actually if I had wanted to I could easily Disprove that, I have a birth certificate, and a drivers License in my room. Plus I have an email tied to my name with [email protected] lol
So therefore I could easily prove my age. How does it feel to be incorrect?
I dont have to prove anything to you, The bible actually says that in the end everyone will praise our lord. so go ahead believe what you will, eventually you will come around, in this life or the next.
I didn't equate religion with stupidity. My exact words equate the state of being religious with low IQ. You seem especially defensive about this. You need to stop arbitrarily reinterpreting and twisting words to mean something else.
@Eiviyn: Go
As a christian i believe in all gods, and creatures... the bible tells that they are real... I would never had to call anything fake, the bible says hold the lord above all other gods.
Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. that would mean that their are other gods, but that OUR god is the greatest....
@Domper: Go
I am a christian... but I belong to no type, I will read the King James version and interpret it myself... I am smart enough to make my own guesses at the scripture.
No offence, but you are not smart enough to make your own guesses at the scripture(how can you be?). That sort of arrogance leads to a weak understanding with little/no foundation.
I agree. It's more accurate to call it the result of childhood indoctrination and social pressure. You'd laugh the bible off if you could read it with neutrality. It's really a hilarious book.
I honestly recommend that you sit down and read the bible from an impartial viewpoint.
I find this entire post slightly ironic, but aside of that... you can't possibly be serious. You can easily claim that a lot of religion is the result of childhood indoctrination and social pressure and end up being right, but the way you're putting it forward you're acting as if there ARE no smart religious people. If you honestly believe that you're missing out on SO much of the world. If you're talking in the more general sense like I mentioned, there is no reason for you to be making this posts; I could make the same complaints about metalheads, politicians, activists, or really just pretty much everyone that can be called a group.
You're fun to argue with though, I'll give you that. And I don't even mean that to be demeaning.
1.Is there a "best" translation? Or is nobody allowed to point out errors because you can just point to a different translation anytime one is found? 2.Personally I want to know what the excuse is for people living to be 900 years old, and the other stuff I listed earlier. 3.Why does God allow the Israelites to slaughter their way through Canaanites & Midianites or allow any of the following: http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/says_about/genocide.html
I can call an unidentified sea beast a dragon or loch ness monster or leviathan or whatever. Difference in translation does not make it an `error`, but more a misinterpretation.
2. I think that the original human genetics were perfect at creation. That age could easily have been a reality at the time. Sin entering the world obviously damaged that significantly. I myself do not know the conditions in which this was possible, however the bible does document the life span of the ancients steadily declining during the course of time. It is very consistent in that. Again, I do not know the exact reasons why.
3. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
[Deuteronomy 9:5-6]
The Canaanites were in fact a very wicked collection of nations, with whom God had been patient for at least 400 years. (Those who object to God's lack of mercy should bear those centuries of forbearance in mind.The Lord had predicted that Abraham’s descendants would claim the land when “the sin of the Amorites” reached its “full measure” (Genesis 15:16b). This “full measure” of sin was attained by the Canaanites in the generation leading to the Jewish conquest.) They were established on a culture of war, fighting internally and externally. They often had their own genocidal intentions. Their religion was one of idolatry, polytheism, ritual prostitution (male-female and homosexual), bestiality, and ritual child sacrifice:
"You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods."(Deut. 12:31)
"You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. "No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
Moses warned his people about these sins they would encounter upon entering the Promised Land: “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead” (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). He stated that anyone who practices such sins is “detestable to the Lord,” and explained that “because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you” (v. 12). Those who were conquered by Joshua and his armies were not innocent victims, but wicked sinners who received the judgment their transgressions had warranted.
"Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. "Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion. "Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. . . . "Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.' "
Late, but would like to add my thoughts regarding the O.P.'s question.
Religion. I tend to not like collectivism, or whatever that is called, where everyone wears a uniform and is labeled accordingly. So I refuse to accept any and all sorts of religion as a definitive guide to life.
I see them as "peep holes" into life. A very narrow perspective, often incomplete, and doesn't give much answers. Some religions keep us busy with things; enables people to do one thing; disables people to certain things; and a lot of affects.
I think that as adults it is our obligation to seek for "the truth" but even so, there isn't really much purpose rather than either to remove certain feelings and thoughts, or to stimulate them.
Science has become a sort of Religion. It is supposed to end with a question, and are supposed to be geared towards useful things which are still in themselves "incomplete" and yet, as of late Science has since seemed "certain" of things.
