• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

How to interprete Scriptures (Bible or Quran)

InvestigateTruth

InvestigateTruth

Veteran Member
It is believed by most people that the Scriptures contain both literal and symbolic verses and stories.
How do you decide where to interprete a passage literally and where to inteprete it symbolically or Figuratively.
I am looking for a method that can be used to decide "consistantly" if a passage is symbolic or literal.
 
Last edited:
Jayhawker Soule

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
InvestigateTruth said:
I am looking for a method that can be used to decide "consistantly" if a passage is symbolic or literal.
Click to expand...
Any method, including a coin toss, can be used to decide consistently, and only the most naive fool would believe there to be a method that allows one to consistently decide correctly.
 
InvestigateTruth

InvestigateTruth

Veteran Member
Jayhawker Soule said:
Any method, including a coin toss, can be used to decide consistently, and only the most naive fool would believe there to be a method that allows one to consistently decide correctly.
Click to expand...

Why not saying God created the world including its sciences of physics and chemistry...etc., AND He does not have to break His own rules. By Rules I mean all Rules, including the sciences. Thus, whenever the Scripture is saying something against science, it must be symbolic, and should not be taken literal. Is this meathod consistant?
 
InvestigateTruth

InvestigateTruth

Veteran Member
Jayhawker Soule said:
It is perfectly consistent, not to mention naive and self serving. But if it makes you happy ...
Click to expand...
Well, if the scriptures are inspired by God, it makes sense there should be a consistant way of interpreting them, otherwise if the Books of God cannot be understood clearly and consistantly, then the god of these Books is confusing His own people, when the matter of fact is, He claimes His Perpose was to guide, but not to confuse. Moreover, if God has created the world containing the Rules of physics which are part of His own knowledge, why should His own Books contain things that are contrary to scientific Rules?
 
Reverend Richard

Reverend Richard

New Thought Minister
InvestigateTruth said:
Well, if the scriptures are inspired by God, it makes sense there should be a consistant way of interpreting them, otherwise if the Books of God cannot be understood clearly and consistantly........
Click to expand...

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! Ladies in gentlemen, in this corner we have a winner!

I believe you have hit upon it! I have always believed that if God was so concerned about us, and about our immortal souls, He would have chosen a better way to get the word out. Using the current method of "inspired scripture", whether the Old Testament, New Testament, the Quran, or the Book of Mormon, we have been fighting among ourselves for millennia - fighting wars over it and spilling blood over it. So far, how is that working out for God to get his message across?

Me thinks, not so well.
 
InvestigateTruth

InvestigateTruth

Veteran Member
Jayhawker Soule said:
Why should that be? I'm inspired by many things.
Click to expand...

Well, that's fine, you are inspired by many things.
However If the scriptures are from God, it is reasnoble to expect them to be the highest source of inspiration or at least they should be a correct way to learn and understand them correctly, otherwise the purpose of God is not fulfiled. It's like if a teacher has a Book with the purpose of guiding, but He does not explain it properly so the students can interprete the Book correctly and be guided. Then every group interpretes them differently.
 
InvestigateTruth

InvestigateTruth

Veteran Member
Reverend Richard said:
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! Ladies in gentlemen, in this corner we have a winner!

I believe you have hit upon it! I have always believed that if God was so concerned about us, and about our immortal souls, He would have chosen a better way to get the word out. Using the current method of "inspired scripture", whether the Old Testament, New Testament, the Quran, or the Book of Mormon, we have been fighting among ourselves for millennia - fighting wars over it and spilling blood over it. So far, how is that working out for God to get his message across?

Me thinks, not so well.
Click to expand...
Well, here it can be argued that God has done His part, but most poeple chose not listen or obey God since God has given them free will to choose the way of God or not.
 
InvestigateTruth

InvestigateTruth

Veteran Member
Jayhawker Soule said:
What might that reason be?
Click to expand...

That if God is all-knowing and created us, He must have loved His creation, otherwise He would not be all-knowing, if He created something that He did not love. And If He loved us, it is reasonable to say, He cared for us, and thus sent us guidance to save our imortal soul.
It's like if there is a parant who make babies but don't care about the well being of their childeren. It is not reasonable to say God did not care about His childeren or He is powerless to help them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top