dawny0826 said:
I'm curious. It's been really interesting for me to post here and to encounter people of like faith who interpret the Bible so much differently than I do. I want to learn and understand how others process the Bible.
I'm truly interested for input from those who do not believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God...when you read scripture...like the scripture below, what do you make of it? What is your personal interpretation? What do you think Jesus is saying to us? Do you read this as something literal or figurative?
In this scripture, Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem, and he's asked "Lord, are there few who are saved?"
And this is his reply...
"Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying "Lord, Lord, open for us, and He will answer and say to you, "I do not know you, where you are from." Then you will begin to say, "We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets." But He will say, "I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, and all you workers of iniquity." There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and yourselves thrust out."
Luke 13:24-28 (NKJV)
Edit: Please note, I know I've posted a poll about Bible interpretation...I'm very interested in the Biblical views of others. My intent isn't to attack anyone's beliefs. I'm seeking understanding.
Dawny, it depends on what someone means by "infallible." Not all its scientific statements, for instance, are correct (the mustard seed is not the smallest seed), and some books in the traditional Christian Bible (that is, the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Bible) are certainly not historical at all (Judith). It is not always even the
record of God's activities among men, as some pundits claim: how could books like the Psalms, Song of Solomon, or the Wisdom of Solomon be a record of any sort? They simply aren't records.
Infallible, for me, refers to what it is. It is the merging of God and man. God's Spirit moved in people and "divinized" them. Their union with God gave them insights, and they recorded those (Scripture, while the highest, isn't the sole divine-human literature). This divine-human literature is both fully human and fully divine in its origins, and so, tends to reflect that. It can be a hard thing to understand in some passages for me
.
Now, on to the passage quoted, it means that very few will achieve salvation here. Some people outside the Church which Christ founded will find their way (after all, no man can call Christ Lord save by the Spirit), but salvation is difficult even within the Church. Some people will fail because of a lack of compassion, despite working miracles, even Christian miracles. These people had faith (Mt. 25). Others will be cast out, because they have not received the sacramental grace God granted only to the Church, His Body: in John 6.54, Jesus states that none will inherit eternal life without partaking in the Eucharist.
Salvation isn't simply a matter of sincerity, but of transformation, and we must use the tools God provided (it would be easy if we didn't have freewill and/or it was simply a matter of forgiveness). Because of this, salvation is
difficult. Paul admonished us to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" and to "take heed, lest we fall." The narrow gate is difficult
.
Obviously, this is both literal and figurative. The passage is a metaphor: there is no literal "gate" into heaven we can swing open, nor a pathway. To interpret it absolutely literally requires that. However, I do take the intent of the passage literally: Salvation is difficult, and few will find it here. So, I take it both literally and metaphorically.
