Changed beliefs since leaving
Feb 8, 2021 20:39:17 GMT
freefromprc, throwaway2018, and 1 more like this
Post by prnolonger on Feb 8, 2021 20:39:17 GMT
If the Bible isn't seen as the TRUTH THEN this conversation doesn't matter and interpreting it doesn't either.
The post above and the bolded text especially is circular reasoning, a logic fallacy that has ended more than one conversation.
>> Okay, but how do we know the napkin is true?
> I know it's true, because the napkin says it's true.
>> Okay, but how do we know the napkin isn't lying?
> Because the napkin says it never lies. God doesn't lie. Are you even paying attention?
>> How do you know it's actually written by God?
> The Napkin is signed by God! It even says it! And as I have already proved, the Napkin is true and never lies!
>> Why does the Napkin have handwriting that matches this sample of Frederik Meijer's handwriting?
> You can't apply earthly means of evaluation to the Napkin!
>> Where does it say that?
> It's an extrapolation of the fact that it is written by God, and thus unknowable by human means! You can't user higher criticism on the Napkin! Heresy!
Once you realize that biblical literalism is basically this argument repeated ad nauseam, you'll see modern fundamentalist biblical literalism is just silly. It's a silly metaphor, and it's meant to be. Is it oversimplified and a little sputtonous? Yes. Does that make it not valid criticism of the way they interpret the Bible? No. No it does not.
I say this as someone who buys their groceries at Meijer (aka is still Christian, just not as the PRC would define it). You can still believe the Bible has value and is useful in describing man's relationship to the divine without ascribing that God loves commanding genocides and enjoys the smell of burning animal carcasses and is super petty about bald jokes so he kills kids with herds of bears. Higher criticism on the Bible is not only valid, it saved my faith. If I was still in the PR mindset of "This is what we say the bible means, it's very clear, and this interpretation must be accepted in full. If you deny even one part of what we teach, you are a heretic and you burn in hell eternally", then I willingly eschew it.