So I'm not trying to start some heated religious debate or bash anyone else's ideas at all... but just to share my opinion...
I understand and respect where you are coming from, soobin, but i completely disagree. I am also Christian/Catholic. I am a teen group leader and a Eucharistic Minister at my church, Holy Family, and I also attend Willow Creek occasionally. But I agree with what some other classmates have been saying... I have studied parts of the Bible and I love listening to gospels and talks, and hearing everyone's opinions, viewpoints and interpretations of the Bible.
That brings me to my main point. The Bible is, in my opinion, Not meant to be taken literally. I do not believe God created the world in seven 24 hour days... one day for him could have been thousands of years long. I do not believe he literally created a man from dirt an a woman from the man's rib... that's like saying without men, women wouldn't be around and that we depend on them, (which would bring me to a whole other issue so im not going there) The Bible states that Moses lifted water into the air and parted the red sea, that Jesus literally turned wine and bread into his physical body and blood, as Mr. Spoor mentioned a few weeks ago in class.
The Bible is meant to be interpreted... I mean, look at the gospels. There are five gospels, with the same stories about Jesus, all from different people's points of view. They are all pretty similar, but have a few differences. This proves that the Bible, and those who wrote it, is interpreted and recorded from what people believed and saw and how they reacted to it.
Just because, as some ignorant people say, "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve", I don't think it is in our power as fellow human beings to force others to follow our opinions. Everyone interprets the Bible differently; it wasn't meant to be taken literally. Part of being Catholic is interpreting the Bible, as Mr. Spoor also mentioned.. Other religions take everything in it literally and don't realize it is a book of stories, created and told by people who knew Jesus. Stories are full of symbolism and deeper meaning and things to be interpreted...as is the Bible.
