Literalism and Autism

[Belacqua]

Thank you! This is kind of you to say.

Fucking is really good. I think everybody here probably loves fucking a lot.

So for you to call me a fuck must mean that you think I'm really popular and desirable.

Unless you meant it metaphorically, in which case what you say is incomprehensible to me.

More evidence that this thread is just about you and Mr. Mental Gymnastics trying to get under everyone's skin.

What a loser. Being an expert on every subject on the internet must get tiring, no?

What's your degree in again? The study of always being right? Where's that uni at?

What!? Does this mean that you don't like fucking?

[Succubus]

Nothing about Genesis suggests it was meant to be an allegory. 

What about Genesis indicates to you that it was not supposed to be allegory?

The fact that billions of people have undergone the holy sacrament of baptism suggest they do indeed take Genesis very seriously.
If Genesis is allegory then why do we need redemption, why do we need a redeemer?

[brewer]

What about Genesis indicates to you that it was not supposed to be allegory?

The fact that billions of people have undergone the holy sacrament of baptism suggest they do indeed take Genesis very seriously.
If Genesis is allegory then why do we need redemption, why do we need a redeemer?

Annie Lennox said so. If that not the voice of authority I don't know what is.

[EgoDeath]

What!? Does this mean that you don't like fucking?

Avoidance and sarcasm only prove my point more. And don't take away from the fact that you and Acro just suggested that nearly an entire forum of people is autistic because they don't agree with you.

What's your real concern here, Bel? Let's get down to brass tacks. What does autism have to do with people not liking your particular, very specific view of the Bible?

---

The fact that billions of people have undergone the holy sacrament of baptism suggest they do indeed take Genesis very seriously.
If Genesis is allegory then why do we need redemption, why do we need a redeemer?

Get ready for a couple dozen pages of spin. Hope you have an iron gut.

[Belacqua]

they do indeed take Genesis very seriously.

Yes, that's certainly so.

In your view, does "take seriously" always mean "read literally"? 

I'm not persuaded that it does. Even if we can't know the intentions of the original authors, later Christians were willing to take it both non-literally and seriously.

---

What does autism have to do with people not liking your particular, very specific view of the Bible?

Nothing at all. I'm comfortable with people not liking my view of the history of hermeneutics. 

I'm asking that they back up their judgments with facts from history or with reasoned argument.

[EgoDeath]

Nothing at all. I'm comfortable with people not liking my view of the history of hermeneutics. 

I'm asking that they back up their judgments with facts from history or with reasoned argument.

So then why are you in this thread that's specifically about autism and literal interpretations of the Bible?

I'll ask again, what does autism have to do with to do with this subject?

You're saying "nothing at all"...?

Then why did you say this:

It is an impression Acrobat and I get when people ignore the obvious: all literature -- in fact all language -- relies on non-literal expression.

What did you mean by that? Didn't you mean that you get the impression that maybe is someone is autistic when they're using a literal translation of the Bible? If not, what did you mean?

Also, who on this forum has ever suggested a 100% literal interpretation of the Bible? Please show me.

[Acrobat]

[
Wait a minute, who is suggesting that the Bible is to be interpreted 100% literally?

About what percentage of the Bible do you interpret non-literally?

And how do you determine what distinguishes the percentage of the Bible you view as non-literal from literal?

I also didn’t refer to those on the spectrum to make fun them.

[Belacqua]

Didn't you mean that you get the impression that maybe is someone is autistic when they're using a literal translation of the Bible? If not, what did you mean?

Non-Autistic people are comfortable with non-literal interpretation. No doubt some autistic people are too.

If you are on the autism spectrum I apologize if I gave the impression that this thread is about you. In fact, in my understanding, it's about the problem of insisting on literalism.

[EgoDeath]

[
Wait a minute, who is suggesting that the Bible is to be interpreted 100% literally?

About what percentage of the Bible do you interpret non-literally?

And how do you determine what distinguishes the percentage of the Bible you view as non-literal from literal?

I also didn’t refer to those on the spectrum to make fun them.

Certainly not a hundred percent.

How about you?

And, I'm not sure how else someone is supposed to take this thread.

Is this a legitimate concern you have here? If so, what are you going to do with the information once you obtain it? What good would it do you to know about a connection between autism and Biblical literalism? Do you do research for a university? I mean what's going on here, what is this thread?

I don't even know anyone personally that's autistic and this comes off as offensive to me. I'd slap that fuck outta you if you said some shit like this in real life to somebody. You are one arrogant fuck.

---

Non-Autistic people are comfortable with non-literal interpretation. No doubt some autistic people are too.

If you are on the autism spectrum I apologize if I gave the impression that this thread is about you. In fact, in my understanding, it's about the problem of insisting on literalism.

But wait, didn't you just say that it had nothing to do with it at all? Now it has something to do with it?

I don't even know anyone personally that's autistic, but this came off as arrogant as fuck. Along with your insinuation that Acro was asking a legitimate question. I'd love to run into you two guys like you at a bar one day. That'd be fun.

Amazing the type of security blanket that the internet gives people, isn't it?

[Belacqua]

Amazing the type of security blanket that the internet gives people, isn't it?

Yes, I completely agree with you that the Internet insulates us, and makes us less conscious of the reality of the people we're talking to. We should be careful about what we say, and do our best to avoid causing personal insult.

Everybody here has a personal life off line. We don't know what's going on with that, or what they are going through. 

So I want to avoid any statements that might inadvertently cause pain, and stick to the historical questions as much as possible. I am genuinely sorry if anything I've said ended up looking like a personal insult against you.