神對【逐字按字面意義詮釋經文」的建言】
尼爾：對於那些聲稱：只能完全遵照《聖經》，並要求逐條逐字按字面意義來詮釋經文的人，你會怎麼說？
我會請他們注意，這些話語是在不同時空背景與情況之下所寫成的。我的觀察是：雖然這些教導是基於一套堅定的原則，但今日若只是按它們的字面意義來詮釋，而不去探究當時背景下它們背後所啓示的原意 ，小則會導致誤解，大則會失去原本蘊涵的內在智慧。
我會邀請人類去探究：如果那些教導是在一個持續進化的社會架構內所建立的，他們是否可以從那些傳統信仰的原始教導中受益更多。
尼爾：換句話說，我們對別人或自己的新詮釋應該保持開放的可能性，那樣才能讓我們自己將古代的智能應用到現代的生活中。
正是如此。
而最後我會對所有各地的人們說，去相信你們願意相信的，讓自己的內心和靈魂來指引你們──但切莫將你們自己的觀點强加於他人。
摘自《與神對話之新啟示》第6章
Neale: But I am curious. What would you say to people who assert that following the words of their Holy Scripture verbatim, and interpreting them literally, is the only way?
I would ask them to notice that these words were written at a different time and in a very different kind of place and circumstance. I would observe that, while these teachings were based on a firm set of principles, to now interpret their words literally, rather than seek to understand the underlying principle that they reveal, could lead, at the very least, to misunderstanding, and, in the worst case, to a loss of the original wisdom in which they were grounded.
I would invite humans to explore whether they might derive more benefit from the original teachings of all faith traditions if those teachings were contextualized within the framework of a continually evolving society.
Neale: In other words, remain open to the possibility of new interpretations that might allow us to better apply ancient wisdom to contemporary life.
Exactly.
Yet in the end I would say to people everywhere:
Believe as you wish, follow your heart and your soul where it leads you, but do not seek to impose your views on others—and certainly do not seek to do so by force.
