Posted by tancu on December 9, 2002, at 0:51:16
In reply to Re: The Rider's answe to taking mind-altering drugs(3) » tancu, posted by Lou Pilder on December 8, 2002, at 17:13:48
my dear Lou, I am not inclined to debate the issue of whether the "words" found in our respective bibles, as different as they are, merely represent the 'interpretations' of authors such as king david or whether they actually represent the Divine Word 'literally'...given the countless translations spanning the past 2k yrs such a debate, IMHO, would lead no where...as I've said before, I can hardly imagine that God ever intended for US to rely on ink and paper to preserve and know that which is Divine...I am of the opinion that 'words' are the least effective form of communication...apparently I am not alone in this regard because it is very clear to me that the phrases--"A picture is worth a thousand words." and "Actions speak louder than words."--were well established long before I was even born...'words' have the tenuous capacity to leave you guessing about a thing you really ought to know...you mention that the KJV has Paul using the word "meat" in his instructions to Timothy regarding foods created by God that are good if they are received with thanksgiving...my college dictionary lists exactly 7 distinctly different definitions for the word "meat"--the 2d of these 7 refers to "the flesh of animals used as food; usually, the flesh of mammals, as distinguished from fish and fowl" ...am I to understand that you would interpret what we have left of Pauls words here in the KJV to mean only the flesh of mammals?..it seems to me that if Paul was speaking strictly about the flesh of mammals he could have easily said--"...strictly the flesh of milk-bearing animals and their male counterparts" ...it is interesting to note that the 1st definition of meat, albeit archaic, in my dictionary is simply "food; especially, solid food, as distinguished from drink"...
def. "3. the edible part: as, the meat of a nut."
def. "4. the substance, meaning, or gist: as, the meat of a story." ...and so, we have coined phrases such as--"the heart of the matter", "the meat of the story", "the gist of it" and "food for thought"...
also, it seems a fair and interesting question to ask if any of the various so-called "authors" of our scripture could even read and write...for all we "know" today each of them could...and for all we "know" today some of them actually dictated the Word to a scribe whose end transcription was meticulously proofread, edited, and finally authenticated by the author...this streamlined process in itself would seem to be quite capable of ensuring complete accuracy...the later translations into other languages, however, did not have the luxury of having the original author present to authenticate the final writings...this is the main shortcoming of using merely/only "words" to preserve and to use to "know" that which is Divine...
when I stated that "feeling" is ageless, my intent was to make it clear that there is every reason for us to believe that we are as capable of feeling love and fear (the only two emotions humans are capable of feeling) as were our forefathers--whom we look upon as forebearers of the Truth...
in closing, all I'm saying is that the meat of the stories and instructives found in today's scripture can only survive when we do not "restrict" their words...fear takes and binds and restricts, while love gives and frees up that which is bound and restricted...lastly, I have know idea, or opinion as to, whether David's writings were his own interpretations or whether God simply used David's status in order to convey to the masses "verbatim" the instructives and wisdoms of God's Word...in this regard, I think I've made it very clear that I do not believe that God ever intended US to RE-MEMBER that which is Divine by simply using "words in ink on paper"...words in ink on paper can be adulterated intentionaly or unintentionaly as easily as an accountant can hide money using the same ink and paper...even when etched in stone the words will fade...no, God has etched God's Word into our very hearts--the very place each of us looks in those times we seek to heal ourselves and others...
poster:tancu
thread:931
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20021001/msgs/1378.html