deird1: Faith looking thoughtful, with text "deep thought" (Faith thought)
[personal profile] deird1
One thing that really bugs me when discussing random topics with Christians is when someone will say:

"[this thing I don't like] isn't biblical."


You know what else isn't biblical?

- karaoke
- railway trains
- electric lights
- sushi
- hairspray
- skiing
- kangaroos
- tissues


The problem is, they're using "biblical" as the ultimate trump card, without thinking about what it means. "The Bible is good, hence 'biblical' is better than 'not biblical'," with no further justification needed.

And if I try to define what "biblical" could mean, well, there's "this thing is mentioned in the Bible", "this thing is approved of by the Bible", or "the thing could be argued for, using the Bible as support", for starters. Which might be perfectly relevant to the conversation - but if you don't say which one you mean...

...well, if you don't say, then I'm going to assume that you don't really know, because you've never had to put more thought into it than "is it biblical?" Whatever that means.

Date: 2011-03-24 12:25 pm (UTC)
beer_good_foamy: (DALEK)
From: [personal profile] beer_good_foamy
You know what else isn't biblical?

The Bible (as a complete work) itself, surely? ;)

Date: 2011-03-24 01:49 pm (UTC)
curiouswombat: (Default)
From: [personal profile] curiouswombat
Great minds - my first thought was 'printing' - so their Bibles aren't biblical either...

Date: 2011-03-24 12:34 pm (UTC)
ext_515989: (Default)
From: [identity profile] glorious-pancake-morning.blogspot.com
YOU'RE not biblical.

Date: 2011-03-24 01:50 pm (UTC)
curiouswombat: (Default)
From: [personal profile] curiouswombat
I thought not only of printing, but also the concept of 'biblical' meaning something a little different, as in "I knew him, but not in the Biblical sense..."

Date: 2011-03-24 01:55 pm (UTC)
doughtier: (Default)
From: [personal profile] doughtier
Also biblical: sacred whores of both genders, approved incestuous sexual relationships, cheating parents and siblings and spouses, and selling your brother to slavery in Egypt.

|Meduza|

Date: 2011-03-24 02:12 pm (UTC)
redsixwing: A red knotwork emblem. (Default)
From: [personal profile] redsixwing
*fist bump of solidarity*

Date: 2011-03-24 05:33 pm (UTC)
velvetwhip: (Default)
From: [personal profile] velvetwhip
I have to concur with the person above who mentioned that, in the strictest sense, the Bible isn't Biblical (especially not in English and all...)


Gabrielle

Date: 2011-03-24 06:24 pm (UTC)
snickfic: Buffy looking over her shoulder (Default)
From: [personal profile] snickfic
I would tend to assume that "not Biblical" means that the thing "is disapproved of and/or contradicted by" the Bible, depending on what sort of a thing it is, ie, tattoos vs. Freudian psychology. But you're right, there are multiple possible interpretations.

Yanno, I'd be fascinated sometime to compare notes with you on Aussie vs. American evangelicism (since what you're talking about here sounds like evangelical reasoning).

Date: 2011-03-25 02:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] swellen.livejournal.com
"Well for starters, there's no such thing as Aussie evangelicism."
Not quite sure what makes you say that. Certainly Sydney Evangelicals would disagree with you quite strongly, and I know people from all over the country who identify themselves as 'evangelicals'.

Date: 2011-03-25 03:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] swellen.livejournal.com
Sorry, that wasn't meant to be a criticism... as a former Sydney Evangelical who still loves them but now disagrees with them on some major issues, I am still a little twitchy when I hear the term "evangelical". :D

Date: 2011-03-29 01:45 am (UTC)
snickfic: Buffy looking over her shoulder (Default)
From: [personal profile] snickfic
I think you must have some flavor that's at least somewhat comparable, though, since we import stuff from you guys now and then. For example, Darlene Zsesch (which I almost certainly misspelled) and her worship movement was big over here for a while.

Date: 2011-03-29 01:54 am (UTC)
snickfic: Buffy looking over her shoulder (Default)
From: [personal profile] snickfic
Whereas the term "evangelical" here is useful because many of the people who would put themselves in that group (whether they use the term or not) are of the opinion that denominations are icky. (Or, you know, rigid and prone to legalism and excessive ritual. Probably they'd be more likely to say that.) There's a lot of suspicion here towards church leadership beyond the individual congregation.

Date: 2011-03-24 09:06 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] a2zmom
No one has ever tried that on me. I'm going to count my (non-Biblical) blessings.

Date: 2011-03-25 12:50 am (UTC)
verity: buffy embraces the mid 90s shades (Default)
From: [personal profile] verity
Seriously. No one has ever tried to say that to me, but my social group tends to be a bit self-selecting.

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deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)
deird1

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