Thread: People look at things diferntly.

Originally posted by eyeofgames
It annoys me,

Really


The bible is one book

ok so its a collection books but that is beside the point

I have seen veiw points on this book that range from

"Every word is literal and true and you are going to hell!HELL!!!YOU WILL DIE!!! * "

to

"Whoa...Dude...This is poetic/symbolic and the message is what counts.Man.....dude. * .."


the point is why can't the book just simple say what it is about and what it means rather than needing interpritaion.Oh well I'm sure my problem comes from lack of understanding.

If you choose not to interpret it a certain way then you are taking what it says literally . When you start interpreting it , or thinking about it , thats when you form your own opinions about the stories within it and find the meaning its trying to convey . And when you find that meaning , the actual stories dont seem as improtant , more so the message its giving and so you take from it what is most improtant . Thats what ive found anyway .

Well, I guess it really doesn't matter how you interpret it. I mean, it was not written by God, so it isn't really more valid than any other book on religion or anything else. Yeah, some of the morals in it are kind of nice, but take what you read with a grain of salt...It's just a book that some dude wrote. It was not sent down on a cloud from heaven, so interpret it however you like. It doesn't really make that big of a differene.

The bible wouldn't be cool it everything was clear. And prooven facts. Like if the removed all the fiction form the bible it wouldn't sell.

Becouse them it would be unprinted paper.

lol the point is: The bible is full of silly tales that are as real as the 'da vinci code'. Honestly, when I read that book I allmost forgot it was fiction too.

Anyways, constantine (the emperor dude, you know, is that his name) wrote the bible anyways. He kind of editted it so it would be so vague and that there would be a million ways to interpertate it.

I bet if there really would be a heaven he would be laughing about how many people believe his litlle book

Look, aside from the reality/veracity of the Bible, there's no point in reading it.

Even IF it was written by God through prophets. Even IF the stories had only one intended meaning or purpose.

Because the stories are vague, you will interpret them to be what YOU believe. You will interpret the stories in a way that isn't in direct opposition to your beliefs. And because of that, the Bible doesn't actually DO anything in terms of showing people what God wants them to do. It may very well have been written for that purpose, but that's not what it does. There's too much wiggle room for interpretation, which makes the Bible almost universally acceptable, to a wide array of actual beliefs, beliefs that likely contradict the meanings intended in the Bible.

so easy for you atheists isn't it.

Originally posted by eyeofgames
so easy for you atheists isn't it.

Nope.

Originally posted by eyeofgames
so easy for you atheists isn't it.

I am not an athiest, I just have a little common sense. People, flawed, just as you and I were wrote the bible. Why should I take the advice of people who are just as imperfect as I am over some crazy person on the street's advice? I would hold them in the same regaurd, because both hold equal grounds. I am more fit to take my own advice and make my own decisions than let a book of allegories and fables make them for me. Oh, and being Agnostic isn't easy either.

supposedly these people were under the infuence of holy spirt or somthing like that. You see I don't know what that is like. I beleave there is a god but I am wondering if the path to him is more open ie you are not evil if you are gay or of another religon. And aslo evoulution seems very paluseable...in fact VERY VERY paulseable. So as you can see I am lost.Don't try to make me an atheist. There is more to life than trying to have as much fun as you can and then you die. So it annoys me when there are thousand of interpritations of the bible. Becuase acording one or another i'm screwed.

Originally posted by eyeofgames
And aslo evoulution seems very paluseable...in fact VERY VERY paulseable.

Do you know why it is plauseable? Because it is hard science.

Nobody is trying to convert you to atheism. I mean, I am sure nobody gives a shit what you believe. It really doesn't matter what you believe, so use your brain and choose what you think is true. Not what your pastor, the bible, your parents, or anyone else thinks is true; you. Decide for yourself, and you won't be confused. Remember: people are only people and nobody is holier than anyone else.The truth is within us all, and it's up to you to choose what you think about it.

The Bible can't be simple and clear with respect to its symbols because language can't express these things. Language can only convey learned knowledge, but the Bible points towards intuitive knowledge, a knowledge that is at the same time a state of being. That's why it uses symbols to convey what it is getting at; it points towards something beyond the words. Only when you take those symbols and find what they mean for yourself does the point become clear. Basically, everything everyone has told you is wrong. What you get out of it will only be right for you because religion is a personal experience. Granted, if one actually takes the time to investigate these things, the archetypes will be the same for all, but how they manifest themselves for you will be completely unique.

No, because some people obviously won't interpret it the same. People obviously haven't interpreted it the same in the past. Each person can read the bible and find 'their own special meaning', and it's all well and good, but it will be more than just different on the surface. Because the Bible is so vague, it has so many interpretations that it can't be used as a law book of any sorts. If you want to use it as a holy script, fine by me, but I'm not buying into it. But NOBODY should use the Bible as a set of stone-cold laws. There's just too many ways to read the laws that you'd never be able to determine which one is right.


And a note, it isn't easy for us atheists. Read the thread "God's Worried About You" for my personal story of how I left theism. It wasn't just some jaunt in the park, or a spur of the moment decision. I actually had to think about my beliefs, something most people (atheists and theists both) don't really get.

Originally posted by Tsen+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tsen)</div>

No, because some people obviously won't interpret it the same. *People obviously haven't interpreted it the same in the past.[/b]

Are you referring to the archetypes? I meant they are the same for those who investigate themselves thoroughly, to the point of death of the ego and back again (to non-duality). (This is where all the symbols of dying and resurrecting come in handy.) But this is a small number of people, always has been. For most, they will not question themselves to this point. For them, they interpret it from the limited self and try to reduce it all to the physical and ego; i.e. God is outside me, must blindly abide laws, etc. This must be given up.

<!--QuoteBegin-Tsen
Each person can read the bible and find 'their own special meaning', and it's all well and good, but it will be more than just different on the surface.

While some might find "their own special meaning", I don't think we're talking about exactly the same thing. Its not about "making up" your own meaning or anything of that sort. It is based on experience, a state of being, and in essence it is exactly the same thing, for how could the principle origin be different? It might only appear so when you look at it from the perspective of multiplicity, from below (which is not a negative).

Originally posted by Tsen
Because the Bible is so vague, it has so many interpretations that it can't be used as a law book of any sorts. *

No, it definitely should not. A guide, yes, a law book, no. Nor has it ever been that way for some. There are always a few throughout history that take its internal meaning.

I think some wise men realized the true nature of man. Over population would ultimately be their demise.
So to counter that they took a collection of anthologies, metaphors symbolism, misconstrued a few synoptic thoughts and philosophies, threw them up in the air, then binded them together.
Thinking...This should cause enough wars over time to counter the threat of over population in the future.
The paradox of the past and the future!