Allegory/Symbolism in Genesis 1

[Arthur Brain]

Would the cosmic microwave background support the plant life of day 3?



Referring back to the Hebrew word "yom:"

H3117 יום - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon

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Theological wordbook of the Old Testament : Harris, R. Laird (Robert Laird), 1911-2008 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Includes bibliographies and index

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Genesis plainly says six days. Those six days can be read as allegorical. We're not limited to a literal understanding.

Whereas fundamentalists are limited to exactly that.

 

[Right Divider]

Whereas fundamentalists are limited to exactly that.

Liar.

 

[7djengo7]

Genesis plainly says six days.

Yet, according to Bible-despisers such as you, Genesis does not mean six days--according to you, Genesis does not mean what it plainly says.

 

[7djengo7]

Whereas fundamentalists are limited to exactly that.

Correct. Unlike Bible-despisers/rejectors such as you and @annabenedetti, Bible-believers (aka "fundamentalists") are limited to accepting the truth that God says what He means, and means what He says. Thus, when God says in His Word that He created the heaven and the earth in six days, He means He created the heaven and the earth in six days; and thus all Bible-believers accept this truth.

 

[Stripe]

Correct.

Not exactly. If there is good reason to believe that a phrase is actually meant allegorically and should not be read literally, the fundamentalist would accept the inferred meaning and reject the wooden one.

The problem is that Darwinists never produce good reason and all the good reason in the case of "six days" — ie, the scientific evidence and the fact that Genesis says it is a historical account — points to "six days" meaning ... *gasp* ... "six days."

It is a defining characteristic of the fundamentalist that he accepts the plain meaning of an idea unless there is good reason to believe otherwise. You could say that he reads the word fundamentalist according to the fundamental meaning of the word. It's like fundy Inception.

 

[Arthur Brain]

Liar.

How am I a liar exactly? It's only hard core fundamentalists who insist on Genesis being Literal in my experience.

 

[Arthur Brain]

Correct. Unlike Bible-despisers/rejectors such as you and @annabenedetti, Bible-believers (aka "fundamentalists") are limited to accepting the truth that God says what He means, and means what He says. Thus, when God says in His Word that He created the heaven and the earth in six days, He means He created the heaven and the earth in six days; and thus all Bible-believers accept this truth.

Well, you're a prime example of why rational folk and those not blinkered by "ism's" can actually recognize such "boring"stuff like allegory, metaphor, symbolism and all other types of "ZZZZZZZZZZ".

 

[7djengo7]

Well, you're a prime example of why rational folk and those not blinkered by "ism's" can actually recognize such "boring"stuff like allegory, metaphor, symbolism and all other types of "ZZZZZZZZZZ".

By what you just wrote, there, I recognize you to be allegorically, metaphorically, symbolically admitting the truth that @Arthur Brain is an irrationally-thinking, Bible-despising, Darwinism-blinkered wingnut.

 

[Right Divider]

How am I a liar exactly? It's only hard core fundamentalists who insist on Genesis being Literal in my experience.

You have claimed that we are rigid and wrong. But that is actually you.
You have claimed that Genesis 1 is "allegory" and yet you do not describe what it is allegorical for.
You have claimed that Genesis 1 is "symbolic" and yet you have neither defined a symbol NOR what it is symbolic of.

You are nothing but bluff and bluster. Just a bag of hot air. Put up or shut up.

 

[7djengo7]

How am I a liar exactly?

Among other ways, you are a liar exactly in that you call God a liar by your opposition to and rejection of His Word.

 

[Idolater]

Not exactly. If there is good reason to believe that a phrase is actually meant allegorically and should not be read literally, the fundamentalist would accept the inferred meaning and reject the wooden one.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

It's a figure of speech to say the water was gathered together, as if water molecules are all huddling close to keep warm. The water is in a basin, or a gigantic dish in the surface of the ground. Gravity keeps it in there. God didn't gather together water----God fashioned a dish, and then the water stayed there in the dish. That is definitely what God did, but the Scripture says He gathered together the water, like a shepherd gathering together the flock. It's a figure of speech.

@Right Divider & @JudgeRightly : What's your take on, "This is My body" and "This is My blood"? I already know @annabenedetti 's take, she's consistent, it's all allegory and symbolism. I'm the opposite, I take them wooden and literally. God created, in six days.

 

[Clete]

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

It's a figure of speech to say the water was gathered together, as if water molecules are all huddling close to keep warm. The water is in a basin, or a gigantic dish in the surface of the ground. Gravity keeps it in there. God didn't gather together water----God fashioned a dish, and then the water stayed there in the dish. That is definitely what God did, but the Scripture says He gathered together the water, like a shepherd gathering together the flock. It's a figure of speech.

