The bible. Should we it take it literally ?

[rodrigoeleuterio]

Should we take every passage of the biblie literaly, or think that they are stories with a meaning that will guide us to a better life and a better interaction with god?

God bless you all!

[RickD]

Should we take every passage of the biblie literaly, or think that they are stories with a meaning that will guide us to a better life and a better interaction with god?

God bless you all!

It depends. What do you mean by, "literally". A literal reading doesn't always mean literal and concrete. A passage's literal meaning might be symbolic. A passage's literal meaning has to be understood in its proper context. When a law in deuteronomy for example, says"Thou shalt not...", should we take that literally? We need to know the context in which the verse was written. If it was written to a specific people at a specific time, then that's its literal meaning.

[theophilus]

The Bible is a revelation of the things God wants us to know. Many parts are a record of historical events and should be interpreted literally, just as we would interpret any other historical account. It uses figures of speech and parables that aren't to be interpreted literally and poetical parts, such as the Psalms, sometimes use figurative language but if we simply apply common sense and interpret the Bible as we would any other kind of literature we can tell which part aren't literal.

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Should we take every passage of the biblie literaly, or think that they are stories with a meaning that will guide us to a better life and a better interaction with god?

God bless you all!

A literal interpretation of the Bible is the best unless the context clearly suggests otherwise.

On the other hand, a mystical/allegorical interpretation allows you to stuff the Bible with whatever meaning you see fit.

FL

[Sam1995]

It really does depend on the specific scripture that you are looking at, there are areas of scripture which are best interpreted in a poetic sense and there are also areas which are best interpreted in a literal sense. I guess this is where the main issue of interpretation of Biblical scripture lies, what exactly do we take as literal/poetic and do the results of your interpretation line up with other scripture in the Bible also.

God bless,

SB

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

It really does depend on the specific scripture that you are looking at, there are areas of scripture which are best interpreted in a poetic sense and there are also areas which are best interpreted in a literal sense. I guess this is where the main issue of interpretation of Biblical scripture lies, what exactly do we take as literal/poetic and do the results of your interpretation line up with other scripture in the Bible also.

God bless,

SB

What do you mean by a ''poetic'' interpretation???

FL

[Sam1995]

Sorry, you're right - I didn't make that clear at all! It's a term I've heard used again and again and again by my philosophy teacher, I guess the best way to actually define it would be a liberal approach to scripture, that it isn't all literal historical accounts, but that parts of biblical scripture are actually metaphoric language and symbolic of a greater meaning than the actual words on the page, whether or not you could ever classify that as being "poetic," well, at least it sounds clever!

SB

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

I guess the best way to actually define [poetic interpretation] would be a liberal approach to scripture, that it isn't all literal historical accounts, but that parts of biblical scripture are actually metaphoric language and symbolic of a greater meaning than the actual words on the page, whether or not you could ever classify that as being "poetic," well, at least it sounds clever!

OK...then that sounds like the Allegorical Method of interpretation, where words & phrases do not carry the meanings they commonly have. Instead, they are infused with new and ''deeper'' meanings according to the whim of the interpreter.

The main advantage to this method is that you can have the Bible say whatever you want it to say.

FL

[Sam1995]

I guess the best way to actually define [poetic interpretation] would be a liberal approach to scripture, that it isn't all literal historical accounts, but that parts of biblical scripture are actually metaphoric language and symbolic of a greater meaning than the actual words on the page, whether or not you could ever classify that as being "poetic," well, at least it sounds clever!

OK...then that sounds like the Allegorical Method of interpretation, where words & phrases do not carry the meanings they commonly have. Instead, they are infused with new and ''deeper'' meanings according to the whim of the interpreter.

The main advantage to this method is that you can have the Bible say whatever you want it to say.

FL

Very good point my friend, I guess that's where these "interpretors" must be very careful that they don't take what is written and totally defy the actual meaning of it, so there as you'd already know is where they would have to look at context and things like that. But yes, leaving it open to more interpretation allows more room for "creativity" <-- there's a nice way to put it!

SB

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

When I was a teenager, I used to have an English teacher from Londonderry...Mrs Paula McCafferty...do you know her???

FL

[Sam1995]

What school did you go to mate? I've heard of a number of people by that surname, so figuring out what school she was a part of may help!

SB

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

I was joking, Sam! How could you possibly know an old lady from Londonderry who emmigrated to Canada 40 years ago?!

FL

[Sam1995]

I was joking, Sam! How could you possibly know an old lady from Londonderry who emmigrated to Canada 40 years ago?!

FL

Oops, didn't realise the Canada bit! That's a bit awkward isn't it...

It's a small world

SB

[RickD]

When I was a teenager, I used to have an English teacher from Londonderry...Mrs Paula McCafferty...do you know her???

FL

FL, I think I know her. I believe we met at a teacher's convention on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, back in the mid 1990's. Very nice old lady with a strange accent. Does that sound like her?

On that note, I had a childhood friend who moved to the Montreal area. He's about 5 ft 11 inches tall, 180 lbs. Brown hair, brown eyes. Do you know him?

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

FL, I think I know [Paula McCafferty]. I believe we met at a teacher's convention on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, back in the mid 1990's. Very nice old lady with a strange accent. Does that sound like her?

On that note, I had a childhood friend who moved to the Montreal area. He's about 5 ft 11 inches tall, 180 lbs. Brown hair, brown eyes. Do you know him?

Well, Paula was young and pretty when I knew her but she would be an old lady by now. And what were you doing at a teacher's convention????? As for your childhood friend, well, if he moved to Canada, you know he's a dope.

FL