Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: gdsimpson@amherst.bitnet Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: more food for thought Message-ID: Date: 28 Feb 91 08:33:41 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 47 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu What does it mean when someone says that the Bible was inspired by God? It at least seems pretty clear when the formula "Thus sayeth the Lord" preceedes a text; but what about the Psalms or Ecclesiastes? In Psalm 22:1,2 when the author writes: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer It is difficult to attempt to describe this passage as an example of how God inspires the words of man. Should Christians hold on to the idea of the Bible as the word of God? Or should the scriptures be interpreted as man's attempt to seek the divine? Or is it perhaps a mixture of both? Something that has crossed my mind several times is that if the Psalms are interpreted as something other than a human text, they might lose some of their sincerity. The image that I get is that of Jehovah holding up huge cue cards from Heaven that say "The Lord is my Shepherd...". If in some sense, the words aren't David's, aren't they less honest? If David is not expressing his own feelings for God, then the Psalms almost seems like a big hoax. But then if the words ARE David's and they still have the status of Scripture, what does the word "Scripture " mean. Is it just the words of someone who speaks sincerely from the heart? Is it a text which sheds light on the human condition? Can people in this sense still write scriptures for today? Just hoping to stir a few brain cells Any and all comments, questions, remarks greatly appreciated. -Gilberto (No not Bart) Simpson "The water will engulf us if we do not dare to tread" -De La Soul