Posted on 05/20/2017 10:17:33 PM PDT by Olog-hai
A new Gallup poll shows that only 24% of Americans believe the Bible is the “literal word” of God, which is a decline from the 1970s, but the survey also shows that the number of Americans who think the Bible is the “inspired word” of God, 47%, has stayed pretty steady over the last 40 years.
In addition, an overwhelming majority of Americans, 71%, believe the Bible is a holy document, inspired by God or containing God’s own words.
“Fewer than one in four Americans (24%) now believe the Bible is ‘the actual word of God, and is to be taken literally, word for word,’ similar to the 26% who view it as ‘a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man,’” reported Gallup on May 15.
“This is the first time in Gallup’s four-decade trend that biblical literalism has not surpassed biblical skepticism,” said the survey firm. “Meanwhile, about half of Americans — a proportion largely unchanged over the years — fall in the middle, saying the Bible is the inspired word of God but that not all of it should be taken literally.” …
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
“The bible isn’t the literal word of god. It was inspired by god for men that wrote it. The ten commandments are the only literal words from the bible.”
Not true, God spoke from the mountain to His people and others Abraham etc.
No (Ps. 91:4) , which is one of the examples of anthropomorphic language, which is one of the examples of non-literal language, which uniquely abounds among humans, and as with Scripture, usually we effortlessly recognize such by the context of it.
"Orioles slugger slams Cardinals hurler," is easily recognized by us in the context of sports, in which figurative language abounds.
For those familiar with language and Scripture, things like "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain," (Genesis 4:1) "neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us” (Num. 14:9) are easily recognized as figurative language.
Does He allow, or forbid, dancing? What does He say about blood transfusions? Should children be aware that adults drink alcohol? SHOULD adults drink alcohol? Does God forbid school bake-offs to raise money, or are the prizes gambling? And so on.
There are cases in which there is disagreement, but the other examples you invoke are not due to to language being literal or not, or are more of a case of not considering all Scripture says.
Blood transfusions are forbidding by some based upon the literal injunction against eating blood, (Lev. 17:10 and perhaps Acts 15:29), yet, as with not working on the Sabbath and not eating the holy shewbread, can be allowed in the interest of fulfilling the intent of the law, which is to save lives, not destroy them. (Luke 6:1-9)
Some also consider this command as being part of the abrogated dietary laws. (Col. 2:16,17; Heb. 9:10)
Should children be aware that adults drink alcohol? SHOULD adults drink alcohol?
Again, this is not due to literal versus figurative language, but the condemnation against literally being among winebibbers or getting drunk, (Prov. 23:20,29-35) or drinking giving wine to others who get drunk, (Hab. 2:15) and or the literal prohibition against OT ministers drinking during their course of ministering, when they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, (Lv. 10:9; Ezek. 44:21) since believers constitute the only priesthood (hieráteuma) in the NT church.(1Pt. 2:5,9; Re 1:6; 5:10; 20:6)
Does God forbid school bake-offs to raise money,
Again, this is not a valid case of literal versus figurative, but could be based upon the fact that the NT church did not look to those without for support, but "for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth." (3 John 7-8)
This refers to charity, yet should not exclude receiving surplus food to serve God with, nor engaging in commerce such as selling property, but as a means of regular support I think it is contrary to the principle of the church relying on the support of members.
or are the prizes gambling? I do not see this either as being a case of literal versus figurative, but likely be based on the principle of needs being provided by labor, and not by vain means. (Gn. 3:19; Prov. 13:11)
Does He allow, or forbid, dancing?
This relates to literal versus figurative only as regards "touching." Forbidding dancing is not clearly addressed except based upon "It is good for a man not to touch a woman" (1 Corinthians 7:1) which is in the context of being celibate versus marriage, and (comparing Scripture with Scripture) that it does not actually forbid any touching at all btwn genders is seen by the command (repeated 4 times) "Greet one another with an holy kiss." (2 Corinthians 13:12)
But "touch not" as forbidding intimate contact outside marriage is sound, and as dancing can to some degree involve or lead to this then some broadly forbid it based upon this principle.
For more comparison.. were they polling a Hillary win? Lol. Trying to marginalize #Biblibaltruth. Ithinkn24 percent is a strong number. Do I believe pollsters.. nah.
Fake poll. According to Gallup, Hillary won the election, homosexuals make up 40 percent of the electorate, and “Ketchup” is America’s favorite ice cream flavor.
A recent IronJack poll showed that 106 percent of the respondents selected from bus stations and mental health clinics believed that Gallup polls are concocted using scotch and a Ouija board. More than a gazillion percent said a Magic 8-ball was “more reliable.”
I accept that most of it is literal, but not all.
Literal has a lot of different meanings to a lot of different people. The poll might reflect changes in definition and common usage. Just look at the common use of the word literal in todays media.
for reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literal_and_figurative_language
Just reading this morning:
Mat 13:10 His disciples came and asked Him, “Why do You use parables when You talk to the people?”
Jesus almost always spoke figuratively in parables. Why? I will let the reader do their own research in reading before and after the above.
Personally, I find the parables echo to other parts of the Bible.
Top 7 Bible Verses About Spiritual Blindness
John 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”
Second Corinthians 4:4 “In their case “the god of this world” (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Matthew 23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.”
