Meriweather
Not all who wander are lost
- Oct 21, 2014
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And that's the challenge: Not to figure out what one, personally, wants it to mean, but the author's intent.And it can mean pretty much anything you want. All of the books were written for a contemporary audience. None of which were written by Jesus apparently. Does that strike you as odd?For me, the Book of Revelation is a prime example of all the above--and therefore I cringe when I read some literal interpretations of it. Revelation is a fine example of apocalyptic literature, a very popular style of the time. It was directed at the audience living at the time it was written, and they understood it perfectly--those of us two thousand years later, not so perfectly. All the same, it contains timeless truths, more history than for which it is often credited; and has beautiful, striking allegories, similes, and metaphors that stick in our minds.
That we have no writings by Jesus does not strike me as odd, considering the reality of those times. Paper and ink cost a lot of money, and writing took up a lot of time. Further, Jesus' work was among the poor and downtrodden--people least likely to be able to read anything he did write.