Replies to post #6241 on Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[Zeev Hed]

But there is nothing wrong for those that want to take the bible in the literal way doing so. mlsoft is not forcing anyone else to accept his interpretation.

In any event, as far as the old testament is concerned it is in Hebrew, and Hebrew is written in such a way (without most of the vowels) that a plurality of interpretations are indeed "literal". Some interpretors even go as far as using inverses and transmutation in special words (exchanging places of letter) to divine unusual interpretation of the old testament. Other look at the gimatric (letters have numerical values so words can be assigned numbers and not even unique numbers, and these numbers retranslated into other words)message that various passages in the bible may (or may not carry). That is their right as well.

Zeev

[mlsoft]

"mlsoft, You have made some bold statements. Now, when asked some simple questions you fail to answer. Deep in your heart you know that the Bible was written by politicians and church leaders. It was written to keep people in line so societies as a whole could grow. There are so many contradictions and ways of interpreting semantic meanings of ancient words that to take a narrow literal view, especially a view that is harmful to some, negates the beauty of the Bible as a whole. Peace."
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jbennett....

As you well know, those were not serious questions - they were meant as ridicule of the Bible and anyone who takes it seriously, particularly the Christian faith. So no, I will not respond to it although there are very good answers to the general idea behind the questions (hint - Israel was a theocracy.)

Some things in the Bible (both Old and New Testament) are subject to different interpretations and are very hard to understand without much study - often much comparison between different passages of scripture is required. There are many other areas which are addressed very clearly and there is no ambiguity whatsoever, and for those teachings and doctrines the choice is easy - either you accept them or reject them. Every individual is free to make his own choice, but the choice must be made.

mlsoft