The Bible
It bothers me when people read a Psalm as if it's a scientific research paper. Especially when they quote it to argue their political points of view. "you knit me together in my mother's womb" (psalm 139:13) for example, is often used as a pro-life argument ( i'm not saying whether i'm pro-life or pro-choice....i've never been pregnant so i don't know what i would personally do. and i don't want to decide for other people what they should do). That verse is beautiful imagery, but it doesn't mean God was actually sitting in your mother's womb knitting. To me, psalm 139:13 means that God made you the way you are for a reason, and that's something to be thankful for, but it says nothing about how babies are formed in the womb. Back when that psalm was written, people didn't know anything about that. it was one big mystery to them. and I think it's beautiful the way this psalmist pictured it, but it's annoying when people seem to think that the psalmist was God himself and that, in the Bible, words are only used to prove a point and not to express feelings such as awe and wonder, devotion, trust.
Some parts of the Bible are records of historical events, some parts are eye-witness accounts of Jesus and his life and ministry, and Psalms are songs of praise...they're like poems. So quoting a psalm in an argument is like saying "Shakespeare wrote in one of his poems..." and trying to use that as a valid argument. Completely out of wack.
I do believe all of the Bible is true. But Psalms are true in a different sense of the word...more like genuine. They show someone's true feelings towards God.
Psalm 139: 16 is another one that causes a lot of confusion if you take it as fact: "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." It sparks this whole debate about free-will and ...what's the word? not predistination, because that means that some people are "chosen" to become Christians and go to Heaven and other's are not...I'm looking for the word that means everything is set in stone, and God has planned everything in advance...anyway. that whole debate.
People read Psalm 139:16 and think that everything that happens is good because God "wrote" it that way, and then other people get confused because they're like "what about free-will, and all the suffering in the world?" and then they create schisms in the church...etc.
But I don't think the psalmist ever ment for that to happen. He was probably just using a hyperbole (over-exaggeration) to express the fact that there is a reason behind everything that happens - even when you feel like it was a mistake, God can give your life meaning. All of your life.
...even if God does have a book in which he writes (has written. whatever.) my whole life....I don't think it's a book like we picture it. With white paper and black ink that can't be erased. And I think me and God are writting my story together. God is holding the book, and i'm holding the pen, and he gladly helps me and guides my hand when I let him. something like that. (it's just imagery, guys. I'm not claiming this is a fact ;) )
And the first few Bible stories (the creation story, the flood, tower of Babel) are more like legends, i think (well, that's not really a revelation or anything. Many people think they are legends. i'm just agreeing). Because they are about things that happened loooong before people could write, so in order to remember what happened they had to simplify the story and pass it down through the generations. (Like the Maori's did to remember how their ancestors came to New-Zealand) ...I mean, I do believe there really was once a Great Flood....i'm just not sure if all the animals fit into the ark...unless there were a lot less different species back then....but that would mean God wasn't really finished after 7 days.
I love creation stories. Like the one in the Bible, the Maori creation story, and the Mayans'. They're fascinating, and it's amazing how many similarities they all have. One day in Religious Studies class, at school in New Zealand, we got divided into small groups and each group got a creation story from a different culture. One person in the group was the narrator, and the others had to act out the story. I remember sitting outside on the grass under Mount Taranaki, watching all the groups perform the different creation stories and thinking "...Wow. it's really just different variations of one story."
Some parts of the Bible are records of historical events, some parts are eye-witness accounts of Jesus and his life and ministry, and Psalms are songs of praise...they're like poems. So quoting a psalm in an argument is like saying "Shakespeare wrote in one of his poems..." and trying to use that as a valid argument. Completely out of wack.
I do believe all of the Bible is true. But Psalms are true in a different sense of the word...more like genuine. They show someone's true feelings towards God.
Psalm 139: 16 is another one that causes a lot of confusion if you take it as fact: "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." It sparks this whole debate about free-will and ...what's the word? not predistination, because that means that some people are "chosen" to become Christians and go to Heaven and other's are not...I'm looking for the word that means everything is set in stone, and God has planned everything in advance...anyway. that whole debate.
People read Psalm 139:16 and think that everything that happens is good because God "wrote" it that way, and then other people get confused because they're like "what about free-will, and all the suffering in the world?" and then they create schisms in the church...etc.
But I don't think the psalmist ever ment for that to happen. He was probably just using a hyperbole (over-exaggeration) to express the fact that there is a reason behind everything that happens - even when you feel like it was a mistake, God can give your life meaning. All of your life.
...even if God does have a book in which he writes (has written. whatever.) my whole life....I don't think it's a book like we picture it. With white paper and black ink that can't be erased. And I think me and God are writting my story together. God is holding the book, and i'm holding the pen, and he gladly helps me and guides my hand when I let him. something like that. (it's just imagery, guys. I'm not claiming this is a fact ;) )
And the first few Bible stories (the creation story, the flood, tower of Babel) are more like legends, i think (well, that's not really a revelation or anything. Many people think they are legends. i'm just agreeing). Because they are about things that happened loooong before people could write, so in order to remember what happened they had to simplify the story and pass it down through the generations. (Like the Maori's did to remember how their ancestors came to New-Zealand) ...I mean, I do believe there really was once a Great Flood....i'm just not sure if all the animals fit into the ark...unless there were a lot less different species back then....but that would mean God wasn't really finished after 7 days.
I love creation stories. Like the one in the Bible, the Maori creation story, and the Mayans'. They're fascinating, and it's amazing how many similarities they all have. One day in Religious Studies class, at school in New Zealand, we got divided into small groups and each group got a creation story from a different culture. One person in the group was the narrator, and the others had to act out the story. I remember sitting outside on the grass under Mount Taranaki, watching all the groups perform the different creation stories and thinking "...Wow. it's really just different variations of one story."