(Untitled)

[insanetimbo]

The introduction to A Childs Bible. Lessons from the Torah explains "All the stories from the Torah are true. Yet this doesn't mean that the  stories happened just as the Torah tells.. As you read the stories you should ask "what truth is the story teaching me?""What does this story say i should do?""How does this story say I should behave?"

Comments

[findtheline]

Recently I've been delving into Eastern religions and I must say that precisely some of the things you've described here are similar, such as being in tune with the universe, viewing stories as riddles that (in my emphasis) produce a meaning which reflects more about the reader than the story, and the permission to "tinker".

It was the influence of Greek philosophy on the interpreters of the New Testament (and subsequently the Hebrew scriptures) that made us Westerners approach Truth the way we do. My experience is that when the Bible is seen through a different lens, perhaps Eastern or simply Mystical, the subject (that would be me here) feels okay to "let go" of such a hard-and-fast concept of Truth and invest more energy in discovering one's path, or way, or The Way.

[insanetimbo]

What books are you reading? I'm told Herman Hesse's Siddartha is a worthy introduction to eastern streams of thought.

Hey and happy birthday for yesterday, man. I hope you had the best time and your mum cooked you something fattening. How's your Grandpa?

[insanetimbo]

that's cool. I like that idea.

I entertained a swedish girl once who'd crashed with one of my housemates. Talk led to politics, then religion and she exclaimed "Oh I've missed these subjects! In Sweden we debate politics and science every day - here you people debate Big Brother every day!"

Yeah its funny how few Jews I actually know. I wanna find me some and go on long walks and debate X with them!

[orpheus42]

This view of truth is not how it's always been in the Christian traditions. See Eastern Orthodoxy, for example, and even to an extent Catholicism.

There were prototypes of that idea in the classical faith, when neoplatonism crept into the church, and then in the medieval when Aristotle became philosophy-king, but it wasn't really until the modern, Enlightenment principle-based church came onto the seen, post-Reformation, that this sort of idea really took off.

[insanetimbo]

Yeah i read a similar summation in a secular history book the other day. its ironic that the sticklers for hard and fast truth call themselves traditionalists - not realising that there was great thought way before the enlightenment came along. Modernism is new when placed in the context of Christendom.

Cheers for your insight dude, I always love reading what you write.

[silly_not_funny]

This is hilarious. This is just what I was trying to describe to the pastors of my new church the other night (I wish I had read this before then). A friend of mine said that when two Jews get together to debate X that there are 3 opinions; the two of theirs and Yahweh's. It is the exchange of ideas that expands our thinking. Hearing something that is patently untrue can still lead a discerning mind to truth. Coupled with time to reflect on the discussion (and the input of the Holy Spirit) many things can be learned without two people agreeing on a common position.

[insanetimbo]

it took a kids book to give me such deep insight :)

[redpixies]

I like your idea of debating concepts / ideas / stories. I know that I've certainly benefited from it over the years and have enjoyed the "you take this side and I'll take this side" kind of debates where you get to grapple with the complexities of an issue more fully.

At the risk of being one of those narrow-minded evangelicals, though, there is still an issue of where ultimate truth comes from. What if you come to the 'wrong' conclusion, or the conclusion not intended by the author? What then - does the Bible / theology change - does we conceptualise God as other than he is? Of course we can never fully understand God, but we can begin to understand part of who he is through his revelation to us. I suppose I'm saying that I like the debating idea, but where does the ultimate authority lie - with our earthly conclusions, or God's revelation of himself in the Bible?

[redpixies]

First up - you don't sound like a narrow minded evangelical. You asked a question and genuinely care about my response

[insanetimbo]

That was so me by the way

peace!

[insanetimbo]

That was so me by the way