Knowing something about how people used to live has a lot to do with the interpretation
of the ancient writings that we find.
For the most part, people wrote about what they saw, although many times they could
not adequately explain what they saw. Other times, they wrote in metaphors, since
that was the style of the time, many times in repetitive phrases.
The biggest problem in reading ancient texts, whether it be Scripture from the
Bible or the Tipitaka from Buddhist literature, is separating the metaphors from
the real events. This, of course, takes patience and experience. The more that
you read, the better at it you can get.
Jesus Christ and Buddha talked in parables. Moses and other people of the Old
Testament often did not use parables, but actually provided eye witness accounts
of certain events. This becomes difficult reading for many people, since there
are times when the events themselves are unclear.
Nevertheless, the two distinct forms of writing that ancient people used are
similar on every continent. They provide descriptions of real events, such as
earthquakes, storms, catastrophes and the like; and, they provide soaring metaphors
for the many things they could not appropriately describe in other ways.
Upon closer examination, one can many times clearly understand the events and the
so-called miracles, as well as the many metaphors attached to other parts of the
texts.
One good example of a miracle in the New testament is the only miracle which is
written about by all 4 gospels. Although there are 37 distinct miracles described
in the New Testament, only the miracle of "Feeding the Five Thousand" is described by all
4 gospels. That appears in Matthew 14:13, Mark 6:30, Luke 9:10,
and John 6:1, and
the 4 gospels are fairly straightforward and similar in their descriptions.
It stands to reason that if this is the only miracle recorded in all 4 gospels, it
must have taken place. Yet, how did it take place?
For an example of interpreting the Bible, I will give you the concise explanation
myself. For a review of this miracle click on the link below.
Feeding the Five Thousand
For other articles on philosophy or religion, see the introductory articles
list below.
For tips and advice on how to read ancient texts click on the link below.
Reading Ancient Texts
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