OT: Bible Discussion (Split from Real World Sensitivities)

[thejeff]

I suspect atheists often assume the literalist position because many of the most extreme and the most vocal Christians are literalists, especially in the US and many places on the net.

I know that most Christians aren't literalists, but most of the ones I worry about are.

[Edi]

Originally Posted by thejeff

I suspect atheists often assume the literalist position because many of the most extreme and the most vocal Christians are literalists, especially in the US and many places on the net.

I know that most Christians aren't literalists, but most of the ones I worry about are.

True. And the "part literal, part allegory" approach on the other hand provides all sorts of ammunition against a lot of things that even mainstream Christianity accepts as a matter of course. It comes to the "So, which is it?" question and sooner or later the religious arguments start contradicting themselves.

It's hard to give any respect to something that is so inconsistent and self-contradictory. Most of the good stuff associated with Christianity is not actually sourced in the Bible per se, but is universal to most ethical systems that aim to improve the lot of people. The Golden Rule being one of those.

Another problem Christianity has in the eyes of non-believers is refusal of moderates to outright condemn the whackjob fringe, thus silently enabling them to claim more supporters for their position than there really are. If someone on my side were sabotaging constructive efforts the same way they are, I'd let them have it with both barrels. And as long as the other side doesn't return the favor, I won't bother making any distinctions when talking about them as a group. If someone has a problem with it, they can speak up later. Not that the earlier silence will get a lot of sympathy.

[SlipperyJim]

Originally Posted by thejeff

I suspect atheists often assume the literalist position because many of the most extreme and the most vocal Christians are literalists, especially in the US and many places on the net.

I know that most Christians aren't literalists, but most of the ones I worry about are.

We need to draw a very careful distinction between Truth and literalism. Fundamentalist Christians like me believe the Bible to be true. We believe that Scripture is the infallible and inspired Word of God. What does that mean?

"Infallible" means that the Word is never wrong on any subject that it addresses. The doctrine of infallibility does not claim that Scripture contains all knowledge. I work in IT, and I can tell you that Scripture is remarkably short on advice for properly configuring a virtual datacenter. However, when Scripture speaks on a subject, it is always correct.

The doctrine of infallibility also does not require us to always interpret Scripture in a literal, word-for-word sense. Some parts of Scripture are poetry, some are prophecy, and some are literal. We have to understand what we're reading. Of course, now we have the problem of determining which is which. Is the creation account from Genesis poetry or literal history? Christians are divided on this question. Personally, I'm undecided, but I'm leaning toward literal history.

A good rule of thumb for interpreting the Bible is: When the Word makes plain sense, seek no other sense. In other words, if the text makes sense from a literal view, then that's probably how it was meant to be understood. We shouldn't reach for a poetical or metaphorical understanding unless the plain meaning of the words can't possibly make sense....

"Inspired" simply means that the Bible came from God. Yes, it was written by human hands, but those people were all guided by God's Holy Spirit. In other words, the Bible has only one Author, but He gave a lot of dictation.

With those points in mind, I will refer you back to Agema's comment. Literal understanding of the Bible simply doesn't work, and Christians have known that for many years. I suspect that you actually don't know too many literalists. I am a member of a fundamentalist Christian church, and I don't know any literalists.

Most of the people who believe in a literal understanding of the Bible are straw men. Actual Christians -- including the fundamentalists -- know that literalism is both self-defeating and unnecessary to proclaim God's Word as truth.