The reason that we have words like "sunrise" and "sunset" is that geocentrism was once a prevalent belief. Likewise, the reason we say "moonstruck" is due to the once held belief (which some people actually currently find sympathy for) that the phases of the moon influence our behavoir. Those things are all okay with me. We have poetically adopted the sincere beliefs of our predecessors.
And one day English will fall to the wayside. And people will not speak it anymore. And scholars and experts will argue with each other over who said "moonstruck" and what it might have meant to the author, and his audience. And I am okay with that, because it is inevitable.
But from my understanding, god's word should be immune from such things. It should be timeless. It should not rely on my understanding of the beliefs of the people who existed two or three centuries ago. But maybe I am wrong. Maybe you believe that god wrote only to them, and that his word is not applicable to a modern society. Something has to give here, because my saying that "someone is moonstruck" and Jesus saying that "stars are capable of falling on our heads" aren't the same thing. Or, if they are the same thing - that is, if they are both poetic - then no one alive today can ever hope to understand what Jesus says. You can't have a timeless work that is simultaneously dated, or a poetic work that is simultaneously actual.
And one day English will fall to the wayside. And people will not speak it anymore. And scholars and experts will argue with each other over who said "moonstruck" and what it might have meant to the author, and his audience. And I am okay with that, because it is inevitable.
But from my understanding, god's word should be immune from such things. It should be timeless. It should not rely on my understanding of the beliefs of the people who existed two or three centuries ago. But maybe I am wrong. Maybe you believe that god wrote only to them, and that his word is not applicable to a modern society. Something has to give here, because my saying that "someone is moonstruck" and Jesus saying that "stars are capable of falling on our heads" aren't the same thing. Or, if they are the same thing - that is, if they are both poetic - then no one alive today can ever hope to understand what Jesus says. You can't have a timeless work that is simultaneously dated, or a poetic work that is simultaneously actual.
