Part 39 of Post Your Tough Questions Regarding Christianity

Such vulgar, uncultured language that emanated from out of that mouth of yours...sheesh!

Abram married his half-sister Sarai, later their names were changed to Abraham and Sarah. We read in Scripture that they had the same father but different mothers.

We Read in Scripture:

12 And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her. Genesis 20:12 NLT

Apparently, it's obvious, you had no idea that in those days genetics were purer than they are today and so intermarriage was not detrimental to the offspring of unions between relatives.

Furthermore, in those days people spent their lives grouped together in close-knit family units and so it was only natural to choose mates from within one's own group/families as was the case of Abraham and Sarah who were still known at that time as Abram and Sarai.

Scripture doesn't tell us he was a robber/thief, but it certainly does tell us he recovered stolen goods/items.

We Read in Scripture:

14 When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. 15 There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives. Genesis 14:14-16 NLT

We are not told in Scripture that he personally killed anyone, to say he killed would be speculation and so I won't speculate. I only reiterate with what is made known to us as written in Scripture.

Is that so surprising? I'm sure you Gawd can relate to that, matter of fact we all can, I mean have you ever known anyone who hasn't told a fib in their entire lives?...I surely haven't. And no, I'm not at all saying that lying is normal and acceptable it's just that it's a common sin that we're all guilty of, some more than others being the pathologically liars that they are.

Like we all do, Abraham had his moments of failure and sin. And so yes, Scripture tells us on at least two occasions Abraham lied regarding his relationship to Sarah to protect himself from people he that could be potentially hostile towards him if he told them Sarah was his wife. Essentially, he told them half the truth, I mean Sarah was his sister but he did not tell them she was also his wife.

I will present just one of those occasions from Scripture regarding Abraham's lie or half-truth.

We Read in Scripture:

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

10 At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner. 11 As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can have her!’

13 So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you.”

14 And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai’s beauty. 15 When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace. 16 Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

17 But the Lord sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!” 20 Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country, along with his wife and all his possessions. Genesis 12:10-20 NLT

He did not sexually mutilate any guy he could get his hands on like he was some kind of a deviant perverted sexual creep who enjoyed sexually mutilating guys as you seem to suggest.

But what really happened was that God made a covenant with him.

We Read in Scripture:

Abram Is Named Abraham

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4 “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5 What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham,[a] for you will be the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

7 “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

The Mark of the Covenant

9 Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. 13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. 14 Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.” Genesis 17:1-14 NLT

Footnotes
a. 17:5 Abram means “exalted father”; Abraham sounds like a Hebrew term that means “father of many.”
b. 17:7 Hebrew seed; also in 17:7b, 8, 9, 10, 19.

Scripture does not tell us Abraham engaged in adulterous affairs but he was a polygamist having more than one wife. Here let me present a video presentation from my favorite Christian Ministry that answers the question, "Why did God allow polygamy in the Bible?"

Well yeah that would not only be crazy but very cruel and uncaring as well if that's what happened. But the thing with you Gawd is that most of your statements are not what one would call accurate and truthful. And so let me bring up the passage so we all can learn the accuracy and truthfulness of what really happened.

We Read in Scripture:

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

8 When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac. 10 So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!”

11 This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. 12 But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. 13 But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.”
14 So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15 When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush. 16 Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards[c] away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears.

17 But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.”

19 Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.
20 And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer, 21 and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt. Genesis 21:8-21

Footnotes
a. 21:9 As in Greek version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew lacks of her son, Isaac.
b. 21:16 Hebrew a bowshot.

What son are you referring to?..be specific. What strangers?...be specific. So after you answer my questions, I then will respond with a reply.

Only an unreal god made up in your morbid mind would do such a thing.

If God did that, then why only Abraham? I mean why stop at Abraham because the fact is, we are all sinners.

Then He might as well had prohibited Adam & Eve from procreating after they sinned, assuring Him there will be no one else sinning besides Adam & Eve. Just let them live out their lives until their eventual death ending humanity.

But God didn't do that because He is a real loving and compassionate God and not an unreal god like the one made up in your morbid mind Gawd.

So, we all should be glad and thankful that we have a loving and compassionate God.

Truth is though, He was not pleased that Adam and Eve sinned so much so that He kicked them out of the Garden of Eden which was the start of the fall of mankind in a sinful world.

