Why did Elijah, the prophet of God, ridicule the prophets of Baal

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So I'll explain this part. He has all the people in town gather, including the prophets of baal and King Ahab. He says, get two bulls. you choose one, and i'll choose one. We'll cut them to pieces and the God that sets fire to it is the living God.

The prophets called on their god, Baal. 1 Kings 18:27
"At noon Elijah began to taunt them. 'Shout louder!' he said. 'Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.'"

So this is pretty funny that he says that "maybe he is traveling" but i just cannot see a prophet of God actually making fun of somebody. That does not seem Godly or loving at all.

I guess I'm just confused on why he did that, is it a sin, is it a mistranslation?

Just a question, what kind of respect are false prophets and teachers due? God is very vehement about false teachers...

Deu 13:1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
Deu 13:2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
Deu 13:3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deu 13:4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
Deu 13:5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
Deu 13:6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
Deu 13:7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
Deu 13:8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
Deu 13:9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
Deu 13:10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Jer 50:6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
Jer 50:7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.

Eze 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Eze 34:3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
Eze 34:4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
Eze 34:5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
Eze 34:6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Eze 34:7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
Eze 34:9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
Eze 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
Eze 34:12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
Eze 34:13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
Eze 34:14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
Eze 34:15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
Eze 34:17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
Eze 34:18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
Eze 34:19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
Eze 34:21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
Eze 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
Eze 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
Eze 34:24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
 
There is a chinese restaurant near me that my sons love. In the restaurant, they have several idols over looking the cash register and dining room.

One of them looks like a cute kitty
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Another looks like this:
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The owner is a nice guy and we often have a brief conversation when I pay my bill. I always try to say two things. One, I always try to be friendly in hopes of sharing the gospel. Secondly, I make a remark about his idols.

I have asked him if they help or give good stock tips. I frequently joke about them but not to offend. I also include that my God hears my prays. Idols are nothing we should ever fear and if we can save another person from Hell, we might even ridicule those false gods who can do nothing.

 

So this is pretty funny that he says that "maybe he is traveling" but i just cannot see a prophet of God actually making fun of somebody. That does not seem Godly or loving at all.

I guess I'm just confused on why he did that, is it a sin, is it a mistranslation?

Why not ridicule them? When did Christianity become such a pantywaist religion? GOD mocks the wicked.
 
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I agree that ridiculing does not equal being unloving. I think in rare situations ridicule might serve an important purpose. Let's keep in mind that even prophets of God in the Bible did say what they wanted, unless it was prefaced by something along the lines of "The word of the LORD" or "The LORD says". So regardless of Elijah's ridicule, they are not necessarily the same as God speaking.

In terms of asking when Christianity became such a "paintywaist religion," being a politically correct doormat isn't what Christianity is about, but neither is it also about making fun of everybody who believes something different than you. There are times that require boldness and courage, but it is neither bold nor courageous to mock people. Elijah's mocking wasn't bold because he was mocking, it was prefaced on his bold decision to take on the ruling class with their false religion. Since he had already made a courageous stand, and he was in the middle of a contest over which deity had power, thus trash-talking is part of the festivities. :)
 
[h=1]Why do people tack up dollar bills?[/h]Here's some replies:

It's the 1st dollar they made when they opened up shop. It's significant to them, and there's also superstition behind it. If you keep your first dollar you make, your business will prosper. Or something to that effect.

Not only is it tradition for a business to hang up the 1st dollar made but for luck, sometimes customers will sign the dollar bills during the first few weeks of business and then place them on a wall or ceiling and then through the years of business, the customers point out that they gave that dollar years ago. Just something for the regulars in a place to have some sort of status.

its for good luck that was the first money they made on opening day
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Why do people tack up dollar bills? - Yahoo! Answers

Good luck charm is a charm that is believed to bring good luck. An example of this is a blessing that a minister or a priest gives at the end of a ceremony. Later on, people assumed that spoken words were temporary whereas a solid object is more permanent. Objects that have extraordinary significance such as the splinter believed to be from the cross of Jesus Christ were substituted for the original spoken or sung charms.
Good luck charm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Matthew 6:24“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

This is what God truly considered to be called idols:
Matthew 6:21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Official Site for Videos, Photos, Community - American Idol
 
I kinda have to agree. Jesus got in the face of the then church and called them hypocrites. It was no laughing matter. But, when man rises against Him, I think He laughs. We are created in His image and we laugh at stupid things. I don' see why He can't laugh. Do you?
We laugh at foolishness, in ecclesiastes it says laughter is foolish ecc. 2:2
God is not foolish. I cannot see God laughing at the person who is weak and not helping them.
 
right i know i didnt list every thing that Love is. i understand but i was trying to make a point that we are about love... and not the definition of pantywaist.
 
How about incinerating two groups of soldiers? (II Kings 1:9-12)
This was much more hurtful and unloving than satire.