Protestantism

» paper_turtle - Theories

I would go so far as to say that the answers we carry about in our heads are largely meaningless unless we know the questions which produced them. ...
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Very good point. I don't think I've ever thought about it in that way before. I would suggest that when others posit answers to us which are in stark contrast to what we think/believe/feel, we might benefit from pondering what questions led the other person to his/her answers. We might not be able to really figure it out, but at least in thinking about it we might come to a better understanding of another's position.
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What, for example, are the sorts of questions that obstruct the mind, or free it, in the study of history? How are these questions different from those one might ask of a mathematical proof, or a literary work, or a biological theory? ... What students need to know are the rules of discourse which comprise the subject, and among the most central of such rules are those which govern what is and what is not a legitimate question."
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YES!!! Studying literature is an altogether different thing than studying a history text. When we ask questions of literature, we don't ask if something is literally true, we ask what inner truth it reveals to us. Shakespeare is still popular--and relevant bacause his works reveal so much about human nature.
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IMHO the Bible needs to be approached more as literature than as text. The truths which are important are not the external onea about what "really" happened. Instead, I think we need to be seeking the truths which lead to "circumscision of the heart."
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peace and love,
Paper Turtle

-- posted by paper_turtle