Captain Howdy

I'm on a public comp at school and I ran across a reflection on biblical creation, according to what is taught at my university (for now, hope I don't get booted out)

Thought the people on this forum might be interested. What do you think of THIS?




Dennis Barrion
Th141 L

Creation and Reflection

In the beginning, I read the Bible as a history book. I gave careful attention to facts—the names of the characters, the places they visit, the number of children they had, the year they were born, etc. For me, the events happened on the record. For me, there was the Tower of Babel, Jonah and the Whale, the Great Walls of Jericho, and a lot more. The Creation account itself seemed fact to me ever since a child. I believed all those biblical stories, not because I was gullible but maybe because I felt a need to do so, even for the while.
Then there was light. During this course, I learned more. Thinking critically, we must not dwell in the level of mere facts but rather look into the meaning and message of the texts. As real concrete people, the writers of the Bible also employed the use of literary art as a means based on the culture he lived in. If we aim to study biblical text or do an exegesis, the writer’s background should always be considered. In the Creation stories, the details were not to give a first-hand account of what actually happened but rather to make it more meaningful to the people in the writer’s time. Seven days was not the length of creation but seven, being a perfect number, connotes God’s perfection in His works. It should also be noted that female Eve did not really come out of one man’s ribs.
Rest. Although faced with this realization that most stories are not true-to-life blow-by-blow accounts, we must not be troubled. Of course, we cannot discount that maybe somehow these stories merit factual truth. (Recent scientific findings show that the human race has one pair of common gene showing the possibility that there really was a first couple—Adam and Eve.) But even if the stories do not intend factual truth, it is important to look into its meaning and how our lives will be affected by it.
Everything God created was good. Aside from caring for creation, we should also care about God’s word through His people. We should not be discouraged by the lack of empirical data the Bible supplies, but rather be excited about its proclamation of God’s love. Look deeper and we will see the real story behind. There really is a Tower of Babel, Jonah and the Whale, the Great Walls of Jericho, and a whole lot more. J

EssEff

As someone who has studied medieval manuscripts, I find it incredible that millions of people believe that generations of copyists could have transmitted the Bible without errors, even if the storytelling in it was true history.

I think the way the poster presents it is the best way to read the Bible - as religious propaganda. Whether you like the message or not is another matter. If God wants his message to get out he's perfectly capable of inspiring storytellers to tell it in metaphor. If He has the imagination to create the whole universe, he can certainly spin a good yarn.

Captain Howdy

Hmmm... What do you mean exactly? My opinion of the paper is that it misinterpreted the writing style of the bible. I looked at I think it was dawkins' lecture on the resurrection of jesus christ.

So, the way I look at it, the bible is fiction. It reminds me of the romance of the three kingdoms in way. But the thing is, should it be taken literally of figuratively, and if you take it one way, are you allowed to switch if someone comes along and proves what you say is illogical? That's what many Xians do.

Lógos Sokratikós

Fraud, I'd say. It was written so people would believe.

So people will believe + Cannot be true = FRAUD.

EssEff

A Christian can believe that God tinkered with the truth or that God's servants embellished it, for the good of humanity. I doubt that every story in the Bible is fiction. Some of the history may have a grain of truth. Deciding the whole thing is crap on the basis of disbelief is as faulty as deciding the whole thing is true on the basis of belief.

Amaleq13

This is a deeply flawed interpretation of the actual findings. It was already addressed here .

Chris Weimer

It's literature, alright, and some of it has a high literary merit sevenfold, heroic narrative, royal tragedy, elegant poetry, commotional poetry, astounding symbolism, creative mythology, and divine sapience. The rest is lists and pseudo-doctrine, nothing to worry about.

Captain Howdy

That's not nice, you make me sound like an idiot. I was quoting something else. You should write That I quoted the essay and you quoted me or something. i was asking, not supplying an interpretation

Diogenes the Cynic

I think that was an unintentional implication by Amaleq. I clarified the quote tag.

(Hope you don't mind, Amaleq)

DtC, Moderator, BCH

Amaleq13

I don't think anyone who read the OP would be confused but Diogenes' clarification eliminates any possible misunderstanding.