What's your religion?

[Costrin]

The bible is rather specific about what kind of faith brings salvation. In fact the bible is full of good examples. No faith warrants salvation. Faith brings salvation.

I'm rather skeptical when it comes to claims like these. Everyone says the bible says different (contradictory) things. How does one determine which is true or not (and reading the bible doesn't help, as how do you determine which passages are metaphor, which are not, if any, and how do you interpret the metaphors)?

[SillySapienne]

Do I scare you?

Well, which category do you fall under?

If you are a hardcore Christian, then, as my previous post (more than) alluded to, absolutely, yes, you scare the shit out of me. But, if you are just a moderate or mild Christian, then there's a 15 to 35% chance that you won't/don't scare me.

[Eagle]

I would say I'm HARD CORE. But yet I'm also understanding. My beliefs are important to me and I believe my God can do anything. I pray. I'll admit it. I study my bible. I focus my life around Christ. It just makes me different. Makes me who I am. I have my faith and although I believe it's right, everyone has that ability to make a choice. I am not going to force it. I might encourage my beliefs, but being a jerk about is no way to get someone to agree with you. I respect others beliefs and even though I might not agree, I function fine with them. In many ways I try to be the meaning of loving your neighbor. I am intolerant of the beliefs that I feel are wrong yet I tolerate the people and I still respect the fact that they have a right to choose no matter how I disagree with it. All I can do is state my views, live my testimony, and pray for them. The fact that those people matter is why I don't typically bash their beliefs. My comments towards others should be more friendly. I shouldn't be attacking anyone. Christianity as I see it appears on the outside to be full of contradictions in how to treat people vs. how the world works. Yet I find from the inside that together they make perfect sense.

Do you think you catch my point of view?

[SillySapienne]

Hmm, you might be one of the good Christians, (they're incredibly rare, for I find that most Christians are inherently highly hypocritical, immoral a-holes who use Christianity as a way to gain social acceptance and approval).

So, yeah, I might not be scared of you.

[Eagle]

I'm rather skeptical when it comes to claims like these. Everyone says the bible says different (contradictory) things. How does one determine which is true or not (and reading the bible doesn't help, as how do you determine which passages are metaphor, which are not, if any, and how do you interpret the metaphors)?

For me everything has to be taken in context and scripture needs to be interpreted by scripture. I believe in a literal translation. If it sounds figurative it is and vis versa. The main points in this case are rarely if ever disputed. because to misinterpreted them you have to go to such drastic extremes.

Metaphors, such as parables are interpreted right then and there by the person telling the story or the context they are told in. As far as prophesies I know what sounds literal and I take it at that. For the figurative parts I cross reference and besides that, I'll know what it means (if its not interpreted in the text) when it happens.

The Bible only says contradictory things when people misinterpret it.

[Eagle]

Hmm, you might be one of the good Christians, (they're incredibly rare, for I find that most Christians are inherently highly hypocritical, immoral a-holes who use Christianity as a way to gain social acceptance and approval).

So, yeah, I might not be scared of you.

I hate hypocrites (not the people just them being hypocritical; which is hard to explain in some ways).

Walk the walk, don't just talk the talk. It's the actions that define you. The rest is just air.

[simulatedworld]

For me everything has to be taken in context and scripture needs to be interpreted by scripture. I believe in a literal translation. If it sounds figurative it is and vis versa. The main points in this case are rarely if ever disputed. because to misinterpreted them you have to go to such drastic extremes.

Metaphors, such as parables are interpreted right then and there by the person telling the story or the context they are told in. As far as prophesies I know what sounds literal and I take it at that. For the figurative parts I cross reference and besides that, I'll know what it means (if its not interpreted in the text) when it happens.

The Bible only says contradictory things when people misinterpret it.

Different things sound figurative/literal to different people. The problem of interpretation is immense.

[Eagle]

Ohh always. That's why scripture interprets scripture. It's the one set thing we have regardless of our views. Though ultimately we still decide how we want to see things.

[Costrin]

For me everything has to be taken in context and scripture needs to be interpreted by scripture.

Ah, context. Another thing that everyone disagrees on. What is the correct context (and there's people who claim that everything in the bible can stand alone without context)?

I believe in a literal translation. If it sounds figurative it is and vis versa.

And how does one determine what sounds figurative or not? Everyone is gonna have different ideas on this too. Plus, it likely depends on which version you're reading also.

The main points in this case are rarely if ever disputed. because to misinterpreted them you have to go to such drastic extremes.

Which people do. :P

Metaphors, such as parables are interpreted right then and there by the person telling the story or the context they are told in.

And even assuming you get the context right, how does one know if they interpreted the metaphor correctly?

As far as prophesies I know what sounds literal and I take it at that. For the figurative parts I cross reference and besides that, I'll know what it means (if its not interpreted in the text) when it happens.

You may know, but so do thousands of other people. And they disagree with you.

The Bible only says contradictory things when people misinterpret it.[/QUOTE]

It seems very easy to misinterpret it.

I would say I'm HARD CORE. But yet I'm also understanding. My beliefs are important to me and I believe my God can do anything. I pray. I'll admit it. I study my bible. I focus my life around Christ. It just makes me different. Makes me who I am. I have my faith and although I believe it's right, everyone has that ability to make a choice. I am not going to force it. I might encourage my beliefs, but being a jerk about is no way to get someone to agree with you. I respect others beliefs and even though I might not agree, I function fine with them. In many ways I try to be the meaning of loving your neighbor. I am intolerant of the beliefs that I feel are wrong yet I tolerate the people and I still respect the fact that they have a right to choose no matter how I disagree with it. All I can do is state my views, live my testimony, and pray for them. Yhe fact that those people matter is why I don't typically bash their beliefs. My comments towards others should be more friendly. I shouldn't be attacking anyone. Christianity as I see it appears on the outside to be full of contradictions in how to treat people vs. how the world works. Yet I find from the inside that together they make perfect sense.

Do you think you catch my point of view?

On the other hand, I agree and respect this view. People are free to believe whatever they want, and I have no problem with it, as long as they don't try and force it upon others. Laisez-faire and all that.

[Eagle]

As far as the metaphor goes for parables and the like, it's the author or speaker of that metaphor that is interpreting it.

For context I mean context of the text. Of the times is good, but it's not essential to the main points.

People are always going to screw things up one way or another. There is no set way. God's revelation is important to understand the bible to begin with. *My opinion.

So, what's literal to me and not I leave up to God. I make sure my thinking is right just like you might by comparing it to other sources and using logic. Beyond that it's beyond me.

Prophesies are always easier to see the meaning of after they happen. So thousands of people might disagree with me and that is their right, but everything is clearer in hindsight.

Is not everything easy to misinterpret? In fact in one way or another everything is misinterpreted.