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Originally Posted by raytri";p="
But why then, and not now? Does He really expect peoples' memory to be that long? The Israelites needed a demonstration 4,000 years ago, and it wasn't a one-time deal, either; it went on for a long time.
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I’ve often wondered why the Israelites were so quick to think that God had abandoned them during the Exodus. After all of the incredible miracles that made it possible for the Israelites to leave Egypt, one would expect them to have graciously fallen on their faces during periods of trial in thankful anticipation for the next miracle God was about to perform. The reality is, however, that they didn’t. The Israelites repeatedly became impatient and thought that God had abandoned them when times were tough.
When I travel, my dog (Duke) stays at a kennel. Sorry for the non sequitur, but bear with me. I know Duke enjoys the place, because he always gets excited when we pull into the parking lot. Even so, whenever I pick him up, he runs down the hall and jumps all over me for several minutes. To me it seems as though he might think after a few days that I have forgotten about him and will never return. It must seem like a long time to him when I’m away.
Perhaps it’s not that God expects people to have long lasting memories, rather that people are impatient. My dog thinks in dog time, people think in people time and God thinks eternally. In the grand scheme of things, 4,000 years is the blink of an eye.
Quote:
Originally Posted by raytri";p="
Then we got another big demonstration 2,000 years ago -- although a lot of people who were around then seemed to have failed to notice. But since then, nothing.
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It’s pretty amazing that after 2000 years the world is still debating the power of someone who was so unnoticed by His own generation, especially since most authenticated records of Jesus’ life only encompass about three years. The incredible nature of the miracles performed by Jesus were sufficient to transcend time.
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Originally Posted by raytri";p="
Since God created the whole world, don't you think it a little odd that he would then choose a "chosen people"? I mean, were the Israelites better humans than, say, the folks living in South America or Africa?
Why would God play favorites?
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To me it seems as though Christians learn to love God as an adopted child learns to love an adoptive father, whereas Jews seem to have an innate love for God. My guess is that Jews are God’s chosen people for precisely this reason (i.e., Jews love God deeply). Of course this is a generalization and I really have no earthly idea.
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Originally Posted by raytri";p="
Nothing lasts forever; wait long enough and you'll get revenge. Show me *any* civilization that was around back then that is around now. China, maybe.
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Three points: China never arose from the ashes after two thousand years; the Chinese People were never scattered about the world only to be gathered back to their original homeland; and, Israel has always been tiny, especially when compared to a nation as historically formidable as China.
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Originally Posted by raytri";p="
Besides, what a great deal: being His chosen people doesn't mean you won't get conquered or enslaved; it means your far-distant descendants will get to live in the same place -- after a couple of thousand years of diaspora and shortly after a few million of them are slaughtered, of course.
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God does not work in the ways we expect Him to, which is why trying to intellectualize His existence is pointless. Regardless of anything that God allows someone to suffer, in the end everything works out better for those who trust God. In response to a question about why so many Jews have been mercilessly slaughtered throughout history, God has kept His promise to Abraham of establishing an everlasting nation. Why the people God loves the most seem to be required to endure the most is a mystery to me.
I highly recommend reading the Book of
Job. Even for someone who does not believe in God,
Job is worth reading for its poetry and it will give you an idea of how God feels about people questioning His motives.
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Originally Posted by raytri";p="
Showing that any of us have God's favor, as reflected in material, physical things, doesn't really work. I'm an agnostic and I have all the material things I want. That doesn't make sense in your theology. Of course, I'm happy with my inner life, too, and that doesn't make sense, either. But I'll accept the usual argument that I'm just deluding myself.
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One of us has to be deluding our self. The question that will only be answered after the moment of our deaths is “which one?” I truly wish I had something to offer that could impart faith, but I don’t. It would be egotistical on my part to believe I could convince you of that which only God is capable.