Do people really interpret the stories in the bible........literally?

[Black smoke and cac jokes]

I read through a thread in the booth and was surprised by the poster's response. Especially this one,

believing the bible is as bad if not worse

nikkas reading about talking snakes, forbidden fruit, nikkas walking on water, splitting seas apart and turning staffs into reptiles... all types of silly shyt, and believing it really happened..like in real life

nikkas'll believe anything man

I don't want to call you out or anything but it made me curious, to reasonable analytic people really believe the stories presented in the bible, moreso in the new testament, supposed to be interpreted literally and not in a metaphorical manner where the objects, concepts etc, shown in the stories are meant to depict human characteristics in other fashion.

If you read a science fiction book or watch a movie, usually people understand the subtle message and are able to dissect the info. Most of my family is very religious and I can't have an argument with any of them without them blaming it "on this generation". Instead, don't you feel with the amount of information and stories we have now seen, aren't we seeing what they couldn't grasp?

 

[Shogun]

some do, some dont....

 

[Sensitive Blake Griffin]

people believe its the literal word of god, but then have the nerve to call all the outlandish stories "metaphors.".

It's either all nonsense or its all a metaphor. Pick one and stick with it. Otherwise you're taking it upon yourself to determine what is meant as a metaphor and what is meant literally.

 

[Listen]

My mother believes it true, like Noahs Arc was literal.

She blames it on her upbringing though, Born into a large Irish Catholic Family in Boston, Catholic school for 12 years etc.

 

[lachreyatarbabypits]

You celebrate Christmas every year and youre asking this question?

 

[Black smoke and cac jokes]

people believe its the literal word of god, but then have the nerve to call all the outlandish stories "metaphors.".

It's either all nonsense or its all a metaphor. Pick one and stick with it. Otherwise you're taking it upon yourself to determine what is meant as a metaphor and what is meant literally.

I'm not denying the people in the book, just their encounters with animals and godlike figures that have supernatural power. It is possible to take God in the literal sense but deny the stories to be actual events and not stories to entertain while educating readers ala The Alchemist...

You celebrate Christmas every year and youre asking this question?

Do you even know what christmas is for?

 

[Brown_Pride]

some are literal some are not.

 

[Serious]

some are literal some are not.

Funny thing is, when I attended church, I had a pretty mellow pastor. He broke everything down to for non-bible thumpers to understand.

Basically, all the b/s crap in which we percieve as outlandish or ratchet in modern society

was occurring back then too. You have wide stories varying from simps saving prostitutes to gay orgies in

the bible. The rich taking advantage of the poor and so on.

Can't knock some of the teaching though.

One of my favorite quotes is Matthew 5:39

I'm sure most people are familiar with this one:

But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.

This got to me during my troubled youth years. I realized, that it takes a bigger man to walk away. The man who walks away lives to see another day. There's nothing cowardice about understanding the value of there being a consequence for every reaction. It's called growing up / maturing...

 

[Brown_Pride]

THose who want to listen will hear, those who want to see will see. THose who do not will not, it's that simple.
On a side note i've alway taken this approach to HL and KTL
" If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town."

I've said before and i'll say again if ever someone really wants to know or learn I'm all for it but these attempted "gotcha" moments that pop up are silly imho.

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

People that interpret their holy books literally are taking a more accurate and truthful approach to their religion than those who pick and choose what is and what is not a metaphor imo. They're morons, but they're following exactly what their religious books say.

The Brown Prides of the world are the disingenuous ones.

 

[SquirtleSwag]

No where in the bible does it tell you what is a metaphor and what is meant to be literal. So yall nikkas are just taking it upon yourself to judge what is metaphor and what is literal. The assumption here is that you're going to write off all the ridiculous nonsense contained within the book as "its just a metaphor " so what is left is just all the "good" stuff that you can praise. And you know damn well 1000 years ago people believed each and every word was the literal word of god. So miss me with that metaphor shyt they would've crucified you for saying that shyt.

 

[Double Burger With Cheese]

 

[the cac mamba]

people cant bear to accept the fact that its all bullshyt

they pick and choose because they can get away with that in 2012, as opposed to believing that god flooded the earth to kill everyone, etc.

shyts disgusting and sad

 

[Serious]

No where in the bible does it tell you what is a metaphor and what is meant to be literal. So yall nikkas are just taking it upon yourself to judge what is metaphor and what is literal. The assumption here is that you're going to write off all the ridiculous nonsense contained within the book as "its just a metaphor " so what is left is just all the "good" stuff that you can praise. And you know damn well 1000 years ago people believed each and every word was the literal word of god. So miss me with that metaphor shyt they would've crucified you for saying that shyt.

right, but IMO that's not even a fair argument because the perception of the text(bible) changes with time. Thus, why there are various versions of the similar text, but most of it is left up to interpretation.

For example: We can watch a movie, then write up a report about the movie. Our accounts of the film will never be 100% the same word for word. Heck they may sound like complete opposites. Point is, perception is really just left up to the interpreter....

And mos def, people would have been killed a 1000 years ago, for this type of blasphemy, but isn't that just another example of how interpretation changes over time

 

[Brown_Pride]

The bible is full of metaphor, parables, imagery, and other literary devices so no not all of it is 100% literal.

There are supernatural things as well (sticks turning into snakes, burning bushes, God, resurrection, being swallowed by a fish, surviving in a furnace, etc, etc, etc)

So yes some are literal and some are metaphor, they were intended as metaphor and in some cases even described in the bible as metaphor.

You then have interpretation. For instance transubstantiation, i can see where both sides are coming from, ultimately they are performing the same act in rememberance of JC so both IMHO are following what they are supposed to do.

Often debates like this do nothing but distract or are used as distraction by those who would distract. (which is what is most done in here.)

For shyts and giggles lets pretend there ARE some "wrong" things in the bible, god did create a rule to punish people for changing "the word" afterall and if he created a rule it stands to reason that the rule has been broken. Does it change much of what a christian is?

Let's say the arc story is a metaphor, hell let's even go so far as to say it was completely fabricated, does it change anything?

For a christian i'd suspect not, primarily because my faith isn't defined by that story. This would be analogous to finding a typo in a math book and discounting all of math because of that one typo.

And there really isn't an issue in me personally deciding what is "real" and what isn't I ask god for guidance while reading the bible and rely on that.

Ultimately God will be judging each person for their actions, how he does that I don't know and whether my belief in the literal interpretation of Noah comes into affect isn't something I really believe.