@Right Divider & @JudgeRightly : What's your take on, "This is My body" and "This is My blood"? I already know @annabenedetti 's take, she's consistent, it's all allegory and symbolism. I'm the opposite, I take them wooden and literally. God created, in six days.

The one has nothing to do with the other and it would NOT be consistent (i.e. rational) to take every passage of scripture "wooden and literally" as you put it. The passages that are allegorical are allegorical and the ones that are symbolic are symbolic and the ones that are literal are literal. Some also are a combination of those things. It is the context that determines it, in most cases and at other times, its simple common sense but in no case is it ever appropriate to decide, in an a priori fashion, that you're simply going to take every passage of the bible in a woodenly literal sense. That wouldn't work. You do have to put in the effort to stay on the same page that God is on when reading His book.

 

[Stripe]

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

It's a figure of speech to say the water was gathered together, as if water molecules are all huddling close to keep warm. The water is in a basin, or a gigantic dish in the surface of the ground. Gravity keeps it in there. God didn't gather together water----God fashioned a dish, and then the water stayed there in the dish. That is definitely what God did, but the Scripture says He gathered together the water, like a shepherd gathering together the flock. It's a figure of speech.

It's a perhaps poetic description of what happened, which is very different from what the Darwinists want, ie, a complete reversal of meaning.

The "gathering of water" is simply an example of the literary style that accurately describes what happened. It's not "an allegory" that means something unstated, but utterly contrary to the obvious meaning.

What's your take on, "This is My body" and "This is My blood"? I already know @annabenedetti 's take, she's consistent, it's all allegory and symbolism. I'm the opposite, I take them wooden and literally. God created, in six days.

Obvious allegory.

There are many examples of Jesus using expressions that are obviously not literal descriptions of things, but yet we can understand His meaning and intention by studying the law or His explanations.

We have explanations of why He spoke in parables.

 

[Idolater]

The one has nothing to do with the other and

it would NOT be consistent (i.e. rational) to take every passage of scripture "wooden and literally" as you put it. The passages that are allegorical are allegorical and the ones that are symbolic are symbolic and the ones that are literal are literal.

That's what I said Clete. Right at the start of the post.

Some also are a combination of those things. It is the context that determines it, in most cases and at other times, its simple common sense but in no case is it ever appropriate to decide, in an a priori fashion, that you're simply going to take every passage of the bible in a woodenly literal sense. That wouldn't work. You do have to put in the effort to stay on the same page that God is on when reading His book.

That's what I said.

 

[Right Divider]

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

It's a figure of speech to say the water was gathered together, as if water molecules are all huddling close to keep warm. The water is in a basin, or a gigantic dish in the surface of the ground. Gravity keeps it in there. God didn't gather together water----God fashioned a dish, and then the water stayed there in the dish. That is definitely what God did, but the Scripture says He gathered together the water, like a shepherd gathering together the flock. It's a figure of speech.

@Right Divider & @JudgeRightly : What's your take on, "This is My body" and "This is My blood"? I already know @annabenedetti 's take, she's consistent, it's all allegory and symbolism. I'm the opposite, I take them wooden and literally. God created, in six days.

"This is my blood" is clearly symbolic.

Matt 26:26-29 (AKJV/PCE)
(26:26) ¶ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake [it], and gave [it] to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. (26:27) And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; (26:28) For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (26:29) But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

After calling the wine "His blood" it is clearly still wine.

 

[ok doser]

"This is my blood" is clearly symbolic.

Matt 26:26-29 (AKJV/PCE)
(26:26) ¶ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake [it], and gave [it] to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. (26:27) And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; (26:28) For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (26:29) But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

After calling the wine "His blood" it is clearly still wine.

Of course Catholics are more literal in their interpretation of this. More fundamental than the fundamentalists.

 

[Stripe]

Of course Catholics are more literal in their interpretation of this. More fundamental than the fundamentalists.

A fundamentalist is justified in not sticking to the literal meaning.

 

[Idolater]

Of course Catholics are more literal in their interpretation of this. More fundamental than the fundamentalists.

You're starting to understand me then. Banana.

 

[Clete]

That's what I said Clete. Right at the start of the post.

That's what I said.

It seems I misunderstood you. Sorry. That's what happens when I try to cram in one more post when I'm really out of time and should be headed to work in the morning!

 

[annabenedetti]

I already know @annabenedetti 's take

No you don't.