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Eystein
Nov 13, 06 - 2:18 PM |
How should we read the Bible?
The ultra-liberal Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong is in Norway and I went to his seminary out of curiosity. He is way to liberal for my taste and I find his understanding of God discomforting, but he did raise some important questions. How should we read the Scriptures? He says he still loves the Bible and he reads in it every day, but he does not think it’s literately true. He does not believe that the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus or his physical resurrection are historical truths but figures. He believes that Jesus was a God-filled person who may have been born of fornication, who lived in Nazareth, was married to Mary Magdalene, was crucified around the year thirty and was resurrected directly into God. He do not believe in miracles, fulfilled prophesies or a personal God who answers prayers, but a God who is the lifeforce and ground of being of a world bound by the laws of science. I do not agree with him, let that be clear, but I wonder how much of the Scriptures we should read literally and how much we should read figuratively. Was Adam and Eve two historical figures who lived 6000 years ago in a literal perfect garden with literal talking animals, a literal tree of life and a tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or is this a figurative account of prehistoric mankind’s fall from innocence and rise in knowledge? Was the entire earth flooded at the time of Noah, or the more local area where Noah lived? Did men live for hundreds of years thousand of years ago? Did Moses literally see the backside of God, or is this whole story (Exo 33:21-23) a figurative way of saying that we can only comprehend a small part of Him? Was Elijah literally taken into heaven by a chariot of fire? Did heaven open up at the baptism of Christ? Will there ever be a city that is more than two kilometers tall on the earth? I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin and certainly not in fornication, but Mary did not stay a virgin (like the Catholics will have us believe). He may have been married to Mary Magdalene, she certainly was the closest to him of all the female disciples, but I still doubt it. Why would the Gospel writers leave it out? He died a horrible death on a cross, this no true historian doubts. He appeared to his disciples in flesh and bones after his resurrection, but was no longer limited by them. I believe that the Old Testament and the Gospels are historical accounts but liturgical and not objective in form. I believe in the miracles, visions and fulfilled prophesies because I believe they are still occurring today. My family, my friends and myself have often experienced miracles and direct answers to prayers. Science can verify useful patterns in nature, but cannot invalidate the existence of exceptions. Nature is not bound by our perceptions of it or the patterns we impose upon it. God Bless. |
Mike Burke
 Nov 13th, 2006 - 2:52 PM |
Re: How should we read the Bible?
[quote] I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin and certainly not in fornication, but Mary did not stay a virgin (like the Catholics will have us believe)...He died a horrible death on a cross, this no true historian doubts. He appeared to his disciples in flesh and bones after his resurrection, but was no longer limited by them. I believe that the Old Testament and the Gospels are historical accounts...I believe in the miracles, visions and fulfilled prophesies because I believe they are still occurring today. My family, my friends and myself have often experienced miracles and direct answers to prayers. Science can verify useful patterns in nature, but cannot invalidate the existence of exceptions. Nature is not bound by our perceptions of it or the patterns we impose upon it. [unquote] I agree with the sentiments I quoted above. [quote] Was Adam and Eve two historical figures who lived 6000 years ago in a literal perfect garden with literal talking animals, a literal tree of life and a tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or is this a figurative account of prehistoric mankind’s fall from innocence and rise in knowledge? Was the entire earth flooded at the time of Noah, or the more local area where Noah lived? Did men live for hundreds of years thousand of years ago? [unquote] I would say "yes" to all of these (but I believe the earth itself is more than 6000 years old, see http://www.biblicaluniversalist.com/Papias.html). [quote] Did Moses literally see the backside of God, or is this whole story (Exo 33:21-23) a figurative way of saying that we can only comprehend a small part of Him? [unquote] I don't believe he saw the Triune God in His totality, but I believe he saw the pre-incarnate Christ (or perhaps an angel speaking in behalf of the pre-incarnate Christ.) God Bless. P.S. I don't believe Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and I think Bishop Spong should have been defrocked a long time ago. |
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Mike Burke
Nov 13th, 2006 - 2:58 PM |
Re: How should we read the Bible?
I believe Adam and Eve were historical figures, that the normal human lifespan was entirely different prior to the flood, and that Genesis 6-9 are a historical account of the flood (traces of which appear in the folklore of all races, worldwide.) God Bless. |
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Michael Dankoski
Dec 3rd, 2006 - 9:25 PM |
Re: How should we read the Bible?
Well, as far as reading the bible, I think first we should read it as an actual account, then re-read it to see what we can learn about the Lord and the meaning behind the scriptures. I read somewhere that science hs proved that the earth was at one time covered with one huge expanse of cloud, through which light filtered through, then "something" happened to break up this cloud barrier, causing massive rain, was the way it was put. The article then went on to say that with this cloud cover (firmament?) man would have lived 100's of years longer, as the harmful rays of the sun would have been filtered out. As far as the age of the earth, the Lord is a creative God. He is a Creator, and His word says He changes not, so He has always been a creator and always will be a creator, therefore I have no problem with the age of the earth. I don't really see the 7 exact 24 hour days, because He didn't create time until the 3rd day! I see the days as an age in which God did something, kind of like my "work day" is 8 hours, whereas a cross-country trucker might have a "work day" of several 24 hour days. On a lighter note, I attended a church where the preacher said he had heard someone on the radio say the Egyptians had not been drowned as in the Exodus account, but had tried to cross in a low spot about 1 1/2 ft. deep, and simply got bogged down. "Praise God!" he said "This would have been an even greater miracle...God drowned the whole Egyptian army along with their horses and burried their chariots in only 1 1/2 feet of muddy water!" |
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