Posted on 12/09/2008 2:39:05 PM PST by My Favorite Headache
President George W. Bush said his belief that God created the world is not incompatible with scientific proof of evolution.
In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" on Monday, the president also said he probably is not a literalist when reading the Bible although an individual can learn a great deal from it, including the New Testament teaching that God sent his only son.
About creation and evolution, Bush said: "I think you can have both. I think evolution can — you're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president. But it's, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution."
"You know. Probably not. ... No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it, but I do think that the New Testament for example is ... has got ... You know, the important lesson is 'God sent a son,'" Bush said.
"It is hard for me to justify or prove the mystery of the Almighty in my life," he said. "All I can just tell you is that I got back into religion and I quit drinking shortly thereafter and I asked for help. ... I was a one-step program guy."
"I do believe there is an almighty that is broad and big enough and loving enough that can encompass a lot of people,"
Asked whether he thought he would have become president had it not been for his faith, Bush said: "I don't know; it's hard to tell. I do know that I would have been — I would have been a pretty selfish person."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.aol.com ...
It’s not literal truth because it’s literature. Poetry isn’t literally true, symbolic prophecy isn’t either. The Bible contains both.
I believe it’s historically accurate, but “literally” true? No.
There are semantical arguments now being raised that need to have distinctions drawn. First of all, Bush was clear in his opinion that Creation might not be true in terms of Evolution, and that is way, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay different from Christ's wonderful parables and stories, which many writers, artist, and theologians say are the greatest short stories ever written.
Next, how do you know which parables are not "literally true," and which were not? Was the parable of the Prodigal Son a short story that Christ made up, or did it actually happen?
In short, we don't know. But again, that was not the context of the statement by Bush.
Lastly, Christ said He was literally the truth: "I am the way and the truth and the life."
It can be logically argued (and theologically) that if the Truth said a parable, it was true.
Where are the inconsistencies?
Except for the cases where God was obviously using allegory, or metaphor, or parables, etc., it is literally and infallibly true. And the differences between those two types of writing are quite easy to discern.
MM (in TX)
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The senses of Scripture
115 According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church.
116 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: “All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal.”83
117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God’s plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.
1. The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ’s victory and also of Christian Baptism.84
2. The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written “for our instruction”.85
3. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, “leading”). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.86
118 A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses:
The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith;
The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny.87
119 “It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgement. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God.”88
But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.89
Again, I don't get you.
What is not true about the Psalms?
Give me an example please.
“Only God sees the Bible in its full meaning. Those who claim to have arrived at the stable final meaning of the text are dangerously arrogant and not humbled by the spirit of God necessary for proper interpretation”.
Can’t say I ever thought that way, but I am quite positively impressed with your reasoning. It’s nice to learn a new perspective, every now and then.
His actions make your words look foolish.
AP writing an article on the matter of scripture is like a five year old writing an article on the second law of thermodynamics.
But a lot more don’t...
Professed belief in evolution is now the new litmus test.
It would have been nice if he would retire to MA or CT or ME instead.
‘We are ruled secretly by alien overlords. No government serves but by the will of God. Therefore it is God's will that we be secretly ruled by aliens.’ WTH?
That being said, Bush, the Pope, and many more agree. The Bible is 100% spiritually true, but it is not literal.
His self-destruction started with that awful 2005 inaugural when he copied the Democrat talking points. I never listened to another of his speeches, and never will again either.
Ghosts? No.
UFO's piloted by extraterrestrials? No, but I'm almost sure there is intelligent life somewhere else in the universe.
Karma? The spiritual belief relating to reincarnation? No. The Western, non-spiritual belief that you get what you put out? More or less. (That is: if you're a jerk, don't expect people to be nice to you. Etc.)
Sadly up to a third of evangelical peopole are so uninformed and ignorant of public matters that they voted for their “Bill” in 1996 and Oprah’s Choice in 2008.
I agree with you. However, note that the words you used were inspired and infallible. That is not the same as literal. Surely, most of us now when the Bible is using literal language as opposed to figurative or allegorical language.
How so?
It says that “he that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin.” Therefore, GWB is among the chief sinners for his treatment of the border agents put in solitary confinement for a minor matter.
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