Theists: what does your god want for you?

[Ryantology]

You will be intellectually frustrated your whole life and never experience the unity and beauty of realizing the nature of God until you see that the world is greater than what you think in your mind.

That's why it took science and discovery to determine that there's more to the universe than the tiny portion of this planet from which this superstition emerged. Neither God nor the Bible has a single word to say about anything which lies outside of Israel's immediate neighborhood.

[The Grand Nudger]

Notice the disturbing lack of kangaroos in the roll call of created things.

[Ryantology]

Oh, yeah.

Entire biological kingdoms are never even hinted at (fungi, protists, the bacteria). God told Adam to name all the beasts after their kind, a tall order when there are more than a million classified species in the animal kingdom and only a minuscule fraction of animals (all conveniently local to the middle east) are depicted as existing in Eden.

I find it kind of odd that anybody took the Bible seriously once it was obvious that the universe took a lot longer to make than one week, yet here we are, more than a hundred years later, every piece of evidence ever found contradicting the Bible, and people still interpret it literally.

[The Grand Nudger]

Honestly, a very short walk around the middle east would have exposed horrendous gaps in the roll call. Probably just an oratorical device in the first place, the naming of things as an aide to memory of the tale to be told (and a useful time-filler to add some length and meat to the story).

[jstrodel]

Oh, yeah.

Entire biological kingdoms are never even hinted at (fungi, protists, the bacteria). God told Adam to name all the beasts after their kind, a tall order when there are more than a million classified species in the animal kingdom and only a minuscule fraction of animals (all conveniently local to the middle east) are depicted as existing in Eden.

I find it kind of odd that anybody took the Bible seriously once it was obvious that the universe took a lot longer to make than one week, yet here we are, more than a hundred years later, every piece of evidence ever found contradicting the Bible, and people still interpret it literally.

You are assuming Genesis, which has two accounts, is meant to be taken literally.

[Darkstar]

You are assuming Genesis, which has two accounts, is meant to be taken literally.

Why would part of an otherwise literal book be allegorical, and not even specified as such. (i.e. we know Jesus's parables aren't supposed to be literal, but one would have to infer that Genesis was allegorical)
And if the answer is somewhere along the lines of it being too unusual or contradictory to science to be literal, than that would apply to most of the book.

[jstrodel]

You are assuming Genesis, which has two accounts, is meant to be taken literally.

Why would part of an otherwise literal book be allegorical, and not even specified as such. (i.e. we know Jesus's parables aren't supposed to be literal, but one would have to infer that Genesis was allegorical)
And if the answer is somewhere along the lines of it being too unusual or contradictory to science to be literal, than that would apply to most of the book.

Because Adam's name means 'man', because there are two stories, because it has been interpreted in non literally ways by figures as authoritative as Augustine (about as authoritative as it gets) hundreds of years before any of the scientific controversies, because the Old Testament is used allegorically in the New Testament in places like Galatians, and there is other exegetical evidence to say that it is allegorical.

There are many approaches people have taken to understand Genesis. Genesis, like abiogenesis and what came before the big bang, is a mystery.

[Whateverist]

You are assuming Genesis, which has two accounts, is meant to be taken literally.

So how non-literal are you willing to go? You get 10 points here for recognizing your ultimate agnosticism even if you decide to go with your hunch your secret friend is God. If you're willing to allow that the bible isn't entirely literal (8 points), do you have an idiosyncratic method for deciding which areas are allegorical (-3points) or do you believe there are easily ascertained criteria for knowing the difference which good theology can make apparent (-8points)? What's your score?

---

There are many approaches people have taken to understand Genesis. Genesis, like abiogenesis and what came before the big bang, is a mystery.

5 points for allowing for undifferentiated mystery which the bible doesn't render obvious.

[jstrodel]

I think the answer is to study theology and study the original languages and read about different Christian commentators historically who have wrestled with the same things, and in doing so, have created the most powerful and successful civilization known to man.

It is not necessary to understand many things in order to understand some things about God.

[The Grand Nudger]

Facepalm......