Christian bible
The Christian Bible: Is a Literal Interpretation the Right Interpretation?
There has been a debate among the Christian community for quite some time. There are two sides to the debate, and neither side is willing to give in. The debate is over the Bible. Should the Bible be interpreted literally or figuratively? Followers and scholars cannot seem to agree on this question. Some believe in a literal interpretation, while others point out that those who wish to have a literal interpretation pick and choose what they wish to interpret.
This notion was proven in the book The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. In this book, Jacobs spent a year living his life by the Bible. He took a literal interpretation and ran with it. In that time frame, he stoned adulators, did not mix fabrics, practiced traditional tithing, and also would not sit on the same furniture as his wife when she menstruated. All of those were rules set forth by the Bible.
What Jacobs realized was people did not really follow those rules. Stoning is no longer a part of society, people do not tithe crops, and almost all fabrics are mixed. Also, women are a part of society, even when they are menstruating.
Why is it, then, Jacobs wondered, that people care about homosexuals the way they do? They claim it is because of the Bible, but that same Bible isolates women who are menstruating and has many other laws that are not followed to this day.
The truth is, people pick what they want to believe literally, just as they pick what they want to ignore. They want to dislike homosexuals, so they take a literal interpretation. However, they do not want to have to lock their wives up if they are menstruating, so they ignore that rule.
The Bible is a book that is based on love. Unfortunately, some people have managed to take that love and turn it into hate, all in the name of a literal interpretation. One cannot take a literal interpretation of one part of the Bible while not taking a literal interpretation of the rest of the Bible.
When a person looks over the pages of the Bible, they should do so with an open mind and an open heart. By doing that, they will be able to see that everyone is the same in God’s eyes, and that no human being should judge another. When someone is able to see that, they are then truly interpreting the Bible in the correct way.
-- The author, Adherents, runs the website adherents.com which collects and presents statistics and other information on religion. Adherents.com is the leading authority when referencing religious statistics for the TV news and print media. © 2008 http://www.adherents.com - All Rights Reserved
Related Christianity Articles that you may find interesting:
- The Evolution of Christian Books
- A New Home for the Christian Business
- The Ideals of Christian Men
- Homeschooling: The Newest Trend in Christian Education
- Getting On the Right Path with Christian Counseling
- The NIV Bible: The Final Translation
- The Beliefs of the First Baptist Church
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- Learning about the Christian Movement
- Baptism Versus Christening