It seems that whatever man can get their hands on and think about, they tend to, in their limited life span, create a reality in their minds upon which to hold on to and be assured with.
Religion to me shows humanity's insecurities. I say this because most religions, if you look at them from a separate view, is just a search for approval.
There are things that we know are good for us, things we know are bad, and many things we are still unsure of. I think, in my humble opinion, that whatever the case, even if the creator himself would manifest himself, mankind will never be content. Humanity will always be seeking approval so long as humanity cannot outgrow its incapacity to harmonize.
And why is harmony important? Maybe it's not. Maybe both harmony and dissonance are essential, only that the extremes and their outcomes can be absorbed/taken without cost. But then again, why do we see things as costs and benefits? Is it because of the masses and their common cognitive responses of desires vs. fears as basis? What if most people are neurotics? What will be good in that civilization? What is bad? What if we are immortals, what would be good? What would be bad? What if our life spans were only 10 years? Etc, etc.
Indeed, religion can be a tricky subject, unless we surpass our current capacities of perception, cognition, and understanding. It is very bias, and thus I tend to avoid following just one path. I'd like to know all forms of Religions and generally human systems see what they believe.
Hell, even society itself is a sort of religion. Culture is a religion to me. (You know what I mean)
To close, I have to say, we cannot just believe what we want, and neither should we blindly believe what is thrown at us. This seems to be where I am at present.
Do I believe in a "creator God"? Yes I do. But I do not believe what authority figures say about this God. Either scientists or anyone. I even do not believe immediately direct experience.
All I know is that we humans seek for happiness, but then again, this concept is so subjective that drawing the line can sometimes be difficult and is like writing on the sand.
Edit:
I theorize that Religions are built as a guide and school (or indoctrination system) to setup mankind to it's highest potential for happiness in being and also in deed (which in turn feed itself and create a system where happiness/satisfaction/bliss is easy to achieve).
I also believe(?) that humans have a certain "programming" such that if we are existing in accord with this "programming" or "way" ( or state/processes of existence) in our minds and thus inner drives we can reach "better" lives.
An example would be that extreme poverty in a lifeless land can be disastrous. Though we can survive, we will not be able to reach higher things or enjoy certain things, and/or enjoy things in a certain way.
I believe the bible also states never try to deter another christian...
and even those verses support my claim.
it says only worship our god... doesnt say there arent other Deities ... they are all inferior and not worth being worshipped.
There are no other Gods. Numerous verses in the bible. Have you really read the bible?.
People are more specifically instructed not to worship the angelic and demon hosts(and/or anything on the Earth).
The above clip is meant for jokes;p, but really you ought to be certain of your statements before posting. It should be an honor to share Christianity, but done so correctly and in truth. Otherwise you do more harm than good.
I believe the bible also states never try to deter another christian...
and even those verses support my claim.
it says only worship our god... doesnt say there arent other Deities ... they are all inferior and not worth being worshipped.
I agree with EternalWraith. It seems like your heart might be in the right place, but your faith seems more like a blind faith. Believe you me, I have had times where I had very large issues with portions of scripture. As you have said in previous posts, there are things that our minds just plain can't comprehend. It really seems like you haven't taken the time to really dissect the Bible at all though, which is understandable as you are fairly young.
Don't take the rebuke so harshly is my suggestion, let it inspire you to do better research before spouting off so much.
Worship in its core value creates adherence to set of principles which a deity embodies. Worshiping Baal leads to child sacrifice which then causes many adverse sociological and psychological affects.
The Worship of the "I AM" seems very abstract. "Who are you?" is thrown at God, and he answers "I AM". This being that "is as he wills at any given time, every time, any time, throughout time, and is "I AM" before, now, and ever, seems to create an effect of a mirror.
This in part is why I say, we cannot truly know the "way" until we know ourselves truly, which in part or whole a direct effect of true worship of the invisible and great "he is" or as he would say as a response to the question "who are you", the "I AM".
I think...
So, those who worship Jesus Christ must know three general scopes of his "principles" shown in the three general aspects of his life on earth. (Partly I think this is the reason why he had to "come into the world")
1. When he was alive and what he embodied. I personally see a man who tries his best to be in a world, as he is, and live according to his convictions and "calling" or purpose. Ex. Is your neighbor a musician? Well, he must do music according to his gifts.
2. When in persecution he held to his truth, and forgives, and claim not any certainty but ask his father to do as he will with his spirit.
3. in his resurrected self he teaches love.