Isaiah 6:10 “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
Zephaniah 1:17 “I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.”
First John 2:10 “But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
Matthew 15:14 “Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Conclusion
There are certainly more than seven verses about spiritual blindness in the Bible such as in Isaiah 43:8 where he wrote “Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears” and in Deuteronomy 28:28-29 where it was said that “The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you” and even in Isaiah 42:18 where God pleads with them, “Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see” but they refused to listen and to see because they hardened their hearts and refused to hear the Spirit’s voice. I pray you do not do likewise.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/07/17/top-7-bible-verses-about-spiritual-blindness/
William Shakespeare was one of those men who worked on the King James Bible. Psalm 46 was a Shakespeare contribution.
May God, being merciful, give you signs and wonders, soycd.
As they say, "It's the Torah while standing on one foot."
Yes, its misleading. We don’t do some of the things that happened in the bible. The number of those saying it’s inspired by God is much larger. We are to live by the morals put forth in the New testament and the old. We are living in the New testament now. It confuses people the way they ask the questions.
And that God does for me. Our communications are all the facts I need regarding Gods words.
The “facts” written down from the experiences of others, no so much.
Thanks. Nothing has changed; even with the invasion of illegals.
I put my trust in "the knowledge of knowers." That is to say, it is a faith in those who --- to the best of my knowledge, and over time --- do not lie to me.
I trust in God and in His Christ, and in His Church and in in His Word.
Bibles have a copyright page, and it doesn’t list God.
Well, God isn’t listed on the copyright page. Maybe the print shops should include Him.
Your snarky, judgy post is duly noted as is your lack of intellect to grasp the essence of God’s Word in the Bible.
Or perhaps you just reject God and attempt to hide your hate behind snarky posts?
You satanic koranimals are all the same...not unlike the typical eurotwit.
Perhaps this vitriol is extreme sarcasm? If not, it appears that the 'trigger' post was #9, which is the essense of God's Word. Hardly a surprise that it would offend. The NT is full of examples of learned men and their trigger responses. A lot of folks will be downright appalled and horrified at who is welcomed into the Kingdom.
Galatians 5:14-15 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
One famous account in the Talmud (Shabbat 31a) tells about a gentile who wanted to convert to Judaism. This happened not infrequently, and this individual stated that he would accept Judaism only if a rabbi would teach him the entire Torah while he, the prospective convert, stood on one foot. First he went to Shammai, who, insulted by this ridiculous request, threw him out of the house. The man did not give up and went to Hillel. This gentle sage accepted the challenge, and said:
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation of this--go and study it!"http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/689306/jewish/On-One-Foot.htm
Furthermore,
Our sages teach us: “The Torah of this world is hevel in comparison to the Torah of the world to come”.
http://www.inner.org/sefirot/seftifer.htm
Hevel is the same word as Abel, the man who was so offensive that "he needed killing":
הבל Hebel {heh'-bel} the same as 01892;; n pr m AV - Abel 8; 8 Abel = "breath" 1) second son of Adam and Eve, killed by his brother Cain
from:
הבל hebel {heh'bel} or (rarely in the abs.) הבל habel {hab-ale'} from 01891; TWOT - 463a; n m AV - vanity 61, vain 11, altogether 1; 73 1) vapour, breath 1a) breath, vapour 1b) vanity (fig.) adv 2) vainly
from:
הבל habal {haw-bal'} a primitive root; TWOT - 463; v AV - become vain 4, make vain 1; 5 1) to act emptily, become vain, be vain 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to become vain 1a2) to be utterly vain (with cognate acc) 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to cause to become vain 1b2) to fill with vain hopes
hevel: a puff of breath, vapor, air, luft
Eurotwit's 'trigger' word: fluff:
a loose, soft and light substance
entertainment or writing perceived as trivial or superficial
The Torah of this world is fluff in comparison to the Torah of the world to come.
The word hevel (הבל) permutes to ha-lev (הלב), 'the heart'.
Love. It's a simple concept (command) that is lost on this world, every man going the way according to his interpretation. Yet the entire Torah is contained within its heart. Literally, because the bookends of the Torah (and the whole of the Hebrew scripture) are the letters bet and lamed (the first and last letters respectively), which spell the word lev, heart.
For all the law is fulfilled in one word. This stuff is more literal than people think.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation of this--go and study it!"
Because,
Mark 10:31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
Starting with the bookend letters which contain the whole of Torah: the last (lamed) becomes first, and the first (bet) becomes last: lev, heart.
The Torah of the Messiah [that begins with the letter alef, being the command to love, ehav! אהב] IS the missing "23rd" letter. Sitting right there all along: ♥
Psalm 40
6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
~ King David
Messiah, son of David. A classic case of 'like father, like son'.
They didn’t do the tracking poll, which they used to do in conjunction with CNN and USA Today.
Or perhaps “especially” with respect to “even”.
Galatians 5:14 refers back to Leviticus (Vayikra) 19:18, as does Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31 and Luke 10:27. Just thought I’d add that.
And the law (Torah) of the world to come is the same as the law that God gave to Israel and the world after the Messiah’s first coming. We do have the content of the books referred to in Daniel 7:10 and Revelation 20:12, with respect to the law.
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