(April 23, 2013 at 6:27 pm)swordwords Wrote: I am an atheist, but I would agree with you, however, not for the same reason I assume you have. The Bible is allegory and these apparent contraditions are a sort of puzzle to be solved. (You, as well as most Atheists, in effect, see the entire Bible in the wrong context.) In some cases the "error" will complete an allusion and may also communicate part of the hidden meaning at the same time. In other cases, there really are two different events being discussed, but our literal reading of the Bible prevents us from seeing the distinction. At other times one metaphor might be replaced with another metaphor to send a slightly different message. (Jews and Greeks both understood this allegory, but often they might not recognize a particular allusion if they were not familiar with the writing to which it referred. So, if the writer of the Gospel of Matthew suspected that a Jew might not recognize an allusion to a Greek idea employed by the author of the Gospel of Mark, he might switch to an allusion that was more Jewish.) These types of errors and contradictions are also found in the works of the Jewish historian Josephus and they serve the same purpose.
Sure, there’s figurative language used in various books of the Bible (i.e. Job), but the entire Bible Is allegory? Where do you get that idea from?