There are many things he spoke about while he was alive, and it is hinted at in the letters while he was in his ressurected self. It was said that not all books in the world at that time could contain everything he had said if they wrote it down.
In any case, if Christians are really Christians, I think they should look at the Christ and hear what he has to say. Religions are what second hand or generations of followers create as dogmas and truths for their slaves.
True disciples follow not disciples (blind following blind) but their true and only teacher. Jesus himself faced Religion in his life on earth, and had specific response to it saying something like the one in the parenthesis.
More research is needed indeed. And maybe in time, we of our current age can finally understand why we make religions. Or maybe we already do, yet we must for some purpose. To what end is the question, and most would say, "To avoid hell, and be in eternal bliss". A terrible thing to embrace religion for. Or is it?
The Canaanites were in fact a very wicked collection of nations, with whom God had been patient for at least 400 years. (Those who object to God's lack of mercy should bear those centuries of forbearance in mind.The Lord had predicted that Abraham’s descendants would claim the land when “the sin of the Amorites” reached its “full measure” (Genesis 15:16b). This “full measure” of sin was attained by the Canaanites in the generation leading to the Jewish conquest.) They were established on a culture of war, fighting internally and externally. They often had their own genocidal intentions. Their religion was one of idolatry, polytheism, ritual prostitution (male-female and homosexual), bestiality, and ritual child sacrifice:
The idea of god sitting there and being patient with a group of peoples & hoping that they will change, when he is supposed to be omniscient & know these things already, kind of confounds me. And I don't expect God actually gave them any warning before he wiped out their entire civilization, since, you know, that would be too reasonable. Sure, I can grant that Caananites were wicked people. Too bad that in the ancient world, these types of crimes were going on in every other part of the planet. So we're expected to believe that God only cares about the Israelites and that's why he condoned genocide in this case? Everyone was slaughtered: infants, newborns, pregnant women, the elderly, children, etc. Genocide is the worst crime imaginable. So why do you worship a God who's morals are no better than a bronze-age caveman's?
What happened to Christ dieing for us and thereby redeeming all our sins? When Jesus was traveling through Samaritan territory, his disciples asked if God was ready to rain fire down upon them. Jesus's response was "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them." What happened to that? Did God change his mind about genocide then? Not only did God command violence in that case, but will punish you if you DON'T kill them all:
"But if the Israelites don't kill them all, then God will make them pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides. And he will do unto the Israelites as he planned to do to the inhabitants of Canaan."
To me, this type of stone-age ethnic cleansing of peoples that are "morally inferior" is no different than this:
"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: 'by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.' "
Jesus also seems to have something to say about Moses and his laws, Grad.
It seems that as it were, there are no answers to why the God of Moses spoke of those things and became the driving force of the Jews to carve a path of carnage. It is hinted at somewhere though (I can't remember where) that those who spoke to Moses were "mediators" other than God himself.
Also, Paul in his letters addressed this question way back.
Maybe, God did change his mind. It seems to be very likely, given the evidence. In principle too, like Pharaoh, God chooses who gets what. But it was only in the new Covenant that man was set free from being treated as "slaves" but rather "friends". This is out from the mouth of Jesus himself.
The New Covenant (new testament) itself shows as evidence that God has "changed his mind", IMO.
God changing his mind is not new. He did it for Abraham, and for Nineveh.
let me ask you this. in this 'modern age' meaning 2012, why is it that we can not create life? with all the science that we now posses. we can map a human brain, we can determine what cells in the body are cancer, we can find out exactly what is wrong with anyone down to the DNA that a person has. but one thing that is not possible is when your dead, they bring you back to life, good as new... you might want to argue with a person can be called dead for 5-10minutes and they revive them... this is not what i am saying, what i am trying to say is that george died by drowning in this own pool yesterday and they found him 36hrs later floating, why not just 'revive' him? because it can not be done. now the question based on "prove god exists", show me a guy who has been saved from death after 24hrs from 'science'. The only time anyone has been so called, brought back from the dead, was you know who in the bible. also science does not disprove the 'creation' theory, if anything it proves the perfection of a creation theory. god sappose to be the smartest 'thing' that ever existed. so when 'science' says this and that about anything in 'new' advances in technology or information it just shows how 'smart' god had to have been. or no? :P
You make a good point. And this is mostly why I think Science at the moment is so puffed-up. It has this image of "we know everything" but in reality it knows very little.
