I am mystified that those who insist we evaluate the Bible in a literary
way cannot seem to decide if the literature is sublime or "crafted in
...styles and limited knowledge base of the "rude and unlearned," or from
"a self deluded mad man" Have you never compared Job to Paradise Lost or
Psalm 150 to Shakespear?
Bob Miller
At 10:40 AM 2/27/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Howard Van Till wrote:
>
><< 3. The question then becomes, How does one tell the difference between a
> text that (1) is a set of _divine revelations_ whose written form has, by
> the Spirit's direction, been crafted in the conceptual vocabulary, literary
> styles and limited knowledge base of the "rude and unlearned," or (2)
> actually is a thoroughly _human account_ of an authentic human experience of
> the divine presence, written in the conceptual vocabulary, literary styles
> and limited knowledge base of the writers?
> >>
>
>I think you ask one of the toughest questions of all. For all
>we know, the Bible was written by the losers of some political
>party who where trying to justify themselves.
>
>However, that being said, I suspect it comes down to whether you
>believe the integrity of the people who wrote the Bible. When you
>read Jeramiah, is it a message that speak to your heart? Do you see him
>as a self deluded mad man raving at the world, or do you think he has
>a message that you should be listening to? When you
>read the Gospel, or the Epistles of Paul, do you think these people
>were frauds, or self serving opportunists? In short, do you think
>these are people who have come into contact with the living God, or
>are they just another band of bamboozling schlockmeisters?
>
>You can only answer these questions for yourself.
>
>I think there are things that people say and do that show that
>they are genuine, but in principle, _anything_ can also be faked.
>That's why most of us probably learn who are friends are when we
>fall into hard times.
>
>by Grace we do proceed,
>Wayne
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