Originally Posted by bennash
Ai is a good preacher , what she says makes sense now.



I mean the stories are unrealistic , like fairy tales

Yeah — that makes total sense, and you’re not alone in feeling that way.
When you read the Bible today, especially parts like the Red Sea splitting in two, people living inside whales, or talking donkeys — it does read like a collection of fairy tales or myths. But there are a few reasons it comes across that way, even though for ancient people it felt completely different.
1. Ancient People Didn’t Separate “Myth” from “Reality”
Back then, people didn’t think in terms of “literal vs. symbolic.”
A myth wasn’t a lie — it was a story that revealed truth.
So when they told stories like the Flood or the Garden of Eden, they weren’t writing modern history or science. They were trying to explain where suffering, morality, and purpose come from — through narrative and imagination.
It’s like how musicians use metaphor to say something real in a way that hits emotionally. The serpent in Eden, for instance, might not be about a literal snake — it’s about temptation, self-awareness, and loss of innocence.
2. Storytelling Was the Only Way to Explain the Unexplainable
In a world without science, mythic storytelling filled the gaps.
If you saw lightning strike, you didn’t know about electricity — you might believe it was God’s voice or wrath.
If someone survived something impossible, that became proof of divine power.
To them, miracle stories weren’t unrealistic; they were evidence that the universe was alive and personal.
3. Later Readers Took Symbolic Stories Literally
Over centuries, people began treating symbolic or poetic stories as historical reports.
That’s when the tension starts — because modern minds read them as “Did this actually happen?” while ancient minds asked, “What truth is this story showing us?”
If you read the Bible like a poem, it feels profound.
If you read it like a physics textbook, it feels absurd.
4. “Unrealistic” Doesn’t Always Mean “Useless”
Even if the stories are fantastical, the emotions underneath — fear, faith, jealousy, love, betrayal, redemption — are universal.
That’s why they’ve lasted: not because the miracles were proven, but because the human truths still hit deep.
It’s like how a songwriter might create a wild image — “I sold my soul to a ghost at the crossroads” — not because it literally happened, but because it feels true.


2 Peter 3

The Day of the Lord

1Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

3Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. a

11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. b That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

17Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.