For this reason also, I think there is so much "looking up to" granted to science by many people, that whatever "science" is supposedly saying people immediately attribute it as truth, and an absolute, infallible truth so that Science and their public figures seem to look like a cult.
@Hookah604: Go
actually if I had wanted to I could easily Disprove that, I have a birth certificate, and a drivers License in my room. Plus I have an email tied to my name with [email protected] lol
So therefore I could easily prove my age. How does it feel to be incorrect?
@Tolkfan: Go
I dont have to prove anything to you, The bible actually says that in the end everyone will praise our lord. so go ahead believe what you will, eventually you will come around, in this life or the next.
@Taintedwisp: Go
And how do you know that the Bible is true?
Anyone want to guess how much further this will go before this gets locked? Rate things are degenerating, I'm guessing 120 posts at the most.
@Nebuli2: Go
I know both in my heart, and in my mind. :P. I dont need any more proof then that, some do, I dont.
@Deadzergling: Go
I didn't equate religion with stupidity. My exact words equate the state of being religious with low IQ. You seem especially defensive about this. You need to stop arbitrarily reinterpreting and twisting words to mean something else.
No offence, but you are not smart enough to make your own guesses at the scripture(how can you be?). That sort of arrogance leads to a weak understanding with little/no foundation.
There are in fact no other `Gods`(Isaiah 45:5). The commandment is closely related to not making anything in your life have higher precedence over God(For example http://bible.cc/philippians/3-19.htm). That God alone should be first priority and worshiped(http://www.godsholylaw.com/commandments/1.cfm).
I find this entire post slightly ironic, but aside of that... you can't possibly be serious. You can easily claim that a lot of religion is the result of childhood indoctrination and social pressure and end up being right, but the way you're putting it forward you're acting as if there ARE no smart religious people. If you honestly believe that you're missing out on SO much of the world. If you're talking in the more general sense like I mentioned, there is no reason for you to be making this posts; I could make the same complaints about metalheads, politicians, activists, or really just pretty much everyone that can be called a group.
You're fun to argue with though, I'll give you that. And I don't even mean that to be demeaning.
I can call an unidentified sea beast a dragon or loch ness monster or leviathan or whatever. Difference in translation does not make it an `error`, but more a misinterpretation.
2. I think that the original human genetics were perfect at creation. That age could easily have been a reality at the time. Sin entering the world obviously damaged that significantly. I myself do not know the conditions in which this was possible, however the bible does document the life span of the ancients steadily declining during the course of time. It is very consistent in that. Again, I do not know the exact reasons why.
3. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
[Deuteronomy 9:5-6]
The Canaanites were in fact a very wicked collection of nations, with whom God had been patient for at least 400 years. (Those who object to God's lack of mercy should bear those centuries of forbearance in mind.The Lord had predicted that Abraham’s descendants would claim the land when “the sin of the Amorites” reached its “full measure” (Genesis 15:16b). This “full measure” of sin was attained by the Canaanites in the generation leading to the Jewish conquest.) They were established on a culture of war, fighting internally and externally. They often had their own genocidal intentions. Their religion was one of idolatry, polytheism, ritual prostitution (male-female and homosexual), bestiality, and ritual child sacrifice:
"You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods." (Deut. 12:31)
"You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.
"No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
Moses warned his people about these sins they would encounter upon entering the Promised Land: “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead” (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). He stated that anyone who practices such sins is “detestable to the Lord,” and explained that “because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you” (v. 12). Those who were conquered by Joshua and his armies were not innocent victims, but wicked sinners who received the judgment their transgressions had warranted.
"Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
"Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
"Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.
"Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. . . .
"Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.' "
@EternalWraith: Go
I believe the bible also states never try to deter another christian...
and even those verses support my claim.
it says only worship our god... doesnt say there arent other Deities ... they are all inferior and not worth being worshipped.
And that's why I'm not a Christian.
Late, but would like to add my thoughts regarding the O.P.'s question.
Religion. I tend to not like collectivism, or whatever that is called, where everyone wears a uniform and is labeled accordingly. So I refuse to accept any and all sorts of religion as a definitive guide to life.
I see them as "peep holes" into life. A very narrow perspective, often incomplete, and doesn't give much answers. Some religions keep us busy with things; enables people to do one thing; disables people to certain things; and a lot of affects.
I think that as adults it is our obligation to seek for "the truth" but even so, there isn't really much purpose rather than either to remove certain feelings and thoughts, or to stimulate them.
