Part 9 of Post Your Tough Questions Regarding Christianity

Then you need to re-read the chapter of Moses 40 years wandering around the place with his tribe then.

 

It sure is full of things that are not true, and the rest is no more than approximately true.
Sometimes VERY approximate!

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False: Paul's snake-story.

 

Why? Many people have survived snake bites.

 

Of course. And some die of the bite of non poisonous snakes.

But..

That is not what is wrong with the story. Go over it carefully; none of it makes sense.

Not the part about picking one up, mistaking it for a stick, nor the part about tossing a bundle into the fire, and in that instant the snake is inspired by the heat, to bite.
Nor yet that it would cling* to his hand, nor that a group or people could correctly identify a snake while it is being thrashed about... still less that they'd correctly identify a snake that does not even occur on that island

* a viper strikes faster than you can see, and does not cling or chew

The story is about his claim to be "anointed of god" and given supernatural powers to resist harm.

Its a lot like Brigham Young seeing a good thing, and taking over from J Smith.

As for the "why' of this...It sure is full of things that are not true, and the rest is no more than approximately true.
Sometimes VERY approximate!

Why do YOU think that is so?

 

so anyone attempting to take it seriously is on tricky turf.

 

1. In the passage it refers to a 'viper'. Then it is called a 'beast', and also a venomous 'beast'. A term not usually associated with a snake/serpent in the Bible. Was it perhaps another similar venomous creature similar. They did exist on the island.
2. As to picking up a snake in a bundle. If you live in the UK you can disturb grass snakes by moving clumps of straw where they are sleeping in the warm. It's easy, from personal experience, to lift a bundle of straw to feed an animal and lift the hidden snake as well.
3. The King James version says they were on Melita (MlJet) - a completely different island 50-60 miles away where there were poisonous snakes. However that is unlikely. The writers were probably using the Roman name for Malta.
4. If they were however, what about Publius, who we know for a fact was an important man on Malta. Evidence for this has be found.
5. Luke was simply reporting what he saw and, as far as I am aware, was not an expert on identifying species.

I wasn't there. I read the script and make up my own mind going on my experience of studying the Bible. It's quite possible for the events to have occurred, with a little misunderstanding in identification of a non-venomous creature as a 'viper'.

You must make your own mind up.

 

That statement is wrong. You sure did read the bible...probably with one eye watching a sci-fi movie on TV and the other eye intermittently dozing off reading the bible...lol

You must have been referring to chapter 25 in the Book of Numbers of the Holy Bible.

First let me just say that God punished (killed) 24,000 people for worshipping the gods of Moab and not because of one man sneaking a prostitute into camp.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, God is ever so loving, caring, fair, just, righteous, all powerful, all knowing God but also a God of wrath when He has to deal with disobedient, sinful, evil, wicked people, and so He punishes them and rightfully so and deservedly so!

The Israelites knew the penalty for worshipping false gods such as the gods of Moab. But they defiantly disobeyed God and so because of that, God had every right to punish them to death. They knew His laws, they knew He existed, they knew He would punish them for being disobedient and yet they disobeyed Him. I'd say they were rewarded with just punishment.

Your assignment is to go back and read Chapter 25 of the Book of Numbers, then report back to me admitting that your statement is false, then read the entire Bible, because it's obvious you have not read it accurately enough and when you have finished in a few months, come back to me again and we can talk about God.

 

so, god killed 24000 people because they worshipped a different 'superhero', as FS would put it. but, he's LOVING, JUST, CARING, RIGHTEOUS, and ALL KNOWING. then, in small print, he's also wrathful and likes to punish people (with death) for praying in the wrong direction.


let me know if I've got that wrong

 

They have learned a great deal about the Canaanite religions over the years.. Most of the stuff in the Bible is just about demonizing the neighbors.

The Canaanites were far more civilized and sophisticated than the Israelites.

 

The Bible is inerrant. The only reason you believe it contradicts itself often is because often times it is misinterpreted. To clear up misinterpretations there are always reasonable plausible explanations but as usual the critics we be in denial of them and insist the bible contradicts itself.

Critics are as reasonable as trying to appease 2 year old babies from being unreasonable...lol

Oh and one last thing, I know WanRen would agree with me that, there are really no tough questions if they are coherently expressed, however if they are incoherent then yes, they are tough...because how could anyone answer an incoherent question, if they attempt to, the result will only be an answer that is incoherent itself...lol

 

I see. so asking questions like "how do xians live with the fact that the god they worship is a genocidal despot?" would be 'incoherent', then. whereas "why does god love me?" is coherent. gotcha ;p

 

Let me correct you here PrometheusBound, God gave man dominion over animals not nature (thunder, earthquakes, floods etc.)

But of course we have some evolutionists who believe we are animals ourselves cause we evolved from apes...aint that the most crazy theory ever?

 

animal /an·i·mal/ (an´ĭ-m'l)
1. a living organism having sensation and the power of voluntary movement and requiring for its existence oxygen and organic food; animals constitute one of the five kingdoms of living organisms.
2. of or pertaining to such an organism

From the Medical Dictionary at the Free Dictionary

 

Again the bible is inerrant/infallible, the only way it becomes fallible is by the misinterpretations made by the critics.

 

Do you read Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic?

 

how have you determined that this is so?

 

The only way to see it as inerrant is through the very tortured interpretations concocted over centuries by highly creative apologetics.

 

No, do you? I know the Aramaic language was spoken during the time of Jesus, it was spoken by Jesus and His disciples, I don't know if people still speak that language...do you?

 

If you had the faith of a mustard seed you could tell that mountain to move over there and it would move over there. But since no mountains are moving anywhere that must mean nobody has the faith of a mustard seed.

 

No, sorry but when the text says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, it means that God would permit or allow Pharaoh’s heart to be hardened, not that, as most make the mistake of assuming, that God directly hardened Pharaoh's heart. God does not interfere with one's free will. I explained it in much more detail on pg. 1 of this thread, I believe post #4.

Pharaoh made up his own mind to resist God’s demands. Of his own accord, he stubbornly refused to comply.
So in essence Pharaoh was the one directly responsible for the deaths of innocent children, that had done nothing to violate him.

But rest assured as we know from Scripture that little innocent babies and children not of culpable/accountable age go to heaven to be with our merciful, compassionate loving God.

Furthermore, another revelation that Scripture tells us is that because God is indeed merciful, just and fair, all people who have died before Jesus Christ our Lord Savior, God will not condemn them to eternal punishment to that place where the father of all evil will reside one day. They are all pardoned from that fate.

Now do you see how merciful and justly fair our loving, caring, compassionate God is?

 

Why does scripture actually say, in very plain terms, the very opposite of what you claim here about Pharaohs' heart? It isn't grey or subtle.
Why do you have to make something up out of thin air to protect your deity?

 

You got it right. But those people who prayed wrong deserved it. You left that out.

 

Yes, they do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaic_language

....there is not one singular, static Aramaic language; each time and place rather has had its own variation. Aramaic is retained as a liturgical language by certain Eastern Christian churches, in the form of Syriac, the Aramaic variety by which Eastern Christianity was diffused, whether or not those communities once spoke it or another form of Aramaic as their vernacular, but have since shifted to another language as their primary community language.