apexcone Posted February 4, 2019 Posted February 4, 2019 As an ex literalist & fundamentalist I realize 1st hand why its so important for some folks to believe the Biblical account is factual. in my opinion what that insistence produces is argumentativeness and strife To me the whole concept of literalism misses the point, so instead of this amazing book (The Bible) becoming a source of spiritual inspiration it becomes a weapon and a debating platform on whether or not its literally true. For me rejecting literalism for the heresy it is has increased my faith, made me less judgmental and open my eyes to a spiritual dynamic in my life rather than arguments, debates and strife over whether of not the text is factual.For me as an ex, I feel sorry for the folks who in my opinion have been hood winked, sadly some of the most closed minded people I know are fundamentalists. Quote
Burl Posted February 4, 2019 Posted February 4, 2019 3 hours ago, apexcone said: As an ex literalist & fundamentalist I realize 1st hand why its so important for some folks to believe the Biblical account is factual. in my opinion what that insistence produces is argumentativeness and strife To me the whole concept of literalism misses the point, so instead of this amazing book (The Bible) becoming a source of spiritual inspiration it becomes a weapon and a debating platform on whether or not its literally true. For me rejecting literalism for the heresy it is has increased my faith, made me less judgmental and open my eyes to a spiritual dynamic in my life rather than arguments, debates and strife over whether of not the text is factual.For me as an ex, I feel sorry for the folks who in my opinion have been hood winked, sadly some of the most closed minded people I know are fundamentalists. Some parts are more factual than others. The key seems to be understanding the context of the people who wrote it, what it meant to them, and what they were trying to communicate. Quote
apexcone Posted February 5, 2019 Author Posted February 5, 2019 22 hours ago, Burl said: Some parts are more factual than others. The key seems to be understanding the context of the people who wrote it, what it meant to them, and what they were trying to communicate. Yes I totally agree, context, culture and world view is paramount to understanding Quote
PaulS Posted February 5, 2019 Posted February 5, 2019 On 2/4/2019 at 9:33 AM, apexcone said: For me as an ex, I feel sorry for the folks who in my opinion have been hood winked, sadly some of the most closed minded people I know are fundamentalists. I don't feel sorry for them - it is what it is and if that's what they want to believe, so be it. I do oppose it though when I think it causes harm (e.g. fundy's using the bible as a weapon to harm homosexuals, divorcees, etc). The up side for them though, as you have probably experienced as I used to, is the security it provides in not having to question any of it. If you're in with the right crowd and everybody goes along with the same view and sticks together without questioning it, there is a lot to be said about the certainty and security that that view holds. Not that I agree with it, just saying it happens. Personally, I'm glad I found the insecurity and uncertainty that went along with questioning what I had all along been told was the God-given truth. Quote
apexcone Posted February 5, 2019 Author Posted February 5, 2019 I agree. We came to faith in a fundy group. Our lives were a disaster the group offered security and a rock solid foundation and as you said never needed to question anything, just agree. But as time went on I had questions, that's when the problems started. DONT ask questions this is "GODS WORD" Its a deception on a grand scale. That's why I feel sorry for them Quote
Burl Posted February 5, 2019 Posted February 5, 2019 43 minutes ago, apexcone said: I agree. We came to faith in a fundy group. Our lives were a disaster the group offered security and a rock solid foundation and as you said never needed to question anything, just agree. But as time went on I had questions, that's when the problems started. DONT ask questions this is "GODS WORD" Its a deception on a grand scale. That's why I feel sorry for them Asking better questions is the whole point, but no reason to feel sorry for the fundies. God bless them. They are better off than they would be otherwise, and like you it's a stage they can grow beyond. Quote
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