Official Bible Interpretation Thread

Interpretation is an inevitable part of life. There are atheists who are ok with abortion and others that are not. There are atheists (and Christians) that are ok with war and others that are not. There have been anti religious to the point of certain unfortunate ends, and the same can be said also to Christians. What is right and wrong and how can we be sure of it?

But I guess the point you may have been making, and I am sorry if you weren't making it, is that God would be able to write a book that could never be misinterpreted. If that's what you're saying, then I agree, that is something that is glaring for any seeker of knowledge. But with that in mind, that seems to imply that we do not have the free will to decide how we would like the interpret what we are interpreting from. Be it ethics, what we think is true, or how we are understanding the Bible. Although, this does suggest there is an underlining interpretation and that the Bible is in some way perfect of itself. I don't know of that myself. The Bible was written by man as a way to hope that man would stop eating each other... but on another note...

"Would you take a similar contextual approach to other parts of the Bible."

I would - Now I would - Here is something interesting to say: I was reading Romans to my Grandmother one day and I noticed that it was saying something other than what I thought it was saying. What it was saying was this: "Principals, and not strict discipline, is what saves you. You know what is right and wrong through faith, but always double-check :2thumbsup:" It's true what they say, what we teach to others, we learn more than when we teach ourselves.

Here is an article that I liked and maybe you'll like it too:

http://www.newscientist.com/article...fraid--science-can-make-us-better.html?page=1

I think when we really unravel things in ethics, we can find a core inside of universal truths of right and wrong but that right and wrong aren't so rigid.

How has your views on God changed during the years?

 

Thanks

 

Re: the latter

I would argue that that is just what happened, and you can see it happen in the Bible itself. God is unified throughout, but he chose to bracket his people's understanding until they were ready to understand.