But before Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis3), they had a good relationship with God. Therefore, they were not ashamed to come into God's presence. But after they sinned, their relationship with God changed, and they were ashamed to come into God's physical presence. Sin had separated them and the entire human race-including you-from God. But God did not want sin to keep people from having a relationship with Him. So He provided a way in which people could be cleansed of their sins and live with Him in heaven forever. He gave His only Son, Jesus, as the perfect payment for everyone's sins. But you must believe in Him in order to be cleansed from your sins and live with Him in His Kingdom of Heaven forever.

We Read in Scripture:

16 "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 NLT

And so, God has given each and everyone of us the free will to choose to believe in Him or not believe in Him.

He has giving all us sinners a chance to repent our sins, to ask for forgiveness of our sins, so that one day we could live with Him in paradise in His Kingdom of Heaven.

So, the choice is ours to make on where one spends their eternity, either with God or separated from God.

No Gawd, the devil is the worst, the most despicable, he is the father of all lies & deception. He is the reason you do not believe in God. He has blinded your mind and others like you into not being able to see the glorious light of the Good News.

We Read in Scripture:

4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 2 Corinthians 4:4-5 NLT

If you go to your death in disbelief of the Christian God you will end up where the father of all lies & deception will be residing one day.

In closing, I want to say that your characterization of how you viewed Abraham was grossly skewed and inaccurate. Only things truthful was pointing out that he lied and was married to his half-sister.

Here is the accurate characterization of Abraham given by my favorite Christian Ministry. I will present just their final analysis of Abraham but if you want to read their entire article click on the link I've provided below.

Ok thanks Gawd for your post, it was a pleasure for me to respond to it.

 

Such a pity you waste your time on a mythical character. But then I've shown you why Abraham of the Bible could not have existed. And GotQuestions had no answer to my points either.

The Biblical story of Adam and Eve is simply disproved by - eg - the fact that Aborigines have been in Australia for about 60.000 years. We have evidence of peoples all over the world long before any Adam and Eve could have existed according to Biblical genealogy.

You're simply repeating parrotlike from GotQuestions who have failed - not only my questions - but others.

 

I don't understand it.

 

You are simply quoting words from a book - like Mitt. A book that has proven to be full of myth, adapted earlier stories and misinterpreted scriptures by early Christians.
You said you haven't studied the Bible yet you claim Satan is God's enemy. In the OT Jews accepted HaSatan as Gods messenger and given the task of testing mens faith. He was acting with God's permission. Not exactly an enemy do you think. Christianity simply made him Gods enemy because of Matthews fanciful 'temptation' story. A Jew would recognise that it was simply Satan testing Jesus, as they themselves were personally tested. A testing is simply how we would react to a situation. A temptation is a luring for reward.

 

I got some brain hurt fella's. Yes the Bible has edits, interpolation, errors and was drawn from previously existing beliefs - not just of Jews but of the generalized religion of the day.. which was shared amoung the various peoples of Mesopotamia and further.

but, Regardless -- Most of the stuff Injun is claiming is not in the Bible to begin with . Obviously the "Whole purpose of the Book" is not for us to turn from "Satan" .. as Satan the Bad Guy does not exist in the Jewish Bible.

Crying out .. but but but, Revelations " doesn't work because the folks living in 500 BC didn't have revelations .. did not have the Nasty Satan. So obviously that is not the purpose of that part of the book .. the only part that matters for this purpose .. as the question is what was the purpose of the Bible for the fellow living in 500 BC ?

Sorry Injun - but it was not to turn away from this evil Satan Fellow - that purpose didn't come until later as Judaism adopted some Persian Religious idology - at a time when they were recreating their God ~ 500 BC after the Babylonian Exile .. Revelation didn't hit Cannon until very late . ~ 500 AD 1000 years later -- was the last book to get in..

So we then have to say Well the purpose of the Bible was A .. but then later changed to (not A) and some other stuff .. much of which was not even in the New Testament until Revelations showed up .. which again begs the question .. what was the purpose of the Bible .. including the entire New Testiment .. until 500 AD when revelations showed up.

Then we are supposed to increase our godly attributes in order to help God win the War against Satan supposedly .. which is where in the Bible ?

also Nowhere in either the NT or the OT does Satan claim there is no God .... ? Where is this blasphemy coming from .. if not from the deciever himself through our friend Injeun - think we need an exorcism .. extract a poison lizard or two.

 

Very little as most of it had still to be written.

 

By 500 BC a fair bit had been written - but the point is that there was no Cosmic Bad guy named Satan .. such that the purpose was not to turn away from Satan.. The purpose was to keep the Covenant .. follow the decrees of YHWH .. who was the "Bad Guy" of the day .. the keeping of which required some child sacrifice from time to time - having sex with the local Temple prostitute ... both male and female

All good in the Hood Trevor .. but no mention of the need to turn away from Satan.

