RE: Does the Bible Contradict Itself?
July 30, 2012 at 8:44 pm
(This post was last modified: July 30, 2012 at 8:54 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Perhaps you should approach the subject of Jesus as a blank canvass upon which differing sects project their values, ideals, or wishes. The words on the page are enough to tell a story, and that's all we're talking about. Are they enough to add the sort of depth that you (or catholics, or protestants) hope to find within them? Clearly no, they are not. That doesn't mean that any of you are teasing any meaning out of anything but yourselves.
You have to ask yourself why you feel that the text is ambiguous on this point, why do you feel the need to insert symbolism in this particular case? Are there other places where you would invoke symbolism, are there places that you would invoke a literal reading? What do these things have in common? Is the text incapable of speaking for itself or are you incapable of receiving the message you wish to take from it without further modification along lines that you have decided?
What is it, precisely, that you find unclear about the statement "This is my body"? The elephant in the room, for me anyway, would be that we know that bread and human flesh are not the same thing, and that there is no known way to make them so, that this doesn't happen -"so christ (because Im assuming christ said anything at all -and you probably shouldn't) must have meant something by this, it must be symbolism". But so what, we're not talking about the real world here. This is a story entirely about magic. Fantasy of the highest order. The rules and laws that apply to us here in this world do not apply to the character of christ in that world.
You have to ask yourself why you feel that the text is ambiguous on this point, why do you feel the need to insert symbolism in this particular case? Are there other places where you would invoke symbolism, are there places that you would invoke a literal reading? What do these things have in common? Is the text incapable of speaking for itself or are you incapable of receiving the message you wish to take from it without further modification along lines that you have decided?
What is it, precisely, that you find unclear about the statement "This is my body"? The elephant in the room, for me anyway, would be that we know that bread and human flesh are not the same thing, and that there is no known way to make them so, that this doesn't happen -"so christ (because Im assuming christ said anything at all -and you probably shouldn't) must have meant something by this, it must be symbolism". But so what, we're not talking about the real world here. This is a story entirely about magic. Fantasy of the highest order. The rules and laws that apply to us here in this world do not apply to the character of christ in that world.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
