Posted by blue on July 14, 1998 at 21:01:41:
In Reply to: you don't give up do you..... which i appreciate!!! :-) what is the one truth blue? posted by thor on July 14, 1998 at 04:12:56:
: look. is it really that black and white? is there
: nothing in the bible that is mildly fuzzy or grey
: to you? filling the ark with two of every living
: creature....c'mon now...its a metaphor...it is
: figurative...it's a mythology...as people we are
: wired to believe in god, to have religion...frankly,
: we need some kind of belief system...but one truth, the rest is a
: lie? well, let's here it...what is the one truth?
: thor
The truth is in the Bible, taken in its entirety. I offer that as axiom, I guess. Much of the Bible is, indeed, metaphorical. I've used the example of "in his mouth was a two-edged swod," obviously metaphorical. Usually we use the term "typical" in Bible study, where one object, such as the ark, is a "type" of another object, such as Christ. We then see the story as:
Just as Noah and his family were saved from judgment in the ark, so the true Church is saved from final judgment in Jesus.
Now determining what is historical, metaphor, or both (such as Noah) requires an extensive knowledge of scripture. Also, when you see what appears to be a contradiction, you need to carefully study the context of each passage and see what is really being meant -- you can't lift a passage out of the Bible and build a religion on that, as so many religions are prone to do. That simply takes disciplined Bible study, which any true Christian had better do.
You are correct that God created all of us to search for Him. We have a "God-shaped vacuum" that needs to be filled. But why do you seem to see that as evidence that God does not exist? The contrary seems true to me.