 

Well, you can follow your own understanding. I will follow the God whom I know does live.

 

Have any tough questions about Christianity been answered in any of these threads? I have yet to see one.

 

The Holy Bible isn't simply just an ordinary book as you tend to believe it to be trev. No siree!

No one has proven the Holy Bible to be full of myth and that it adapted earlier stories. Anyone who claims they have proven this is being intellectually dishonest, I guess this means you trev.

You can believe that your statement is true trev that the Bible is full of myth containing adapted earlier stories, however you are not able to prove your statement is true.

Let's not forget what beliefs are trev.

Of course, this is an unsubstantiated statement spewed out by you, basically an opinion.

Truth is, the Scriptures are misinterpreted for the most part by the unbelievers such as yourself trev. It's all documented on these threads.

But anyway, let's consider some facts about the Holy Bible.

The Bible is not just one single book. It is a collection of 66 books. These 66 books were written by 40 different authors, all coming from a variety of backgrounds. For example, Isaiah was a prophet, Ezra was a priest, Matthew was a tax-collector, John was a fisherman, Paul was a tentmaker, Moses was a shepherd, Luke was a physician etc. And most of these authors never knew one another personally.

These books were written over a period of 1500 years and so it reminds us that many of these authors never knew or collaborated with one another in writing these books.

These books were written in three different languages, written in the ancient languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic.

These books were written on three different continents, Europe, Africa, and Asia. These books share a common storyline, the creation, fall, and redemption of God's people. And a common theme of God's universal love for all humanity. A common message that salvation is available to anyone who repents their sins, believe and trust in God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

The Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and so it has no historical errors or contradictions. It would be impossible for anyone to go to any library and find 66 books which match the characteristics of the 66 books in the Bible.

Considering you must choose 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, written on 3 different continents and they must share a common storyline, a common theme, and a common message, with no historical errors or contradictions.

If anyone could produce such a collection of books, then I will admit that the Bible is not the inspired word of God. Is anybody up to this challenge?...trev?...anybody? I don't think so!

In conclusion the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we can say without any doubt, is the Divine inspiration of Almighty God!

Ok thanks trev for your post.

 

And may I add that I know this day, 2000 years after the fact, that I know that God is real, that he lives and is divine, and that the Bible is true in intent and purpose, and that Jesus Christ is the Savior.

 

That is not really the point .. and a fair bit had been written .. Parts of Genesis - the Torah sans Deuteronomy - Job - Psalms - and a bunch of books mentioned but now lost to us .

Now that said .. we have very little idea what this Original material looked like .. just that there was a large hoge poge of different traditions and stories collected over time .. at some point splice together and "Redacted" this redaction process which happened after 500 BC is likely what you were referring to.. but your wrong about "very little Written" prior to 500. .. and that is kind of the cool part .. we have Religious. traditions in the Bible that date back to the Bronze Age..

For example - There used to be Temples for YHWH in many places rather than just one -- The practice of a Priest King .... which later was not done you needed two individuals for those function .. you could not have one who was both a Priest and a KIng -like in the good old days.

Then there is the worship of El - and Asherah ... who later became YHWH's wife .. Why ? Because that is what all the these God triangles were doing .. it is the Standard Motif .. Son of Older God usurps position of Daddy and couples with his wife .. cause thats what the Gods do. Notice in OT -- the redactors are constantly blaming Isael's every woe on displeasing YHWH .. worshiping the "baals" and Ashera one of the most common polemics

but - something is missing ---- El is mentioned by Name directly some 6 times in the Bible - but there are no Polemics against El ...

anyway -- Plenty of Religious Tradition -- "Turning away from Satan" was not one of them -- cause the Satan of the NT did not exist ..prior to the complete failure of YHWH and destruction of his one and only Temple .. "The place where his name dwelt" after which the Jews invent a completely different God .. just keeping the same name -- cause it is an ambiguous name after all .. which is fitting for Ahura Mazda .. the new God of the Jews is an ambiguous character .. neither male nor female .. a return to a more primordial rather than anthropomorphic nature this new God.

 

So when the Bible says that God supported slavery and infanticide, you are cool with that? Why was your God so evil?

