re: #519 Obdicut

Well, that’s just silly. They exist as texts no matter what else they are. They are perfectly open to textual analysis as well as theological analysis.

I like the Bible. I get a great deal from reading it. The Book of Job is one of the greatest literary achievements of all time, and one of the most poignant stories about fate and humanity.

You seem to be claiming the only possible analysis of religious texts is by the faithful of those texts. Does this mean that anyone commenting on what’s contained inside the Koran who is not a faithful Muslim cannot possibly have a correct interpretation?

Or do you just need to be some form of theist to comment on religious texts meaningfully?

If you read the Book of Job as literature, I don’t doubt you get a great deal from it, but you certainly do not understand or use it in the way it was understood or used by those whose care made sure it was transmitted through the ages. It’s a bit like reading Moby Dick - to bring Melville in again - in order to learn about 19th century seafaring and whaling.

As for the possibility of a person who is not a member of the faith being able to interpret the texts thereof correctly - I do not dispute that it is fully possible. I do dispute, however, that tools and techniques applicable to conventional secular works are of much use in approaching scriptures.

As for requiring that one be a theist to comment on the texts - not a requirement, not by a long-shot. Only a mind open and prepared to approach the text on its own terms.