Why would God speak in symbols if he really wanted us to understand?

rebel8

If I was a deity and wanted people to know "the truth", I would just say it in plain language instead of veiling everything in symbolism, innuendo, and vague hints. What does that method of communication accomplish?

If I remember correctly, the borg answer to that is this method of communicating tricks the bad people but the good people can figure it out just fine. Very convenient. Wouldn't it be quicker to weed out the bad people if they understood "the truth" but blatantly ignored it from the beginning, rather than playing a giant game of Clue with them?

So if you believe in a deity who has predicted the future----is there a logical explanation for this other than the lame borg excuse???

Balsam

I go to Presbyterian Church some and I asked the preacher the same question. He said well when men were writing about their God they had to veil him in mystery to caputure the people's interest in worshipping. He realizes the bible is a book of man's explaination of their precieved God and that is is myth mixed with actual events.

Most of all he said the bible is a book of hope, desires of the human family for communication from their God. May wrote the bible and God because he does not communicate directly had to be vailed in mystery thus the the confusion about what God wants from people.

"Converstations with God 1,2,3" by Neale Donald Walsh is a favorite books of mine, it really points out that the Divine would need nothing from us, not worship, not acknowledgement, not anything. And that our reality is pretty much a result of choices we have chosen for ourselves to a large degree. Of course people with physical limitations either born to them or that happened during their life time can't be blamed for those unless their action directly lead to their handicap. But how we deal with those handicaps is our choice. Our attitude about life.

Humans wrote in mystery and symbols because they imagined that was the way God was. I am with you, there is no need for the mystery when the mumbo jumbo is cleared away.

darth frosty

love your line of thought rebel 8. If there is this great issue of universal soverieghnty (I just butchered that word) Justice demands that the rules be spelled out and stated for all to then choose their side. Satan is supposed to be the great deciever not god.

blondie

I'm still wondering why he didn't warn Abel that Cain was out to kill him.

Blondie

Narkissos

If you consider religion as a by-product of language, dealing with the disquieting border between the realm of human (i.e. verbal) knowledge and the unthinkable unknown and unspoken, it becomes very clear why ambiguity, contradiction and tautology are essential to religious speech. They are poetical ways of pointing to the unspoken from within language.

Religion basically has nothing to say. A no-thing which we both can't say and can't help trying to say.

iggy_the_fish

I would agree rebel. To my (current anyway) way of thinking, if there were a God then life would be a bit like living in a permanent big brother series, where we clearly and unambiguously understood the rules before we went in.

So for instance, if I was observed coveting my neighbours ox or ass, making graven images or committing some other kind of sin (I dunno, looking at other men's bums or something) then some deep booming and impressive sounding voice would ring out and summon me to some kind of diary room where some kind of punishment would be handed out (probably death for the looking at men's bums one).

I have sometimes thought that if I ever run my own company or organisation, it might be quite fun to form the organisation rules and/or employee contracts in pseudo-biblical symbolic language. Then I could have fun visiting the people with various pestillences and smitings if they failed to comply with the ambiguous/unintelligable rules.

That having been said, I guess if I had written the bible, it would have been rather more dull

iggy_the_fish

I would agree rebel. To my (current anyway) way of thinking, if there were a God then life would be a bit like living in a permanent big brother series, where we clearly and unambiguously understood the rules before we went in.

So for instance, if I was observed coveting my neighbours ox or ass, making graven images or committing some other kind of sin (I dunno, looking at other men's bums or something) then some deep booming and impressive sounding voice would ring out and summon me to some kind of diary room where some kind of punishment would be handed out (probably death for the looking at men's bums one).

I have sometimes thought that if I ever run my own company or organisation, it might be quite fun to form the organisation rules and/or employee contracts in pseudo-biblical symbolic language. Then I could have fun visiting the people with various pestillences and smitings if they failed to comply with the ambiguous/unintelligable rules.

That having been said, I guess if I had written the bible, it would have been rather more dull

Deputy Dog

Nark

If you consider religion as a by-product of language, dealing with the disquieting border between the realm of human ( i.e. verbal) knowledge and the unthinkable unknown and unspoken, it becomes very clear why ambiguity, contradiction and tautology are essential to religious speech. They are poetical ways of pointing to the unspoken from within language.

I think honesty is more of a problem, I believe the bible speaks very clearly for the most part. We all know that famous line, "you can't handle the truth". I'm pointing a finger at myself when I say this, because there are some parts of the bible that I struggle with, the words are clear, I just don't like what they say.

Also, its not just "religious speech", Bill Clinton for example, claims the word "is" contains ambiguity.

BluesBrother

This is a question that I always wanted to raise when I was a dub - but I knew that it seemed too basic to dare say it.

They would have said to discuss with an elder, but the trouble was that I was an elder

I guess they would say that "God's thoughts are higher than man's thoughts", so dont criticize what you cant understand..., He must know best. But that hardly answers the question

Blueblades

Answer to the question: Prove that he does. A book written by men is hear say.

Blueblades

Why would God speak in symbols if he really wanted us to understand?

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