Science has become a sort of Religion. It is supposed to end with a question, and are supposed to be geared towards useful things which are still in themselves "incomplete" and yet, as of late Science has since seemed "certain" of things.
It seems that whatever man can get their hands on and think about, they tend to, in their limited life span, create a reality in their minds upon which to hold on to and be assured with.
Religion to me shows humanity's insecurities. I say this because most religions, if you look at them from a separate view, is just a search for approval.
There are things that we know are good for us, things we know are bad, and many things we are still unsure of. I think, in my humble opinion, that whatever the case, even if the creator himself would manifest himself, mankind will never be content. Humanity will always be seeking approval so long as humanity cannot outgrow its incapacity to harmonize.
And why is harmony important? Maybe it's not. Maybe both harmony and dissonance are essential, only that the extremes and their outcomes can be absorbed/taken without cost. But then again, why do we see things as costs and benefits? Is it because of the masses and their common cognitive responses of desires vs. fears as basis? What if most people are neurotics? What will be good in that civilization? What is bad? What if we are immortals, what would be good? What would be bad? What if our life spans were only 10 years? Etc, etc.
Indeed, religion can be a tricky subject, unless we surpass our current capacities of perception, cognition, and understanding. It is very bias, and thus I tend to avoid following just one path. I'd like to know all forms of Religions and generally human systems see what they believe.
Hell, even society itself is a sort of religion. Culture is a religion to me. (You know what I mean)
To close, I have to say, we cannot just believe what we want, and neither should we blindly believe what is thrown at us. This seems to be where I am at present.
Do I believe in a "creator God"? Yes I do. But I do not believe what authority figures say about this God. Either scientists or anyone. I even do not believe immediately direct experience.
All I know is that we humans seek for happiness, but then again, this concept is so subjective that drawing the line can sometimes be difficult and is like writing on the sand.
Edit:
I theorize that Religions are built as a guide and school (or indoctrination system) to setup mankind to it's highest potential for happiness in being and also in deed (which in turn feed itself and create a system where happiness/satisfaction/bliss is easy to achieve).
I also believe(?) that humans have a certain "programming" such that if we are existing in accord with this "programming" or "way" ( or state/processes of existence) in our minds and thus inner drives we can reach "better" lives.
An example would be that extreme poverty in a lifeless land can be disastrous. Though we can survive, we will not be able to reach higher things or enjoy certain things, and/or enjoy things in a certain way.
Whatever you do, wholeheartedly, moment by heartfelt moment, becomes a tool for the expression of your very soul.
There are no other Gods. Numerous verses in the bible. Have you really read the bible?.
People are more specifically instructed not to worship the angelic and demon hosts(and/or anything on the Earth).
The above clip is meant for jokes;p, but really you ought to be certain of your statements before posting. It should be an honor to share Christianity, but done so correctly and in truth. Otherwise you do more harm than good.
I agree with EternalWraith. It seems like your heart might be in the right place, but your faith seems more like a blind faith. Believe you me, I have had times where I had very large issues with portions of scripture. As you have said in previous posts, there are things that our minds just plain can't comprehend. It really seems like you haven't taken the time to really dissect the Bible at all though, which is understandable as you are fairly young.
Don't take the rebuke so harshly is my suggestion, let it inspire you to do better research before spouting off so much.
Worship in its core value creates adherence to set of principles which a deity embodies. Worshiping Baal leads to child sacrifice which then causes many adverse sociological and psychological affects.
The Worship of the "I AM" seems very abstract. "Who are you?" is thrown at God, and he answers "I AM". This being that "is as he wills at any given time, every time, any time, throughout time, and is "I AM" before, now, and ever, seems to create an effect of a mirror.
This in part is why I say, we cannot truly know the "way" until we know ourselves truly, which in part or whole a direct effect of true worship of the invisible and great "he is" or as he would say as a response to the question "who are you", the "I AM".
I think...
So, those who worship Jesus Christ must know three general scopes of his "principles" shown in the three general aspects of his life on earth. (Partly I think this is the reason why he had to "come into the world")
1. When he was alive and what he embodied. I personally see a man who tries his best to be in a world, as he is, and live according to his convictions and "calling" or purpose. Ex. Is your neighbor a musician? Well, he must do music according to his gifts.
2. When in persecution he held to his truth, and forgives, and claim not any certainty but ask his father to do as he will with his spirit.
3. in his resurrected self he teaches love.
There are many things he spoke about while he was alive, and it is hinted at in the letters while he was in his ressurected self. It was said that not all books in the world at that time could contain everything he had said if they wrote it down.
