RE: Why the "There are so many interpretations of the Bible" claim is confused
October 24, 2015 at 4:21 pm
(This post was last modified: October 24, 2015 at 6:10 pm by Athene.)
(October 6, 2015 at 11:51 pm)Delicate Wrote: A common claim about Christianity is "There are so many interpretations of the Bible! How can you know if any of it is true!"
What people who make this claim don't realize is that the differences over interpretation account for a minuscule fraction of what the Bible really says. So, while the Bible's stance on certain issues might not be wholly precise, the main claims are pretty clear.
For instance, it's pretty clear, not just from the Bible, but from historical record, that there was a man named Jesus. The Bible is pretty clear about most of his claims, and the basic facts of his life, etc.
The problem with people who make this claim is the overly broad and inaccurate generalizations.
The vast majority of discovered Biblical texts are for the most part identical to each other, and the minor discrepancies that do exist are over things like grammar and prepositions (like "on" versus "upon").
What knowledgeable atheists can rationally affirm is that only certain parts of the Bible might be ambiguous. The others are more or less clear.
If you wanted to engage in a robust debate over the so-called Biblical truths that are common to all Christian denominations, why on earth did you generate almost an entire post around the issue that you precisely wish to avoid? The bold portion alone was enough to detract from your overall theme, because it's a completely dishonest statement. Did you think it wouldn't be addressed?
Then you had the audacity to accuse the respondents of your thread of not being up to task. What you don't seem to realize is that the existence of Christ as a historical figure, the Resurrection, the divinity of Christ, the nature of Sin and so forth, are all topics that have been and are frequently discussed on these forums on a regular basis.
You created this problem, all by your lonesome. If you quit blaming others and choose your words more carefully, you may be able to avoid this problem in the future.
*font change to bold mine, for emphasis*