tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13641190.post1013875522996106497..comments2023-10-08T04:08:41.418-06:00Comments on Sporadic Maunderings: DisconnectQalmleahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17131154882107531113noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13641190.post-88149096959871039082007-12-20T09:07:00.000-07:002007-12-20T09:07:00.000-07:00I'll tell you what Dr. Levenson would say, and you...I'll tell you what Dr. Levenson would say, and you can take it or leave it. ^/^<BR/><BR/>He'd say that the violent, angry images of God were from people who hadn't quite gotten there yet. They were only getting fragmentary glimpses and they weren't really understanding them. The more peaceful images are getting closer to the "real" Divine, but they're still only images. That is, there's still a human being filtering through them.<BR/><BR/>As for me... I agree with him that the experience of the Divine (whatever name you give it) cannot be put into words. "Those who know don't say; those who say don't know." *shrugs* As soon as you describe a concrete thing or action, it's certain that you have not described the Divine itself.Qalmleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17131154882107531113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13641190.post-29641684604799979302007-12-20T08:48:00.000-07:002007-12-20T08:48:00.000-07:00Okay, I can see that. But that particular interpr...Okay, I can see that. <BR/><BR/>But that particular interpretation of the Divine leave a <I>lot</I> to be desired.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10876775111703252840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13641190.post-64383129513113180022007-12-19T20:09:00.000-07:002007-12-19T20:09:00.000-07:00No... not wholly, anyway. It's more that each aut...No... not wholly, anyway. It's more that each author was trying to see what the Divine was really like, and saw it through a particular lens. Kinda like the story about the blind men and the elephant. Also, a lot of it got reinterpreted as it was written down, to be more relevant to the issues that were current while it was being written down.Qalmleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17131154882107531113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13641190.post-70652898240681543012007-12-19T18:35:00.000-07:002007-12-19T18:35:00.000-07:00So he's arguing that the Bible is a work of fictio...So he's arguing that the Bible is a work of fiction?Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10876775111703252840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13641190.post-12860816108083269972007-12-19T09:21:00.000-07:002007-12-19T09:21:00.000-07:00^/^ Dr. Levenson would argue that those reflect t...^/^ Dr. Levenson would argue that those reflect the attributes of the writers rather than of God, but, yeah, taking the whole thing literally does give a pretty ugly picture.Qalmleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17131154882107531113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13641190.post-72226473308194751072007-12-18T20:39:00.000-07:002007-12-18T20:39:00.000-07:00"...makes God look like an idiot"the OT does that ..."...makes God look like an idiot"<BR/><BR/>the OT does that by itself. Also petty, vindictive, sadistic and possibly bipolar.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10876775111703252840noreply@blogger.com