In any case, if Christians are really Christians, I think they should look at the Christ and hear what he has to say. Religions are what second hand or generations of followers create as dogmas and truths for their slaves.
True disciples follow not disciples (blind following blind) but their true and only teacher. Jesus himself faced Religion in his life on earth, and had specific response to it saying something like the one in the parenthesis.
More research is needed indeed. And maybe in time, we of our current age can finally understand why we make religions. Or maybe we already do, yet we must for some purpose. To what end is the question, and most would say, "To avoid hell, and be in eternal bliss". A terrible thing to embrace religion for. Or is it?
Whatever you do, wholeheartedly, moment by heartfelt moment, becomes a tool for the expression of your very soul.
Taintedwisp you're so naive
The idea of god sitting there and being patient with a group of peoples & hoping that they will change, when he is supposed to be omniscient & know these things already, kind of confounds me. And I don't expect God actually gave them any warning before he wiped out their entire civilization, since, you know, that would be too reasonable. Sure, I can grant that Caananites were wicked people. Too bad that in the ancient world, these types of crimes were going on in every other part of the planet. So we're expected to believe that God only cares about the Israelites and that's why he condoned genocide in this case? Everyone was slaughtered: infants, newborns, pregnant women, the elderly, children, etc. Genocide is the worst crime imaginable. So why do you worship a God who's morals are no better than a bronze-age caveman's?
What happened to Christ dieing for us and thereby redeeming all our sins? When Jesus was traveling through Samaritan territory, his disciples asked if God was ready to rain fire down upon them. Jesus's response was "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them." What happened to that? Did God change his mind about genocide then? Not only did God command violence in that case, but will punish you if you DON'T kill them all:
"But if the Israelites don't kill them all, then God will make them pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides. And he will do unto the Israelites as he planned to do to the inhabitants of Canaan."
To me, this type of stone-age ethnic cleansing of peoples that are "morally inferior" is no different than this:
"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: 'by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.' "
Jesus also seems to have something to say about Moses and his laws, Grad.
It seems that as it were, there are no answers to why the God of Moses spoke of those things and became the driving force of the Jews to carve a path of carnage. It is hinted at somewhere though (I can't remember where) that those who spoke to Moses were "mediators" other than God himself.
Also, Paul in his letters addressed this question way back.
Maybe, God did change his mind. It seems to be very likely, given the evidence. In principle too, like Pharaoh, God chooses who gets what. But it was only in the new Covenant that man was set free from being treated as "slaves" but rather "friends". This is out from the mouth of Jesus himself.
The New Covenant (new testament) itself shows as evidence that God has "changed his mind", IMO.
God changing his mind is not new. He did it for Abraham, and for Nineveh.
Whatever you do, wholeheartedly, moment by heartfelt moment, becomes a tool for the expression of your very soul.
@Bilxor: Go
My religion is the unconditional pursuit for truth, regardless of the ramifications. Where there's fruit, there's a tree.
In my estimation, knowing as little as we do about who we are and where we come from is not typical. I feel that something is woefully amiss.
let me ask you this. in this 'modern age' meaning 2012, why is it that we can not create life? with all the science that we now posses. we can map a human brain, we can determine what cells in the body are cancer, we can find out exactly what is wrong with anyone down to the DNA that a person has. but one thing that is not possible is when your dead, they bring you back to life, good as new... you might want to argue with a person can be called dead for 5-10minutes and they revive them... this is not what i am saying, what i am trying to say is that george died by drowning in this own pool yesterday and they found him 36hrs later floating, why not just 'revive' him? because it can not be done. now the question based on "prove god exists", show me a guy who has been saved from death after 24hrs from 'science'. The only time anyone has been so called, brought back from the dead, was you know who in the bible. also science does not disprove the 'creation' theory, if anything it proves the perfection of a creation theory. god sappose to be the smartest 'thing' that ever existed. so when 'science' says this and that about anything in 'new' advances in technology or information it just shows how 'smart' god had to have been. or no? :P
tdhsst,
You make a good point. And this is mostly why I think Science at the moment is so puffed-up. It has this image of "we know everything" but in reality it knows very little.
For this reason also, I think there is so much "looking up to" granted to science by many people, that whatever "science" is supposedly saying people immediately attribute it as truth, and an absolute, infallible truth so that Science and their public figures seem to look like a cult.
Whatever you do, wholeheartedly, moment by heartfelt moment, becomes a tool for the expression of your very soul.