Christians Preferred: Are only Literalists True Christians™?

[sojourner]

1. 
   On a round globe when you travel East and continue they never meet still traveling East, not so North to South. Go east on flat map and fall off a cliff at the end or a point where your transgressions wouldn’t be covered and Gods mercy would be finite, but that’s not the case.

That has nothing to do with how the writer of Genesis sees the world, does it?
In fact, the Psalms, being poetic, use a lot of creative snd metaphoric language — completely different from factual language. The Psalms were written by people who had no concept for the earth’s dimensions. They only knew that east went “far” and so did West.

 

[ElishaElijah]

That has nothing to do with how the writer of Genesis sees the world, does it?
In fact, the Psalms, being poetic, use a lot of creative snd metaphoric language — completely different from factual language. The Psalms were written by people who had no concept for the earth’s dimensions. They only knew that east went “far” and so did West.

And if you apply the same standards to Genesis it doesn’t mean flat earth. You believe Moses was saying flat earth? I don’t, anyone that travels past the horizon can tell the earth is round.

 

[sojourner]

And if you apply the same standards to Genesis it doesn’t mean flat earth. You believe Moses was saying flat earth? I don’t, anyone that travels past the horizon can tell the earth is round.

1) Moses didn’t write Genesis. In fact, Genesis has four distinct authors.
2) The creation account in question was lifted from earlier, Sumerian myths.
3) The Hebrew word says what it says. And it says “hammered-out bowl.” This implies a disc-shaped earth.
4) Most ancient people didn’t travel that far, snd if they did, the horizon always recedes before one as one travels.

No, I’m afraid we can’t twist what the Bible actually is and says.

 

[ElishaElijah]

1) Moses didn’t write Genesis. In fact, Genesis has four distinct authors.
2) The creation account in question was lifted from earlier, Sumerian myths.
3) The Hebrew word says what it says. And it says “hammered-out bowl.” This implies a disc-shaped earth.
4) Mist ancient people didn’t travel that far, snd if they did, the horizon always recedes before one as one travels.

No, I’m afraid we can’t twist what the Bible actually is and says.

Then why do you do it? The purpose for Biblical hermeneutics is to determine what the author meant by what they wrote. You are failing in that respect saying God meant “flat earth” in Genesis.

 

[sojourner]

Then why do you do it? The purpose for Biblical hermeneutics is to determine what the author meant by what they wrote. You are failing in that respect saying God meant “flat earth” in Genesis.

I’m not. That’s what it says. We can’t change what the language actually says.

 

[ElishaElijah]

I’m not. That’s what it says. We can’t change what the language actually says.

Proper interpretation is what did the author mean, what was God communicating in Genesis? Flat earth? Not a chance

 

[sojourner]

Proper interpretation is what did the author mean, what was God communicating in Genesis? Flat earth? Not a chance

No, proper exegesis is reading what the text actually says and then extrapolating from that what was meant. The text says that God created a hammered-out bowl that God called “the sky” and placed it over the earth. That’s what it says. We can extrapolate from that that the author (not God, BTW) envisioned the earth as a disc shape, because that shape would fit under a bowl. That’s the picture of the created earth the author does convey. That being said, we know that the texts are neither infallible nor literalistic, so we need pay no attention to the particulars of that picture; we simply note it and move on. But that’s what it says; that’s what the author meant; later editors didn’t fix it; and it isn’t congruent with what we now know about the shape of the earth.

 

[ElishaElijah]

No, proper exegesis is reading what the text actually says and then extrapolating from that what was meant. The text says that Gods created a hammered-out bowl that God called “the sky” and placed it over the earth. That’s what it says. We can extrapolate from that that the author (not God, BTW) envisioned the earth as a disc shape, because that shape would fit under a bowl. That’s the picture of the created earth the author does convey. That being said, we know that the texts are neither infallible nor literalistic, so we need pay no attention to the particulars of that picture; we simply note it a move on. But that’s what it says; that’s what the author meant; later editors didn’t fix it; and it isn’t congruent with what we now know about the shape of the earth.

And your extrapolation is wrong and God is the author. The description of a dome with water above and below and you’re assuming He means flat earth. That’s not it at all. That’s your improper interpretation.

