Pat Robertson issued an apolgy for his insane comments only after Israel decided it would not do buisness with him. This sunk a 50 million dollar Christain Heritage center he had planned in Israel (link).
Really, when you think about it, his original comments were his apology. His defense of his skewed view of Christianity is a perfect example of fundamentalist apologetics. They take a phrase or a book out of context, say it is the word of God, and use it to back their own agenda.
The passion for the belief, however, is lessened if you could lose some money or influence.
I personally believe that people need a complete understanding of the Bible. This includes when the books were written, their historical context and what type of literature a book happens to be (History, poetry, prophecy, et al).
This doesen't put the claim of divine inspiration into question at all. If a book written thousands of years ago can still be assert the truth despite changing cultures and times, then the claim of divine inspiration is strengthened. A deeper understanding of how God used our human mechanisims to convey His word can also be a deeper understanding of the Incarnation itself.
Is this a dangerous process? Can this view be abused for reltativistic purposes? Of course it can. The difficult but simple solution is don't let it be.
It is much more dangerous to allow the word of God to be hijacked by men and women who care only for the authority it gives them, and not for the beautiful expression and message of love from the Creator that it is.
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I wrote about my life and all that I have had to go through, I also ended that story with a little bit about how my life has changed, but I want to take it further.
Link to this site: youre my soul and inspiration
http://www.inspirational-faq.info/
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