Bible Question:
Look at the context. As JVH0212 quoted "When the plain sense makes good sense, seek no other sense lest it be nonsense." But, can the context switch from literal to figurative and back ... or vice-versa. Is the whole Sermon on the Mount, figurative or literal? If there is a change, does not make sense - why? |
Bible Answer: For further amplification of what I wrote earlier, I would like to add: If the literal sense seems to make no sense, it's time to look at the figurative sense. Can the context switch from literal to figurative and back? I don't know about the context, but as for the *text*, I would say: After having read the NT more than 40 times, it is evident that the text can and often does intermingle figurative language with plain (non-figurative) language, often switching back and forth between the two. Is the Sermon on the Mount either 100 percent literal OR 100 percent figurative? No, it is not either/or. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ evidently illustrated his plain teaching with figures of speech. If God Himself chooses to change from one to the other and back, then it most certainly does make sense. I do not criticize the writing style of the inspired Word of God. Let there be charity and understanding among us all, brethren. --JVH0212 "In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, and in all things charity." |