A question to those who would promote the idea that some of the bible is figurative and NOT literal

[Riverwalker]

1 minute ago, teddyv said:

What does a person who has no access to the Scriptures base their faith on? While access is much more common now, this has not been the case for much of history.

While that is hardly applicable for today, in the past, God himself revealed Himself to those who did not have the bible.

Romans 1: 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and [g]Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

And then he gave us the bible

 

[Riverwalker]

4 minutes ago, Starise said:

I see the Bible like the skin of an onion. New Christians are beginning with that outer skin. This was all they needed to accept the Lord into their life. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand salvation.

The longer we are believers and the more we study, this is how things open up to us. Pure intellect won't get you there. Neither will waiting for some invisible force to guide you apart from attentiveness to understand it. I see it as a combination of these things. God's leading and faithful study.

I spoke with a man yesterday and we were discussing a religious  institution across from where he attended college. We both agreed that a man could receive a doctorate in theology there and still not be taught the word.

But what about those who toss aside the onion when they no longer like the smell 

 

[teddyv]

8 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

While that is hardly applicable for today, in the past, God himself revealed Himself to those who did not have the bible.

Romans 1: 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and [g]Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

And then he gave us the bible

 

Romans is completely applicable today as it ever was through history. It is the source of the idea of 'general revelation', essentially that creation itself is a testament to God's presence. It's not like the Bible supersedes this. 

The Biblical story is 'special revelation', the story of God acting through human history. The Bible was developed over thousands of years from disparate authors and eventually collated into what we have now.

 

Edit: Oh, and my first part is applicable still today. Bibles have still not been translated into all languages, yet you will likely find Christians there.

Edited February 22, 2021 by teddyv

[Riverwalker]

4 minutes ago, teddyv said:

Romans is completely applicable today as it ever was through history. It is the source of the idea of 'general revelation', essentially that creation itself is a testament to God's presence. It's not like the Bible supersedes this. 

The Biblical story is 'special revelation', the story of God acting through human history. The Bible was developed over thousands of years from disparate authors and eventually collated into what we have now.

 

Edit: Oh, and my first part is applicable still today. Bibles have still not been translated into all languages, yet you will likely find Christians there.

What I meant that being without access to the Word is hardly applicable today

[Marathoner]

6 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

If faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, and the New testament is not the word of God, then on what do you base your faith?

Your response is more than a little confusing because at no time did I assert that the scriptures are not God-breathed. Are you confused by how the Lord inspired men to bear witness of His glory, words which we call the scriptures? You didn't address what I wrote. 

As for the efficacy of Christ and His Spirit, I'm astonished that anyone called by the Lord might question His power and will. There are people on this earth who came to Christ by His sovereign power alone; witness the thousands in Iran who believe Jesus Christ having never darkened the door of a church building. 

Do you believe that your way is the only way to Jesus Christ, @Riverwalker? You question my faith by your words and I'm not dismayed by this in the least. I expect nothing less. The Lord called me from this world and sent me to a man who taught me what I needed to know. What is my faith based upon?

Jesus Christ, the Son of God. What is yours based upon?

[Riverwalker]

2 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

Your response is more than a little confusing because at no time did I assert that the scriptures are not God-breathed. Are you confused by how the Lord inspired men to bear witness of His glory, words which we call the scriptures? You didn't address what I wrote. 

As for the efficacy of Christ and His Spirit, I'm astonished that anyone called by the Lord might question His power and will. There are people on this earth who came to Christ by His sovereign power alone; witness the thousands in Iran who believe Jesus Christ having never darkened the door of a church building. 

Do you believe that your way is the only way to Jesus Christ, @Riverwalker? You question my faith by your words and I'm not dismayed by this in the least. I expect nothing less. The Lord called me from this world and sent me to a man who taught me what I needed to know. What is my faith based upon?

Jesus Christ, the Son of God. What is yours based upon?

I Believe God and His Word (Which John Calls Jesus) is the only way

There is no private interpretations, there are not many paths, there is one, and it is Jesus. which is WHY  we must take the bible literally without any of our own flavoring

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Do all of us have a full revelation and understanding of God..no. But if we are all follow the one true path, we should not conflict

[teddyv]

8 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

I Believe God and His Word (Which John Calls Jesus) is the only way

There is no private interpretations, there are not many paths, there is one, and it is Jesus. which is WHY  we must take the bible literally without any of our own flavoring

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Do all of us have a full revelation and understanding of God..no. But if we are all follow the one true path, we should not conflict

But the Word (Logos) is not the same as the Bible.

[Starise]

41 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

But what about those who toss aside the onion when they no longer like the smell 

2 Tim. 4:3

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

27 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

I Believe God and His Word (Which John Calls Jesus) is the only way

There is no private interpretations, there are not many paths, there is one, and it is Jesus. which is WHY  we must take the bible literally without any of our own flavoring

I believe there are uneducated interpretations. Don't you?

Don't get me wrong. I see what you are saying here. You are actually quoting something the Bible says. If you've been on any Christian forum for very long though you are aware I'm sure that many people do have different interpretations.

I don't think were going to pull that weed this year, Next year doesn't look good either.

 

[missmuffet]

1 minute ago, Starise said:

2 Tim. 4:3

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

I believe there are uneducated interpretations. Don't you?

Don't get me wrong. I see what you are saying here. You are actually quoting something the Bible says. If you've been on any Christian forum for very long though you are aware I'm sure that many people do have different interpretations.

I don't think were going to pull that weed this year, Next year doesn't look good either.

 

There is a lot of false teaching on Worthy. 

[Uber Genius]

My thinking is that we should read the Bible literarily. That is, in such a way that we get to the original meaning conveyed by the author. 

I have two resources that have helped me get to the authorial meaning when figurative language is confusing. See below.

Companion to The Bible E.P. BArrows

"1. When the psalmist says: "The Lord God is a sun and shield" (Psa.84:11), he means that God is to all his creatures the source of life and blessedness, and their almighty protector; but this meaning he conveys under the figure of a sun and a shield. When, again, the apostle James says that Moses is read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day (Acts 15:21), he signifies the writings of Moses under the figure of his name.

In these examples the figure lies in particular words. But it may be embodied in a sentence, thus: "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks" (Acts 26:14), where Saul's conduct in persecuting Christ's disciples is represented under the form of an ox kicking against the ploughman's goad only to make the wounds it inflicts deeper.

Figurative language, then, is that in which one thing is said under the form or figure of another thing. In the case of allegories and parables, it may take the form, as we shall hereafter see, of continuous discourse."

https://www.amazon.com/Figures-Speech-Used-Bible-Bullinger/dp/161640759X

Above is a book that I have used since the mid-1980s to help me understand figurative language. I think there I should an online version at Biblehub.com or Bible gateway.com in the "Study" section. 

It is an exhaustive 125+ year old standard reference guide on use of figurative language in the Bible. My brother and one of my Pastors said that this book was one of the best resources their seminary professors recommended for understanding the thousands of figurative references found in the Bible. 

Walter Keiser, author of Kingdom of the Cults, said this book was essential to proper Biblical understanding. Hope this helps.