Glenn wrote: > I've told you this before. If it CAN be taken > literal it MUST be taken literal.
DAVEH wrote: > Is your above reasoning a commonly accepted method > of understanding the Bible amongst other Protestants? > And....is it accepted amongst Bible scholars? Or....is > this just your personal way of understanding the Bible Dave, Bible scholars are divided about this. Most evangelicals fall into the literalist camp. The literalist method of Bible interpretation is as Glenn explained. Take the passage literally unless there is clear reason not to do so. Other camps, especially among many Presbyterian branches and other adherents to Amellinialism, etc., take great liberty in allegorizing everything in the Bible. The idea is that there is always a hidden meaning in every passage, and that the important and real meaning is to find the symbolic understanding. Jewish sages generally recognize both as being present. There is the peshat (the literal meaning) and the derash (the homilitical meaning). It gets a little more complicated than this. In Judaism, there is an acronym-mnemonic for the four different approaches to the Bible. This is PARDES (PRDS). P = Peshat = the literal meaning R = Remez = some veiled meaning D = Derash = some homiletical meaning S = Sod = some secret meaning, such as mystical kabbalistic interpretion DAVEH: > So how do you distinguish between symbolism and reality > in the Bible? Why think this account is real when Bible > scholars disagree? I think this is where the Holy Spirit comes in, and a comparison of spiritual things with spiritual. But the literalist camp of Protestants would say, if it can be taken literally, then it should be taken literally. Peace be with you. David Miller. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