 

Can't disagree with you as I have not done so much study on it as you. My own view is that

Think you misunderstood 'very little written'. I was referring mainly to the OT. I have read some of the early 'writings' dating back long before the Bible.
Yes there were redactions, but I still believe that some books were written after the event. Rather like the Gospels in the NT. Still, that's only my belief. It's easy to write 'fulfilled prophecies' after the event.

I enjoy your posts. I have looked at the same things as you, though not in such depth.
The whole matter of ancient history, religions, gods puts a completely different complexion on the Bible. That's why some correspondents on here dare not step outside their indoctrination.

 

k .. think we on different pages somehow as I was referring only to the OT -- stating that a fair bit was written prior to 500 BC . obviously nothing from the NT Har har..

Stuff like Daniel however is thought to have been written around 200 BC -- and a whole lot of the Bible was written or redacted after 500 BC mark .. call it the 2cnd Temple Period and we will sound real smart. The OT went through kind of the same process that the NT went through through ~ 325 AD when Eusebius was tasked to put together the Bible .. the basic cannon not agreed upon till at least 365 AD

The ones putting the OT Bible together in the Persian times were having to sort through lots of old material --- and the process happened over many years. .. had some stuff from the Northern Kingdom .. Most folks don't think of the Northern Kingdom when they think of Israel .. but the Northern Kingdom "WAS" Israel .. for a few hundred years .. till Assyria come .. only Judah left - high up in the mountain.. .. hardcore fortress back in the day ..along with Meggiddo and other cities. .. The Northern Kingdom was 90% of Israel .. the temple at Jerusalem one of many Holy Places where YHWH was worshiped .. along with other Gods .. throughout the empire ..

What does Ezekiel tell us ? - He is the only prophet left for YHWH in all of Israel .. some 500 for Baal .. 450 for Asherah ? .. Solomon was building Temples to the Child Sacrifice Gods .. YHWH being among them -

Take Isaiah for example --- some was written before the babylonian captivity ..and we have some others in the period in between fall of Northern Kingdom and Babylon taking over. the rest of Isaiah is written after this period .. Pseudopigrapha .. put his name to the whole thing .. for what ever reason.

but there is lots of cool stuff GEnesis for example you have from all 4 sources J D E P ... D - Deuteronomy for example is thought to have all been written after .. is far different than Gensis Exodus Leviticus .. which is mostly a hoge poge of J - E - P .. Think it is E who is the old stuff .. straight out of Northern kingdom tradition for sure .. which is super cool .. go watch a youtube video on the "Documentary Hypothesis" .. some really good ones out there these days..

So one time -- in Band Camp - I read through most of relevant OT after Joshua basically . looking for how often these Israelite folks were worshiping YHWH .. and it is almost never. The meet this God through Moses .. does all these most wonderful Miracles .. but as soon as Moses takes off for a few weeks .. His own Brother Aaron has them right back to worshiping Bull El and consort Asherah --- a - la Golden Calf.

Joshua 24 - farewell speech - fellow who could go into "The TENT" and meet with God face to face ..

Well OK Josh .. if you put it that way .. I will give up my Bull Idol and Asherah Tree -- and follow this YHWH fellow... Joshua then dies and the Israelites go right back to the Old Gods and some new ones .. interminging with all the peoples of the Levant.

Not much YHWH worship goes on after this point .. from time to time the people get subjugated .. YHWH comes to save the day -- sing praises till the war is over .. then right back to the Baals and Asherahs

Not much Worship of YHWH until Hosiah -- when they find the Book of the Law supposedly -- (how long had that one been lost for ?) a few years prior to Babylon taking over.. basically the end is near .. turn to the war God to save us .. get rid of all the other Gods .. but, unfortunately .. YHWH don't show up this time ..

YHWH got action when the Israelites were at war -- some of the time .. they were also taking other war Gods out to war with them .. I mean .. when The Northern Kingdom was fighting the Southern Kingdom .. which side used which God ?? and .. ummm... "uncomfortable question coming" which God was the side that wasn't using YHWH using ?

