In Reply to: Re: Sad indeed posted by Farmer on February 04, 2010 at 15:19:22:
The fact that early church leaders argued about anything should tell you that it was a all matter of opinion, human interpretations based on perspective and inescapable bias. They were searching for meaning and finally settled on a "universal" standard because someone won an argument.
The fact that any human hand had to write down the words of the Bible means it passed through the filter of the human mind, which also subjected the inspired word of God to inescapable bias, interpretation, and gender-cultural-linuistic limitations.
I don't believe that we managed to get it all right. I think we may have a good general picture, if anything, but the finer details are not all necessarily correct.
For instance, the standard transcription of the Golden Rule teaches egocentricism and narcisim -- everyone should like and appreciate exactly what you like. Whereas, I believe what Jesus really meant was, "do unto others as they would like you to do unto them." We are all different, and that is normal, healthy respect for fellow humans, and that would not a projection of your sinful self onto others.
I also believe that Jesus often spoke illustratively, even used hyperbole to get his point across, and not everything He said was meant to be taken literally. For instance, He said to eat His flesh and drink His blood--He was speaking symbolically.
In Mat. 5:31-32 you have this thing about divorce=adultery. But just two verses before, in Mat. 5:29-30, he was speaking illustratively about plucking out our eyes and cutting off our hands. If we are to take him literally, virtually all Christians--who are all sinners according to biblical definitions, and who all have offending eyes and offending hands and feet--should be reduced to nothing but limbless torsos with blind, deaf and mute heads attached. Really, I don't think that's what Jesus meant at all. He also spoke about forgiveness, and I believe He meant we should forgive ourselves too.