 

[sojourner]

And your extrapolation is wrong and God is the author.

You’ll have to present an alternate exegesis that refutes what I’ve put forward. And you’ll have to provide empirical evidence that God wrote it. Otherwise, your refutation is a baseless “Nuh-uh!” You’ve got a pretty big hurdle to jump in the face of the meaning of the Hebrew word in the text and it’s literal meaning, though, as well as the evidence that there were earlier stories that directly parallel this particular account.

 

[ElishaElijah]

You’ll have to present an alternate exegesis that refutes what I’ve put forward. And you’ll have to provide empirical evidence that God wrote it. Otherwise, your refutation is a baseless “Nuh-uh!” You’ve got a pretty big hurdle to jump in the face of the meaning of the Hebrew word in the text and it’s literal meaning, though, as well as the evidence that there were earlier stories that directly parallel this particular account.

If you don’t believe God is the author then you failed at Biblical Hermeneutics 101

 

[sojourner]

If you don’t believe God is the author then you failed at Biblical Hermeneutics 101

If you believe God wrote Genesis, the you have failed Exegesis 101. Again: you’ll need to provide empirical evidence for such authorship. Show it to me.

 

[ElishaElijah]

If you believe God wrote Genesis, the you have failed Exegesis 101. Again: you’ll need to provide empirical evidence for such authorship. Show it to me.

I said God was the Author, I didn’t say He wrote it down. Except He wrote the 10 Commandments in stone with His own finger. I said Moses wrote first 5 Books of the Bible.

 

[sojourner]

I said God was the Author, I didn’t say He wrote it down. Except He wrote the 10 Commandments in stone with His own finger. I said Moses wrote first 5 Books of the Bible.

You’ll need to provide empirical evidence for both those claims

 

[ElishaElijah]

You’ll need to provide empirical evidence for both those claims

Like I said if you don’t believe God is the Author of the Bible you failed as a biblical interpreter. You will be wrong in your interpretation and proved it already.

 

[sojourner]

Like I said if you don’t believe God is the Author of the Bible you failed as a biblical interpreter. You will be wrong in your interpretation and proved it already.

You’ll need to provide evidence for this stance, as well. That’s the only way to build a viable case. That’s how the hermeneutic of exegesis works. Otherwise it’s nothing but an unfounded opinion. I’ve done my homework.


Your turn

 

[ElishaElijah]

You’ll need to provide evidence for this stance, as well. That’s the only way to build a viable case. That’s how the hermeneutic of exegesis works. Otherwise it’s nothing but an unfounded opinion. I’ve done my homework.


Your turn

You said the Author communicated flat earth when He is the Creator of the Universe. That’s why you’re a false teacher and interpreter.

 

[sojourner]

You said the Author communicated flat earth when He is the Creator of the Universe. That’s why you’re a false teacher and interpreter.

No I didn’t. I said the author (that would be the person who wrote the document) wrote that the sky was bowl-shaped, thus implying a disc-shaped earth. I never claimed that the author was the creator of the universe. You made that claim without evidence, which I pointed out. You seem to be into the whole alternate facts thing.

I’m still waiting for your evidence for your claims.

 

[ElishaElijah]

No I didn’t. I said the author (that would be the person who wrote the document) wrote that the sky was bowl-shaped, thus implying a disc-shaped earth. I never claimed that the author was the creator of the universe. You made that claim without evidence, which I pointed out. You seem to be into the whole alternate facts thing.

I’m still waiting for your evidence for your claims.

The Bible is Gods Word and He chose to partner with Mankind who is made in His image to record His Story and message. God the Creator is the Author. If you don’t believe that you will continue to misinterpret Scriptures like thinking Genesis teaches “flat earth”. That’s not what God was communicating. Curious to know what you believe separates the water on the Earth from the water above the Earth?

 

[alypius]

But the reading deserves so much more than a surface, literalistic reading.

But isn't this thread's premise that the Bible is to be taken literally?

 

[ElishaElijah]

But isn't this thread's premise that the Bible is to be taken literally?

No, that’s not what the thread was about although some can’t tell the difference when to take the Scriptures literally or not, or misinterpret what the text says.