 

The only problem I have is that I don't believe in the 12 tribes of Israel. I don't believe the Hebrews were ever in Egypt but that they were a Canaanite tribe in Judea. I believe the writers simply named indigenous Palestine tribes to complete their Exodus Narrative.
The OT genealogy of Abraham through to Jesus is incomplete - if the Hebrews were 400+ years in Egypt - by possibly 6-10 generations depending on the years in a generation. The only way the Northern Kingdom existed as Hebrew was the expansion of Judah into the North. Whilst we have a certain amount of evidence regarding the existence of the northern tribal leaders, they and their importance is exagerrated. The Bible gives precise areas for each tribe - even down to a boundary formed by a small river in one instance. Really? Power lay in the cities which were ruled by petty kings who claimed areas around their city. If you accept what the Bible says then both the stories concerning David - who had to conquer rebellious cities in HIS supposed kingdom - and the story of the Philistines (who were, of course, a real force) whose 5 kings of their main cities got together to fight Saul, show this.
The real history of the time is exagerrated. Figures (numbers) used are unbelievable as stated. 600,000 thousand armed Hebrew men leaving Egypt? No Empire of the time could put together any army a fraction of that number. According to the Bible 800000 Northern 'Israeli' soldiers fought 500,000 'Judean' soldiers. 1.3m men? Palestine of the time could not support that many when families were included.
The whole OT needs to be treated as a 'religious' book for the faithful.As indeed, does the NT.
Your interest mainly lies in the history of Middle East religion which I have only touched on. I find it interesting.
Mine mainly in the 'Historic' aspect of the Bible.

 

Obviously, it's rather apparent you have no clear understanding of the Bible but only misconceptions due to your ignorance and biases which are inherent characteristics of an unbeliever.

Human miseries are really the result of mankind's sinful nature. Let me present a video presentation from my favorite Christian Ministry. They answer the question, "Does the Bible condone slavery?"



Let me also provide you with a link below if you care to read it. The article thoroughly answers the question "Why did God condone such terrible violence in the Old Testament?"

https://www.gotquestions.org/Old-Testament-violence.html

First of all, Almighty God is everyone's God whether you like it or not. You are not here existing because of some mysterious accident; truth is you are here because you and everything else in existence were created by Almighty God the Creator!

Secondly, Almighty God is not evil for He is perfectly Holy thus He cannot be evil. Almighty God has given every single one of us the free gift of salvation, in that whoever believes in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ as their Lord Savior shall not perish but have everlasting eternal life.

We Read in Scripture:

16 "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 NLT

Almighty God has made the first move and so now it's up to us to either accept or reject His gracious, merciful free gift of salvation.

If one refuses to accept this free gift then it is their choice not to be with the Father (Almighty God).

So eternal separation from the Father is the result.

Lastly, if you look at yourself in the mirror you will see evil, matter of fact everyone will see evil when they look at themselves in the mirror.

We are all evil in the sense that we are all sinners, every single one of us has committed sins/transgressions against the sinless Almighty God the Creator.

We Read in Scripture:

10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. Romans 3:10 NLT

Ok thanks ym for your post.

 

And that did not answer the question at all. Only from a Hebrew perspective. Most nations took slaves. Does the Bible apply to them? In many cases in the OT men women and children were slaughtered instead of being taken as slaves.

 

It's vain to say there's no God and no final accountability, when all are saddled with conscience and the quest for sanctuary in innocence and justice, even outside the laws of man. What is the more of life if not the realm of God? When we are children, we look into our Parents faces and see the weight of the world, of a responsibility not ours. And thru their smiles, the sacrifice and grace of God as it were, comes thru. It is mission. And though we zoom and play, our hearts have been given something of the kiss of divinity to unfold in its season. Can we say that we haven't seen this thing, and are therefore not beholden to knowledge? How are we here if not for all who've gone before. So to whom should our hearts turn if not to them, and the hunger to serve?

It is written in scripture:
"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Malachi 4:5-6
So how can a current sentiment find purchase or root or voice in a 2500 year old scripture after the fact, if that scripture is not prophetic and true? Are there none besides me who didn't look into their Parents faces and yearn to bless them. And not so much to dispossess them of their mission, but rather to bear them fruit, such that their labors were not in vain. How this might be fulfilled is one thing. But to say there is no God and that the Bible is folly is hardly a binding of the matter. So let the dismissive abort the matter. I will follow it and see it thru as it is holds excellence, like silver and gold.

We all have our own lives to live and words to say. This and these are mine.

 

You're dreaming. What about the millions of children who have no Parents to smile at them. They see only misery in their destitution. You live in a different world dreamt up by your beliefs.

 

Between us, the only "dreamt up beliefs" are by you pretending to speak the hearts of people you don't even know.

 

Supporting a charity that works among such people, I am well aware of their position and desperation

 

Isn't it strange that the all-answering Mitt can't actually answer questions that show the Bible is not inerrant. Neither can GotQuestions.

 

That's all well and good, and your support is commendable. But knowing of someone's circumstance doesn't give one insight into their heart, nor the right or understanding to speak for them.