WitnessofJah
Member
carrdero said:Yes, but certainly you would have to agree that there were other practical and peaceful ways to not only protect human lives without all the needless judgment and wrath and to keep the flock faithful at the same time and maybe offer the opportunity of enlightening old enemies and inspiring new converts. Could God have handled the situation better?
God had his reasons for doing the things he did - and we cannot question his judgements since he is the Almighty God and we are but sinful humans. You have to remember that God intended Jesus to come to earth, and by foreigners infiltrating Israel, it would risk affecting the ancestry and family lineage of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Also, back in the day's of the Israelites, the uncircumcised individuals were considered unclean - and all the rest of the nations did not practice this procedure - apart from the Israelites. And most importantly of all, the Israelites worshipped Jehovah God. I cannot speak for Jehovah, but he chose to create a boundary between the Israelites and the rest of the pagan nations, and when those pagan nations attacked his people, he rightfully protected them. God is perfect, we are not, and he know's best always.
I also have a problem with the term His people. When have you ever K(NOW)n GOD to help one society of people over another? Do you agree with this? Is this a God that you would want to fall in favor with? Doesnt this describe God as BEing prejudice? If they were Gods chosen people and God did have the power, why not remove all the obstacles in His Chosen peoples path?
If God had abandoned the nation of Israel in favour of other nations, he would have broken his promise to Abraham about blessing him with a seed that was great in multitude (which became the nation of Israel), and the Seed, which was lineage to Jesus Christ (Gen 12:16). What would you prefer, a God who breaks big promises, or a God who keeps them? Notice how when Jesus Christ died and the promise was fulfilled to Abraham, that Jehovah's relationship soon deteriorated with the nation of Israel and they fell out of favour with him, so that he finally abandoned them? Thats why when Jesus Christ came to earth, the invitation to follow Jehovah God was open to everybody not just the Israelites anymore. Jesus encouraged people from many different backgrounds: Matthew 16:24 says: If anyone wants to come after me, let him disown himself and pick up his torture stake and continually follow me.
As for removing all obstacles, the reason why God allowed the Israelites to be invaded and conquered so many times is because the Israelites were continually being more and more unfaithful and deliberately forgot about Jehovah to worship pagan foreign Gods which goes back to my previous point in the reasons why God wanted to separate them from foreigners in the first place. By allowing the nation of Israel to be conquered and be put under harsh conditions, he was punishing them for their acts, and when they finally repented, he delivered them out of the enemys hand. This shows that Gods love for his people was by no means blind love if they sinned, they paid the consequences.
Why would GOD have to wait until THE BIBLE (a book) was completed? I am sure the Laws and TRUTHs of GOD were already assigned and established to GODs UNDERSTANDING and as the Ten Commandments has shown us communication of the written form was already BEing considered a possibility. You have to keep in mind that we are talking about an All-Powerful BEing. Any excuse that you make for GOD either demeans any majesty that we have associated with HIm or it belittles humans in general ..or both.
I am no means belittling God in the slightest and am simply stating facts from the Bible itself. God did use Judges, Kings, and also rendered judgements himself on many occasions. Who was King David, the prophet Samuel, Moses, Joshua, King Solomon, Jehu, and Samson? These are just of the few the people who God used to render judgement in which they were part of a judiciary system in ancient Israel (1 King 3:16-28). The Mosaic laws were laws set in stone, not in the heart, which is why the New Testament came later in which Jesus encouraged people to train their own consciences and follow God from the heart not from stone something that the Israelites didnt have at the time, which therefore had to be done for them by a judiciary system which was in place. (Heb 8:10)
So what you are admitting here is that God can change or redefine His relationship with us. Can that still BE possible? If after 2000+ years is the God of THE BIBLE the same God that we have understood and read about? What other new covenants has God considered?
None. The New Testament laws were the final change that God implemented in the NT books before the time of the end. Hebrews 8:7-9 says: For if that first covenant had been faultless, no place would have been sought for a second; 8 for he does find fault with the people when he says: Look! There are days coming, says Jehovah, and I will conclude with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their forefathers in [the] day of my taking hold of their hand to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant, so that I stopped caring for them, says Jehovah.
Is it a possibility that Jehovahs Witnesses have also misunderstood THE BIBLE and that they too could have misinterpreted GODs TRUTHs?
That is for you to find out. I wont come on here and preach how our religion is better than everybody elses. That is only for you to decide and only for you to draw your own conclusions.
Why does GOD have to PROVE anything to the universe? What does GOD have to lose or gain from this question of Universal Soverienty? If GOD wants us to respect/admire/K(NOW) Him there are more sincere ways to go about this than implying conflict/doubt/obstacles in our already demanding lives. Does this sound like a Loving creator who is looking after humans better interests or does it sound like a selfish, insecure, BEing who not only has doubts about Himself but does not believe in us either?
God is by no means selfish or insecure. He could have destroyed Satan on sight when he disobeyed him but he didnt. He could have destroyed Adam and Eve when they sinned but he didnt. On the contrary, this shows the qualities of God that he is a patient, Almighty God. The reason why Satan is still alive is because God wants to prove that he will never be proved wrong, not at the expense of himself, but at the expense of Satan. You are right, Jehovah God will always be the universal sovereign no matter what, but in the Garden of Eden, he was challenged, and because of his slow-to-anger and patient qualities, he will universally prove Satan wrong.
As for free will I am not to sure if we have the same definition for this. If this is something that we have or have been given by God, why are there penalties and stipulations and added obligations that eventually culminate in the form of sentencing and judgment and possible death? Do you encourage your physical REALationships like this or is this just an act of sincerity you reserve just with God?
God did not create us as robots. He gave us deceptive powers, a conscience, and the choice to worship him or not. Turning away from God is one thing, but when they deliberately broke his laws in Israel and they knew the penalties, a sentence had to be passed. God no longer passes sentences down, but soon, he will pass the ultimate sentence - and people can't say that God did'nt warn them - they had the utimate choice.