This is an extreme oversimplification, and a literal interpretation of obviously symbolic and allegorical texts.
Just like ‘giants’ doesn’t refer to literal giant people, ‘relationship with God’ can mean several dozen different things, depending on the context.
Allegories and symbols are very common in religious texts. To treat them literally misses the point.
These texts also tend to repeat the same points multiple times, or overwrite them altogether (countless occurrences in the Bible), with broader context in entirely different sections of the texts, if at all present.
Annotations usually help with this, but it depends on the translation and version of the Bible you’re reading.
Keep in mind I’m by no means advocating for or defending Christianity or any other religion. This is purely about theology, as well as reading and understanding religious texts. It’s a fairly complex topic, regardless of if you’re religious or not.
This is an extreme oversimplification, and a literal interpretation of obviously symbolic and allegorical texts.
Just like ‘giants’ doesn’t refer to literal giant people, ‘relationship with God’ can mean several dozen different things, depending on the context.
Allegories and symbols are very common in religious texts. To treat them literally misses the point.
Which texts? I’m going to disagree with most examples, so please give examples so we can hash it out. “Obviously symbolic and allegorical” is going to depends heavily on the plausibility structure you start with before reading them, I’d like to see evidence for that statement.
These texts also tend to repeat the same points multiple times, or overwrite them altogether (countless occurrences in the Bible), with broader context in entirely different sections of the texts, if at all present.
More examples please.
Annotations usually help with this, but it depends on the translation and version of the Bible you’re reading.
What do you mean by annotations? Comparing various translations can help to get a better understanding of the original text, I don’t take a single translation as the only correct one.
This is an extreme oversimplification, and a literal interpretation of obviously symbolic and allegorical texts.
Just like ‘giants’ doesn’t refer to literal giant people, ‘relationship with God’ can mean several dozen different things, depending on the context.
Allegories and symbols are very common in religious texts. To treat them literally misses the point.
These texts also tend to repeat the same points multiple times, or overwrite them altogether (countless occurrences in the Bible), with broader context in entirely different sections of the texts, if at all present.
Annotations usually help with this, but it depends on the translation and version of the Bible you’re reading.
Keep in mind I’m by no means advocating for or defending Christianity or any other religion. This is purely about theology, as well as reading and understanding religious texts. It’s a fairly complex topic, regardless of if you’re religious or not.
Which texts? I’m going to disagree with most examples, so please give examples so we can hash it out. “Obviously symbolic and allegorical” is going to depends heavily on the plausibility structure you start with before reading them, I’d like to see evidence for that statement.
More examples please.
What do you mean by annotations? Comparing various translations can help to get a better understanding of the original text, I don’t take a single translation as the only correct one.