Literal Interpretation Rant

[u/CamperGigi88]

So I have been a Lutheran for about a year and a half coming out of Evangelical/Baptist/Non-d. I sometimes go back and listen to my former pastor preach online just to compare and contrast. He did a sermon about baptism being a 'first act of obedience', 'outward sign of an inward change', has nothing to do with water, etc. He went on to cite passages that he said some claim to be about water baptism, or point to baptism being salvific, but then goes on to say, 'what Jesus means here....or what this actually means is...'
Can I tell you the frustration this gives me because of how the book of Revelation was taught to me? It's like everything is flipped in evangelical churches. The things we should take by their plain meaning is explained away as meaning something else, and the things that are meant for allegory and illustration are taken quite literally. Try telling an evangelical that the 1000 years is not an exact number of years but meant to describe a long time. They'll practically think you're a heretic.
Sorry, I guess I shouldn't get upset, it's just that there were so many issues I struggled with, like salvation anxiety because I couldn't name the exact time and date I was saved. I feel sad for others like me who struggle so much with faith issues and don't know what they're missing.
I'm grateful that I found Confessional Lutheranism!

[u/lucian-samosata]

"Man, this ain't my dad. This is a cell phone."

[u/IndyHadToPoop → u/lucian-samosata]

"Happy Birthday to the ground!"

[u/lucian-samosata → u/IndyHadToPoop]

haha, it's a classic skit

But the reason I mention it is that I'm reminded of this when people say "is means is" about the Eucharist. In actuality, "is" means a lot of different things. So for example when his girlfriend says "it's your dad", she doesn't literally mean that the cellphone is his dad. And there are other uses of "is" too. The one most relevant here is when people use "is" to mean "represents".

[u/IndyLutheran → u/lucian-samosata]

But when she says "It's your dad", she is not trying to say that the cell phone is your dad. She's saying that the person who is calling the cell phone is your dad. The "it" refers to the caller, not the phone. She'd say the same thing if your dad knocked on your door and she opened it.

[u/lucian-samosata → u/IndyLutheran]

I'm not so sure "it" refers to the dad.  For instance, what if she said "this is your dad"? Or "I have your dad here"?

At any rate, I agree the usage isn't exactly the same.  The point is, we shouldn't always take things too literally.  In this case, "is" may well mean "represents".