Quote:
Originally Posted by blouen  This has been a very hot topic for debate within the premise of Christianity.
Trinitarians claim that in this event God revealed to man His reality. How he exists in three persons. This could be a mystery but is also a reality for them.
This controversy has always taken my avid attention. I read the Bible as often as I could to underscore the truth and to cross out the mere allegation between these beliefs. |
The Bible is a very old document, and reading it is like reading a classic, or mythology (Homer's
Odysseus or
Oedipus for example). It is riddled with images and metaphors which many read literally and start questioning its veracity (like God's decision to turn Lot's wife into a pillar of salt, even episodes of incest or murder - how could that be, this is awful, or sounds like fairy tale...). But not many question Freud's analysis of Oedipus' murdering his father and marrying his own mother in terms of Oedipus complex which stands for the dynmics of the human subconscious. Some of the world's most famous philosophical discourses (metaphisycs, ontology and so on) draw on old documents and their mythical truths. Immanuel Kant argued that certain questions concerning metaphysics (notably those surrounding the existence of God) are
inherent to human nature and the human nature itself is still a dilemma.
The oneness of God is (IMO) a metaphor. I see three dimensions to His being, or three conceptions of God, because I believe God is
essence. He is no less real than His answers to our prayers are literal. Of course there are branches such as
theism asserting that God exists for real, objectively, while
deism asserts that God's existence transcends knowledge (is beyond the grasp of the human mind). Why am I saying this? Because to me, His existence is not more different than Oden's existence - i.e. Zeus in Norse mythology -, and the reading of the Old or New testament no more different than reading Oden's one eye being burried at the roots of an old oak. This cannot simply be read literally to be understood, but just like the Bible, its interpretation is
hermeneutical (pertaining to the art or science of interpretation). It is
thought-provoking.I have often wondered how people of all ages, even kids, read the Bible because I am sure they read it literally. Some even learn passages by heart without knowing what they mean. The Bible is considered to be the Truth, but its truth is not literal or conceptual, but an
aesthetic one. In other words, the Bible doesn't lay claim to veracity, but it searches inwards for the truth in ourselves. It is a metaphorical read, and a damn good one - an asset of meanings. This might explain a little the controversies among its interpreters.
This is just my opinion. What do you think?
God/s in heaven 
Re: God/s in heaven 
Linear Mode
