Thread: Penn & Teller; The Bible is Bullshit
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Old 08-09-2007, 05:16 PM   #42 (permalink)
Katczinsky
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fluffmeister View Post
Some obvious examples would be Jesus' use of parables. When he tells Peter "I will make you a fisher of men", he's not literally talking about catching human beings in nets.

The Old Testament is full of allegory - Isaiah refers to Israel as a vineyard, but it's meant allegorically, and the idea of building a highway in the desert didn't refer to physical road-building.

The Genesis account of creation in six days may also have been intended allegorically - since a "day" is defined by the time from sunset to sunset, and the Sun didn't get created until the fourth day - and elsewhere, it's mentioned that a "day" from God's viewpoint is like "a thousand years" to us (and the word for thousand, אלף, also means "multitude" in Hebrew).
There is (can be) a difference between figurative language and a fable. Such language you cited above is written in figurative language obviously meant to convey a somewhat allegorical meaning. But that doesn't mean everything in the Old Testament is allegorical; and it certainly doesn't mean you can pick and choose which is allegorical and which is literal simply because in some stories it would defy logic to assume the latter. An idiom such as "I will make you a fisher of men" is in stark contrast to a quote like this one from Deuteronomy (17:12 NLT):

"Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must be put to death. Such evil must be purged from Israel."

Or

"They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. " (2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB)

There's no fishermen or 'stars falling from the sky' in those quotes.
"If you want to achieve peace of mind and happiness, then have faith; if you want to be a disciple of truth, then search" -- Friedrich Nietzsche

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