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NASB | Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the LORD God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, "Can it really be that God has said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" [Rev 12:9-11] |
Subject: Ever Doubt God's Existence? |
Bible Note: Parable, it is not my burden to say that your approach to the Scriptures is necessarily and altogether wrong, but it differs sharply from mine nevertheless. When I was in school as an English major, it was my lot to be compelled to read a goodly number of novels and other pieces of imaginative literature. Having formed the habit of reading back then, I've pursued the delightful experience of reading a great number of novels and other forms of fiction ever since. But to compare the experience of reading the Bible to the experience of reading a novel is something I'd never think of doing. The only saving grace one should attribute to the reading of a novel is that a well-plotted and well-written novel has enjoyment and a certain "cultural" aspect to offer but little else. Novels are written primarliy to entertain and failing this, they have little left with which to redeem themselves. Some novels were written to be didactic, to be sure, but their primary raison d'etre is still entertainment. "The Message" may well be directed to those who desire to "experience" the word of God in the way they do when they are entertained by a novel. Not a few of the more popular paraphrased attempts to render Scripture into simple and contemporary prose that "reads like today's newspaper" do often succeed at their task, I suppose. But they so often do it at the expense of fidelity to the biblical texts and good English usage. The word of God is not a piece of fiction and was not written for entertainment. It should never be approached as one would approach a piece of fiction, or "experienced" in quite the same way as one "experiences" a novel. It is not written to entertain but to instruct. --Hank |