Posts: 29 Joined: |
To those who only take certain parts of the Bible literally, how do you determine where the metaphors end and the facts begin? Maybe God Himself is simply a metaphor for something else like the forces of nature.
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Admin Director Posts: 13014 From: EvC Forum Joined: Member Rating: 1.9 |
Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.
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Peg Member (Idle past 4949 days) Posts: 2703 From: melbourne, australia Joined: |
whats your interpretation of Metaphor???
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Dr Adequate Member (Idle past 304 days) Posts: 16113 Joined: |
We should note that there is no-one who takes every part of the Bible literally.
Then general rule would seem to be: when you come across something you know to be untrue, decide that it was meant to be a metaphor. You can, of course, reduce the frequency with which you're obliged to do this by knowing as little as possible.
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CarlinKnew Junior Member (Idle past 5440 days) Posts: 29 Joined: |
met⋅a⋅phor
/ˈmɛtəˌfɔr, -fər/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [met-uh-fawr, -fer] Show IPA —noun 1. a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in A mighty fortress is our God. Compare mixed metaphor, simile (def. 1). 2. something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem; symbol. (dictionary.com)
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CarlinKnew Junior Member (Idle past 5440 days) Posts: 29 Joined: |
Bible Literalists at least claim to take the entire Bible literally.
How do you decide what you know to be untrue?
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Dr Adequate Member (Idle past 304 days) Posts: 16113 Joined: |
Bible Literalists at least claim to take the entire Bible literally. But they don't.
How do you decide what you know to be untrue? Comparison of statements in the Bible with reality.
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CarlinKnew Junior Member (Idle past 5440 days) Posts: 29 Joined: |
Most Christians take the story of the resurrection literally. How could they have come to that conclusion by comparing statements in the Bible with reality?
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Dr Adequate Member (Idle past 304 days) Posts: 16113 Joined: |
Most Christians take the story of the resurrection literally. How could they have come to that conclusion by comparing statements in the Bible with reality? Most Christians take the story of the resurrection literally. How could they have come to that conclusion by comparing statements in the Bible with reality? I did not say that the things people take literally are things that they have compared with reality and found to be correct, I said that the things people take metaphorically are things that they have compared with reality and found to be incorrect.
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CarlinKnew Junior Member (Idle past 5440 days) Posts: 29 Joined: |
That's basically the same thing, unless they pick and choose certain parts of the Bible to compare with reality and turn a blind eye to other parts.
I'll rephrase then: how do Christians decide which parts of the Bible are true?
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Theodoric Member Posts: 9140 From: Northwest, WI, USA Joined: Member Rating: 3.3 |
CarlinKnew writes: how do Christians decide which parts of the Bible are true? By choosing whatever fits into their worldview or the dogma of the particular church they are an adherent to. There is no rhyme or reason. They will claim that things are self-evident, but I still have yet to have a christian adequately explain what is "truth" and what is metaphor. I keep on getting the same old tired argument that if I believed I would know, or that I just don't want to know. They act like I am the one with the problem if I do not take things on "faith". Whose faith am I supposed to accept anyway? Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts
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purpledawn Member (Idle past 3477 days) Posts: 4453 From: Indiana Joined: |
quote:Dogma, doctrine, and tradition determine the truth of the Bible for some Christians. Others use reason to understand the reality behind the compilation of the Bible and the purpose of the writers. Then there are others who ride the fence and go with the flow. Because most (I think I'm safe in saying most) Christians don't really read the Bible as a whole. The information they receive is fed to them through sermons and Bible study classes that aren't looking at the simple reading of the text, but through, what the Jews call, D'rash.
This is a teaching or exposition or application of the P'shat and/or Remez. (In some cases this could be considered comparable to a "sermon.") For instance, Biblical writers may take two or more unrelated verses and combine them to create a verse(s) with a third meaning. There are three rules to consider when utilizing the d'rash interpretation of a text: 1. A drash understanding can not be used to strip a passage of its p'shat meaning, nor may any such understanding contradict the p'shat meaning of any other scripture passage. As the Talmud states, "No passage loses its p'shat."2. Let scripture interpret scripture. Look for the scriptures themselves to define the components of an allegory. 3. The primary components of an allegory represent specific realities. We should limit ourselves to these primary components when understanding the text. IOW, they've used selective verses to teach their own point or doctrine instead of teaching what the ancient authors were trying to teach their own people. I feel that Christians have not been routinely taught or encouraged to read the writings in the Bible as whole stories. "Peshat is what I say and derash is what you say." --Nehama Leibowitz
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CarlinKnew Junior Member (Idle past 5440 days) Posts: 29 Joined: |
I've run into the same problem many times. In this thread I'm hoping to understand their rhyme or reason.
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CarlinKnew Junior Member (Idle past 5440 days) Posts: 29 Joined: |
That is possible, although I've spoken to Christians who claim to have studied the Bible comprehensively and are still somehow able to differentiate between the metaphor and the literal.
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Dr Adequate Member (Idle past 304 days) Posts: 16113 Joined: |
That's basically the same thing, unless they pick and choose certain parts of the Bible to compare with reality and turn a blind eye to other parts. Well, no it isn't. Because there are certain statements in the Bible (most of them, I should say) with which there is nothing external to the Bible to compare them. The proposition that (for example) Jacob had twelve sons, cannot be compared with any evidence external to the Bible to test it, and can therefore be taken literally rather than metaphorically.
I'll rephrase then: how do Christians decide which parts of the Bible are true? As I've suggested, by default: they think it's true except where they have to think otherwise.
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