Posted on 06/09/2014 2:49:37 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Bible is allegorical where it SAYS it’s allegorical, and literal where it SAYS it’s literal.
What this shows is how ill-suited this type of question is for a simple survey or poll. Its not a “yes” “no” question. The fact that this is reported as “utter chaos” shows how stupid the reporter is.
There is no “private” interpretation — but that doesn’t mean there is no valid “public” one (the Holy Spirit is public) that rides upon the literary forms of metaphor, etc.
Once you have the theme of Christ and His love down and you actually have His spirit working in your life, then you will be able to get the Lord’s intent better and better. Folks who go hammer and tongs at literal this, literal that often have the wrong attitude and create a lot of needless pain and dissension. That 58% isn’t necessarily doom and gloom... that beats out all hollow the atheist attitude that this is a bunch of manmade words with no divine meaning.
There could be room for some finer distinctions.
When Jesus says, “I am the Door”, we shouldn’t start looking for a doorknob and hinges.
But when the Bible says that adultery is wrong, we shouldn’t start looking for loopholes.
Exactly!
When Christ says “This is my body” He literally means it.
When Scripture says “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” It means we are not saved by faith Alone!
Waiting for the King James crowd to come on the thread and say the KJV is the only divinely authorized version and that each word should be interpreted literally.
Conversely, it never says that Mary is the “mediatrix” between men and Jesus - ever.
There is none righteous, not even one. Rom. 3:10
I've had such folks tell me that all of Jesus parables had to have been about real, historic people, or He would have been lying.
Everyone has an agenda. For some that agenda has more to do with falling short than actually having a different understanding. For others though, they are politicians who lie as a matter of their being; so they too impose a new Word befitting their lies. And then there is the question of the Old and New Testaments; and whether or not one can even believe in God without Jesus. Oh, yes there are some areas that have yet to be cleared up, but everyone one who is honest for even a moment can understand the meaning of what is written as the spoken word of God in the bible.
Works are the proving out, the result of a saving faith. The faith that says ok, I believe that certain things are true about God (like, He is One) but does not accept the relationship offer of God (He is my personal Savior) won’t produce the requisite works... it CAN’T. People do works all the time, you know. It’s how they are formed and fashioned that makes the difference. If the love of God moves you, it will show.
Catholics commonly stick a bunch of church rules on top of it all, which makes it obedience to man qua man. That isn’t the proof of saving faith at all, though some Catholics do also have a saving faith in spite of this.
The Sodom and Gomorrah story should be interpreted literally. If it were, maybe the sodomites would still be in the closet.
That is a pretty head scratching comment.
Of course "multiple interpretations are possible." At most, one will be correct, but multiple interpretations are certainly possible.
Now the essential points of doctrine are not open to interpretation ('we are all sinners in desperate need of a Saviour'. 'there is Salvation in no other Name under Heaven than the Lord Jesus Christ'. 'Without controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness, God was manifest in the flesh, ...' etc), but people have always been haggling, and interpreting, over nonessentials. E.g., is tithing Biblical since the Levitical Priesthood has been put away? And if it is, do you tithe gross or net? Baptism: Believers only, or infant also? Dunking, sprinkling, or pouring? etc...
So I agree that the Bible is the literal and inspired Word of God, but I also know that there are various nonessential points that like Believers could 'interpret' differently.
Capacity for deep insight into the bible has to be exercised carefully, or you may (as still a sinner) lapse into overly rigid judgmentalism.
Were these about historical folks or about illustrative fictional figures?
A perfectly valid answer may be: we don’t know now, but we can still use them in the manner that does make sense.
I’m not so sure it would help... knowing where evil minds can go (I’ve been pretty evil sometimes, though not in THAT manner) they might say that well, God won that one but now we have punked Him.
No ARTIFACT can do what the actual spirit of God will.
Without God, man screws up everything. I believe the Bible is the His word written at his inspiration. The Bible as we have it has a few errors attributed to man. But the Word and its properly interpreted precepts are the ONLY infallible rule of faith and practice. Not all scripture can be taken literally because was not written to be taken literally. Properly done, a Holy Spirit led, honest searching and study of the scripture will eventually lead to the proper interpretation of the Scripture. Very often, that is not an instantaneous process. I am not a Bible scholar by any stretch, but few people this day and time embark on a committed study and search for God in His word. As a result, many fall prey to erroneous interpretation and culturally influenced interpretation designed to satisfy their “itching ears” that will not tolerate sound doctrine. Those with some knowledge of the Bible have seen where this is foretold.
All we can do is trust in God’s promises to us, tell others about the “good news”, and pray that the Holy Spirit will bring many into conviction regarding their spiritual needs. For those who “add to” or “take away” from God’s word, they are in the hands of their Creator. I often look around today and repeat the line, “deliver us from evil”. More and more I can see that I am not of this world.
LOL Kind of a one trick pony aren’t you?
Itching seems to imply instability, as well. Their takes won’t fit into the big picture. It would be like a piece from the wrong jigsaw puzzle.
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