Yeah, I’ll back off too, as I don’t want to stir things up either, and cause anyone anymore stress than they already have.
But just to throw this out there, I think all of you guys have ways of looking at this issue that together could bring a kind of balance about it.
Lotharson, you protest about things that you see in the Bible, as I do and as many do, much of it in the OT to be sure, but some of it in the NT as well, and I think there is a place for this, because I believe God understands our struggles and welcomes our questions.
And there is a precedent for this in the Bible itself, where there are many who protest and even argue with God, and God listens to protests and can handle our anger and our confusion or anything else that we throw at Him. So I really think there is a place for our grievances, with the Bible, with God, with life and how things are in the world, etc.
On the other hand, Dave, you bring up really good points about how much of the problem could be our interpretation, keeping in mind that these writings are two thousand years or more removed from us, so the people who wrote them back then may have thought a lot differently than we do, here in the postmodern era, including having a more Eastern way of looking at things than a Western way of looking at things, coming at things from the heart rather than from the head more often than not, using a lot of poetry and symbolism and metaphor rather than just stating things as clear as crystal, or in technical language, using intuition more than logic. So, in other words, we don’t have to take everything literally, and there may be a lot more breathing room on interpretation than we might think, even if interpretation may prove difficult.
It’s almost like the Bible is like some Zen master or something (and Jesus is too, when I come to think of it), who throws oddball koans out there for us to chew on.
In short, the Bible is a difficult book. Which is the main reason I haven’t really read it for the last few years since finishing it the first time.
The Bible was a really difficult read for me at times, and even sent me into bouts of depression on occasion.
Again, this was more likely than not a matter of my interpretation, and I was bringing all my baggage to it, which probably didn’t help.
Maybe if I read it again, with the revelation of UR in mind and with all the changes I’ve gone through, and tried to look at things differently, I may get more out of it the second time around. I’ve been thinking of doing that.
But it’s also because it’s just difficult, the way it’s all put together.
To put it in another way, for me the Bible is like math. I know it’s very important and has a lot of value, but I’m not very good at it, and often it frustrates me, when it’s not boring me.
But then I remember there was a time in high school when I got with the right teacher in pre-algebra, and I ended up being one of the top two or three students in the class.
Granted, I’ve forgotten just about everything I learned in that class, except what a variable is, but hey, I did good!
So, with that in mind, maybe there’s hope yet for me as far as the Bible is concerned.
But anyways, yeah, the Bible is a difficult book to begin with, so I think that you’re right Dave, to point out that it’s best not to jump to conclusions, though I think you’re right too Lotharson, because it’s important that we are able to be honest about how these things make us feel, because by being open about those feelings we can perhaps work through them, much as the Psalmists were open with their feelings and by being open with them worked through them (with that said I should probably check out Cindy’s Psalms thread sometime, as it does look interesting).
But lastly, Dick, I like what you had to say on the historical side of all of this, and I think I lean towards that way of seeing the whole flood thing myself, as far as the history aspect is concerned, but I think you make a very important point too, in that we shouldn’t let these things get us off track, or lead us into lots of anxiety and negativity within ourselves on the one hand, or to heated debate with others, or philosophical/theological bar fights, on the other.
And yeah, with that said, I agree we should probably leave it there, and move on.
However, I still have a bone to pick with good ol’ Johnny about A Beautiful Mind.
Blessings to all and to all a goodnight
Matt