Metaphors, or they don't apply anymore, or it doesn't actually say the part I like but it's what I was taught in church

Or you're taking it out of context

Hmmm... common experiences of people who haven't studied the Bible at all, and have no desire to study the Bible.

Common response from folks who have no better way to defend the text.

You aren't making an argument against the text, beyond "I should be able to understand the messages of the Bible clearly without any study, even though it was written thousands of years ago, in a different language, in different societies and situations".

Sounds kinda like what conspiracy theorists say when confronted. "How do you know? Have you seen the evidence? Can you be completely sure?"

the fact that it was written thousands of years ago by people who barely understood anything about the world in itself is a strong argument against taking the text literally

to actually believe some guy walked on water, turned water into wine and died then came back to life 3 days later ...

This post was edited by duffman316 on Jul 24 2015 07:46am

I'm making the argument that legitimate scholars will have different opinions, as well as those who study for themselves. There will be differences in how it is interpreted by everyone. Claiming to have properly understood it over anyone else is arrogant at best. The simple explanation is we interpret it to fit our views. Were that not the case, the millions of self proclaimed Christians, or any religious faction for that matter, would not differ so much from each other.

Dude, what you just said includes the parts Thor and Vereor pointed out. A timeless classic wouldn't generate that much controversy. So far it seems to be a book that only a select few understand and then they act as the filters through which the less educated receive the knowledge. People are then basically believing in something they don't understand.

This post was edited by Neptunus on Jul 24 2015 07:52am