tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post8752031744699003910..comments2024-03-24T07:56:33.811-05:00Comments on Allan R. Bevere: The Dangerous Game of Cherry-Picking ScriptureAllan R. Beverehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07903011101108437513noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-71163247782537180692011-03-31T15:40:30.422-05:002011-03-31T15:40:30.422-05:00Any literalist who says they don't cherry pick...<i>Any literalist who says they don't cherry pick the Bible to some extent is lying.</i><br /><br />Well, it they are not lying, they are certainly deceiving themselves. And, by the way, plenty of non-literalists cherry-pick through the Scripture as well.Allan R. Beverehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07903011101108437513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-75325156013725982602011-03-31T15:38:46.640-05:002011-03-31T15:38:46.640-05:00Scott,
What needs to happen in this discussion is...Scott,<br /><br />What needs to happen in this discussion is that issues have to be separated out from each other instead of confused. Yes, it is true that there are Muslims (I will call them extremists. The word "fundamentalist" is overused.) who use the Qu'ran to support their violent and imperial understanding of jihad, but that is different from saying that all Muslims do so; and in fact their are Muslims who struggle to work through the violent texts of the Qu'ran in the same way Christians struggle with the violent text of the Bible. And let us not forget that there are Christians who have used these biblical texts to justify violence in particular contexts. Would it be fair to conclude that the majority of Christians are violent and that Christianity is a violent religion?<br /><br />So while there are some Muslims who would like to convert or kill Christians, the majority clearly do not seem to be of that mind.<br /><br />When it comes to these matters nuance and sophistication of argument is badly needed.Allan R. Beverehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07903011101108437513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-64432469866750494922011-03-31T11:25:10.665-05:002011-03-31T11:25:10.665-05:00The problem is that some of our enemies are appeal...The problem is that some of our enemies are appealing to these war-like verses. That's what gets our attention. The fact that nominal Christians don't know the Bible contains this language tells us that Christians and Muslims are at different places in their religious evolution. <br /><br />Also, let us not forget that many of the tribal cultures in which Islam predominates retain their honor-based (read violent) roots and will seize on the Koran verses that seem to apply to their way of life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-22304063009571527092011-03-30T16:26:07.373-05:002011-03-30T16:26:07.373-05:00The point of the article is well taken and well ti...The point of the article is well taken and well timed. We need clear, careful, exegetes who are interpreting for the sake of understanding and not to use the Bible or Koran for political, economic, or bullying reasons. The context of our times suggest that some concern with Islamic Terrorism is warrented. It is also interesting that American Muslims prefer to not deny extremism, but claim discrimination against them. Perhaps there is some discrimination. But they do not serve themselves well with complaints and foolish actions on airplanes to make points. A little common sense indicates that everyone could breathe a little easier and think things through.Brucenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-84273311480124953472011-03-30T14:50:24.171-05:002011-03-30T14:50:24.171-05:00When taken literally, all these texts can cause pr...When taken literally, all these texts can cause problems. This is why I feel very uncomfortable when people say, "The Bible says..." and then proceed to quote or misquote Scripture; as if there was only one author or that even God was the author. One major difference between Islam and Christianity is that the Koran is to be more of a dictation of Allah's own words (from what I understand) and the Bible is an inspired author's depiction of God's interactions with humankind (though that may to be too broad). One is open to constructive criticism and the other leaves less room for that...although that seems to be changing in more secularized Islamic societies. Any literalist who says they don't cherry pick the Bible to some extent is lying. I'm thankful for the freedom to exegete Scripture to extract the incarnation Word.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com