Random Questions; Bible-based answers
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To view any kind of biblical information we do so with our family history, early understandings, a long history of "approved" sermons and the repetitious drilling of our denominations/creeds.
To view the Hebrew Bible as historic in light of current physical sciences is, at a minimum, insufficient for those who chose to "believe."
Things that the Hebrew Bible writers fail to realize are at least the following"
The Jerusalem of David (vetted by the "house of David" inscription) was a "Kingdom of perhaps 60,000" people scattered over a huge expanse of territory. Jerusalem of David's time was about 12 acres in size housing, perhaps 2,000 people. In the Bible God is mad at David (for some unknown reason) because David conducted a census of how many fighting men he had. He determined he had 800,000–1,100,000 armed men in Israel and 470,000–500,000 in Judah. Archaeologists show that there were only about 60,000 people in David's kingdom of which God killed 70,000 to get David's attention about the sensus.
In the creation story in Genesis there are two separate and contrasting stories. However, the existential question is this:
If God+ was in total control, God+ must have put the snake in the garden and thus used the snake to tell the truth, not a lie to Adam thru Eve. The snake said (talking snake aside) if you eat of the forbidden fruit you will be like the Gods knowing good from evil. You will not die on the day you eat of it. The snake spoke the truth. They immediately knew the difference (in 5th century BC morality) between "good and evil." If thy did not know the difference before then, how could they be responsible for something they did not know? If there was evil in the Garden of Eden, only God+ could have put it there, or like in the book of Job, God plays a game with evil and disaster. God allows the evil that people do or the consequences they will face if they are overpowered by evil.....which God either created or was unwilling to to stop in Job. The first humans discovered they were naked and thus ashamed (another cultural artifact of 6th century BC rabbis) who wrote the story. Before we even get to acceptable sacrifices via ( a 5th century bc Hebrew definition) Cain is relieved of a death threat by getting a mark put on him under a God formulated oath, that anyone over the earth that tried to kill Cain would be punished 7 times more. People over the earth? Cain's leaving and subsequent wedding. ect. Does any of this fable seem remotely like the God in Jesus? The God of infinite forgiveness. The God of universal salvation? The God demanding the death of his Son for the sins of the world?
Interpretation of any book is done by the reader.
For a history of all beliefs including Christianity, see the thread KISSed HOB.
You mean that no translator was born again and sought God's help to translate correctly? It is a wonder that anyone got saved ever. So when will we get to see your infallible translation?
I like that you dispense with the secondary noise regarding how many people lived where and focus on the "existential question".
However, when speaking of God's control or sovereignty, one must realize that God's will includes intentional and permissive aspects.
God's intentional will is indicated by Scripture such as 1Tim. 2:3-4, which is for humanity to be saved, but in order to create humans having moral free will (MFW), God permits souls to resist His intentional will.
In order for souls to have MFW, there must be morally opposite options, which are opposite because of having qualitatively opposite consequences: heaven and hell. Thus, hell is good as a theoretical option that actualizes MFW, although it is wrong for souls to choose it.
The snake/devil chose to lie to Eve, and A&E chose to believe the lie instead of asking/questioning God or seeking the truth.
It is true that knowing the morally opposite options is being like God, but it is not true that A&E did not die spiritually when they chose to ignore GW. Realizing nakedness signified their guilty conscience.
Before going further, are you tracking with me so far?
Because Earth was discovered to be spherical by Ancient Greek philosophers in the 5th century BC by noting the arc of the Earth's shadow on the moon during lunar eclipses, we can suppose some educated folks still knew the earth was a finite orb in Jesus' day.
Of course, we know that God knew where every grain of sand and drop of water were located, but how much Jesus knew while incarnate is unclear.
A very interesting idea……but “humans”? Of course not……but probably other types of life. I’m almost certain of this…….
If we are to believe that the Father has always existed (I’m sure most of us do)…….then what has he been doing for the last zillions of quad drillions of years? Nothing?????
Doubtful! He has probably been somewhat busy.
A vast universe where residents of individual star systems would have no possible ability to ever encounter one another would be ideal for a creator to indeed have more than one creation. If we were to create a propulsion system at 1% of the speed of light (impossibly fast) it would still take a rocket crew uncountable lifetimes to reach the closest star.
I doubt that any life system (unless it is eternal) would be able to survive such a journey. The closest star to us is “Proximus Centauri” and it is 4.24 light ears away. This is equivalent to 25 trillion miles. We would never make it at 1% of the speed of light…….which we could never obtain anyway.
You don't think humanity has enough problems to keep God occupied?
With the Lord a zillion years is like a day and so a trillion light years is like a day's journey.
I get you did not see my joke (2Pet. 3:8).
Before the Father was doing, He was being (Exo. 3:14).
Christians only quarrel while sinning/not cooperating with the HS per
TOP #258: Warn a divisive or argumentative person twice and then excommunicate him/her. [Tit. 3:9-11]
This teaching is akin to TOP #85.
TOP #85: A community of believers should not associate with immoral people who claim to be Christians. [1Cor. 5:1-13, Tit. 3:9-11] Sins cited include sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, slander, drunkenness and swindling (cf. TOP #13) in the first passage and arguing, quarreling and divisiveness in the second. Such excommunication is an appropriate of approved form of judging.