(December 7, 2011 at 1:56 am)Stimbo Wrote: Agreed. Barre, you might be better off trying to float this on some xtian forum. Around here the first step would have to be to demonstrate why we should take anything from the bible seriously, before disappearing down the rabbit hole chasing after some esoteric spiritual meaning of the story. Not all of us automatically buy into the veracity of holy books, especially when the text is known to be filled with inaccuracies. distortions and pure fantasy. Hardly a reliable source of information.
The warrant for studying the Bible is on account of its tremendous influence. It is a classic work of western civilization and should be taken seriously for that reason. Of course these wriings offer a mix of fact and fiction.
Is this not what we would expect? I think you are bringing some baggage due to conversations with Christian thought, indeed conservative Christain thought and are consequently talking past me.
No, I attempt to offer an entirely secular, objective interpretation objective view of the biblical writings. I am an "existential pantheist." I do not subscribe to Christianity or Judaism. I study the biblical writings from the viewpoint of literary criticism and historical criticism as one might find in a college course on the Bible.
