blog traffic analysis
This is http://www.essayz.com/a9611233.htm Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words. {Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.} ========================================================== %LITERAL INTERPRETATION SCRIPTURE TEXT OBJECTIVE+961123 %FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH HONESTY INTEGRITY PERSONAL SIN+961123 %EVIL ALIENATION ESTRANGEMENT CONFLICT VIOLENCE WAR+961123 %WORDS LANGUAGE DIALOGUE LISTEN INTIMACY VULNERABLE+961123 %CONTROL PRESCRIBE DESCRIBE PROSCRIBE COMMAND LAW 961123 Some people insist that their interpretations of scriptures/texts are correct because they are reading the literal meaning of the words. They believe that they (unlike others) are avoiding the pitfalls of reading into the scriptures and/or texts any meanings which are beyond those which reside inherently in the scriptures and/or texts. Those who claim to be holding to the literal meanings of words in scriptures/texts act as though the meanings of words in the scriptures/texts are objectively real and so are independent of the readers---in the way in which physical objects like rocks, mountains, and lakes are real; independent of the viewers of them. To act as though the meanings of words in scriptures/texts are objectively real --- DOES NOT MAKE IT BE SO! Such pretense is dishonest --- and often is part of a pattern of collusive games of mutual self deception among those engaged in the pretense for mutual self-support in dishonesty. Honest people acknowledge the inevitability of subtle and/or major differences in the meanings which they and others find in the assemblages of words in scriptures and/or other texts. This is the case because they honestly acknowledge that they and others come to scriptures and/or other texts with different patterns of experiences in life and in the usage of oral/written words. Not only do people speak/write/read different languages such as English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and countless others of well defined natures. People also differ in subtle ways within each such language as to dialect and differences in ways in which words are used and understood individually and collectively. The meanings of scriptures and/or other texts reside in the meetings between people and the patterns of words found therein---and in the dialogue among people about their meetings with those patterns of words. The meanings reside in the relationships between and among the people and the patterns of words. It is dishonest to pretend that real meanings reside in patterns of words apart from the relationships between people and the patterns of words. Meanings are not objective realities like rocks, mountains and lakes. Human meanings have no existence in the absence of humans. How can it be meaningful to talk about human meanings existing in the absence of humans to talk about them? Objective realities are those about which humans can come to nearly universal agreement. It is not helpful to pretend that the meanings of scriptures/texts are like objective realities---especially when there is so much disagreement among humans about what the scriptures/texts mean. When people pretend that there are true "literal" and/or "objective" meanings of scriptures/texts they are probably engaging in conflict over who is to be in control. They are preoccupied with issues of control and their use of conflict to heighten their power to be in control. They are not interested in conflict resolution or the mitigation of violence, alienation, estrangement and misunderstanding. (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================