by JosephAlward 27 Replies latest watchtower bible
Siegswife
If it wasn't literal, then it wasn't true. Maybe it was an allegory to depict how jesus overcame temptaions. Maybe none of the jesus events are true. Maybe jesus never existed. Maybe these stories were centred around this guy just to give lessons.
SS
Maybe you're gonna burn in hell, Satan!
Sixofnine
Maybe there is no hell.
Satan
I believe it IS allegory. Maybe Jesus, after his 40 days in the wilderness was thinking how cool it would be if he could get enough followers and take over the world without carrying out his mission the way he was supposed to. That doesn't make the account untrue.
As for the people back then believing that the earth was flat, they probably did. Just as they thought that the sun was moving around the earth instead of what we now know to be true. Don't people still only view life from the perspective that they can see it? Does that make their observations any less valid?
siegswife
Where does the allegory stop? Do you arbitrarily decide? How do you know he was in the wilderness a literal 40 days? How do you know the other temptations literally happened?
deleted for incomplete sentences and repetition
Where does it stop? Why does it have to if the meaning can be gleaned from 'the story'? How do I know that it's true? Because of MY perception of what I have experienced and still experience in my life in relation to Christ. Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't think I am. Does that mean that I'm not? No...but as long as I'm dealing with it that's all that matters. LOL
Siegswife
Well it sounds like you are a spiritual person, and to me that is more important than quibbling over words and sentences. So, all the best to you. If i was qualified, i would bless you.
siegswife writes,
"As for the people back then believing that the earth was flat, they probably did. Just as they thought that the sun was moving around the earth instead of what we now know to be true. Don't people still only view life from the perspective that they can see it? Does that make their observations any less valid?"
Alward responds: If the Bible advertised itself as a collection of the opinions and observations of men, then there would be no problem. However, according to the Bible,
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching” (2 Timothy 3:16)
It is obvious, I think, that any Bible passage which conveys an image of a flat earth cannot be "useful for teaching." The Matthew and Daniel passages therefore could not have been "God-breathed." Thus, the author of 2 Timothy was wrong, which means the Bible is in error. If the Bible is in error on one page, it might be in error on every page.
Joseph F. Alward
"Skeptical Views of Christianity and the Bible"
http://members.aol.com/jalw/joseph_alward.html
JA,
The Bible contains errors, this is a fact. 2 Timothy 3:16 says: "All Scripture is God breathed and usefull for teaching."
Are we to assume that what we have today as reference to the Scriptures are translated accurately from the original manuscripts?
If what we have today is in error as far as the Bible, how do we know that the original manuscripts are also in error. 2 Timothy 3:16 may still hold true if the originals were without error. How do we know for sure?
I am still waiting for more references from you as far as proof that the Bible teaches the earth is flat. The Scripture in Matthew you qouted is far from sufficient evidence.
