Norm Habel - Sacred texts and their meanings: beyond literalism

Tonight's guest speaker, Norman Habel, says "At the seminary I was told that every text of the Bible was the result of ‘verbal inspiration,’ which meant that every word of the Bible was to be taken as literal truth from God about God. In this session I plan to explore two potential Biblical satires (Psalm 104 and Jonah) and pose the question, ‘What do the images of God mean if we read the text literally?’ And then pose the question, ‘What do the images mean if we recognise the text as a satire?’"

Norm is a Professorial Fellow at Flinders University and the author of many books, primarily about biblical interpretation. In the 1960s he was first accused of heresy when he suggested that images in Genesis 3 need not be understood literally. Norm is now ready to explore new ways of reading the Bible. He is even working with First Nations mentors to de-colonise the narratives of Genesis.