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Does there exist a "chosen" people in the eyes of God

Sleeppy

Sleeppy

Fatalist. Christian. Pacifist.
pcarl said:
The God of Israel chose the Jews through whom he offered salvation for all. Through them He made Himself known through a covenant. Though this may be the time of the Gentiles, they either remain the first chosen or God is a liar.
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.. Or the men who did the writing were liars.. Interesting that you would skip over that possibility.
 
Sleeppy

Sleeppy

Fatalist. Christian. Pacifist.
nPeace said:
Of course, I would not want you to believe the Bible blindly. That's called gullibility, is it? I don't think there is any institute that would give someone a certificate for being gullible - unless it was marked "DUNCE".
I believe we should do what one very humble man said here:
Dear friends, don't believe all people who say that they have the Spirit. Instead, test them. See whether the spirit they have is from God, because there are many false prophets in the world. - 1 John 4:1

That's what has convinced me that the Bible is true.
When I check it with history, it seems to align.
Click to expand...

Then you haven't been testing.
 
Sleeppy

Sleeppy

Fatalist. Christian. Pacifist.
Hawkins said:
God's chosen people is Israel, however that boils down to who is Israel. Just like Paul ever put, not all descendants of Abraham are Jews and even to the Jews God ever put "Jacob I liked, but Esau I hated". It means that not every Jew by bloodline can be deemed as a Jew by the coverage of God's covenant.

Moreover, chosen means God can save someone beyond the bounding of a covenant. Jesus earned the salvation of humans qualified by a covenant, and those "chosen" witnesses. For an example, David is murderer and an adulterer even by the Law of Moses. He however is saved as a chosen witness (a prophet) of God. It is so because human witnessing and testimonies by eyewitnesses is a necessity for the carrying forward of God's salvation agenda. Without eyewitnesses' testimonies there's no legitimate account of human witnessing to testify for God's salvation. To put it another way, chosen witnesses are a necessity in the process of bringing salvation across the whole timeline of humanity. Thus it is legal (by Law and covenants) for God to chose His own witnesses to spread the salvation message for the rest of humans to get informed of. These predefined set of humans can be saved beyond the requirements specified in any covenant. Jesus has earn the right to save these predefined amount of humans even under the circumstance that they are unsavable by the bound covenant.

Then it happened that the whole Israel was chosen to be God's witnesses for the rest of humans to get to His message of salvation. So in the end the whole Israel can be savable this way, however not every Jew by bloodline is a Jew in God's dictionary.

I may try to highlight what a male Jew is in today's world.

A Jew (by covenant) is,
1) he must be a Jew by bloodline
2) he must be circumcised on the 8th day of birth (today's practice is from the 8th day till several months after birth)
3) he must choose with consent to abide by the Mosaic Law (today only the Orthodox Jews still try to abide by the Mosaic Law)
4) he must not try to stand in the way of Christianity (as today Judaism won't save but only Christianity saves)
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Read Ezekiel 36.
 
stvdv

stvdv

Veteran Member
nPeace said:
Of course, I would not want you to believe the Bible blindly. That's called gullibility, is it? I don't think there is any institute that would give someone a certificate for being gullible - unless it was marked "DUNCE".
I believe we should do what one very humble man said here:
Dear friends, don't believe all people who say that they have the Spirit. Instead, test them. See whether the spirit they have is from God, because there are many false prophets in the world. - 1 John 4:1

That's what has convinced me that the Bible is true.
When I check it with history, it seems to align.
Click to expand...
I go one step further
I meditate till Jesus reveals Himself to me
Thus I know Jesus is Real
The Ultimate Test IMHO
 
shunyadragon

shunyadragon

shunyadragon
Premium Member
nPeace said:
Why not? Why are you so ready to believe the other?
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Actually in the greater picture of evolution neither is adequate. We have wide spread evidence of modern humans around greater that 6000 years ago, and actually greater than 200,000 years ago. The oldest modern humans found are 300,000 years old from Morocco.
 
P

pearl

Well-Known Member
Sleeppy said:
Or the men who did the writing were liars.. Interesting that you would skip over that possibility.
Click to expand...

The Bible presents how the human authors understood their relationship with God, no more, whether through mystics, prophets, etc., and that experience of God is related through the everyday, common dealings with men of the time. So, we are told that God 'cut' a deal with Abraham. It is expressed through a common ritual of the time; the parties of the covenant, by passing between the slaughtered carcasses, called down upon themselves a similar fate if they did not observe the covenant promises. But the only party that walked between was the angel of the Lord. God is bound by his own word, promises making the covenant with Abraham absolute, unconditional and eternal. God is bound by his word.
 
Sleeppy

Sleeppy

Fatalist. Christian. Pacifist.
pcarl said:
The Bible presents how the human authors understood their relationship with God, no more, whether through mystics, prophets, etc., and that experience of God is related through the everyday, common dealings with men of the time. So, we are told that God 'cut' a deal with Abraham. It is expressed through a common ritual of the time; the parties of the covenant, by passing between the slaughtered carcasses, called down upon themselves a similar fate if they did not observe the covenant promises. But the only party that walked between was the angel of the Lord. God is bound by his own word, promises making the covenant with Abraham absolute, unconditional and eternal. God is bound by his word.
Click to expand...

"We are told..." -- Do you test what you are told?
 
stvdv

stvdv

Veteran Member
shunyadragon said:
Actually in the greater picture of evolution neither is adequate. We have wide spread evidence of modern humans around greater that 6000 years ago, and actually greater than 200,000 years ago. The oldest modern humans found are 300,000 years old from Morocco.
Click to expand...
You surprise me again. 300.000 years, I like this even better. OMG 6000 years that was 2%, meaning 98% off. If that is how much off the Bible is.
I always thought, if they just reduced the Bible to about 1%, how much easier, how much less confusion. Even 2% would be great IMHO.
 
Sleeppy

Sleeppy

Fatalist. Christian. Pacifist.
pcarl said:
Its a warning for man not to make God a witness. In the covenant with Abraham it is God who gave his word, not man.
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1) 'Let your Yes be Yes' means exactly what it says. Don't speak as if you know, if in fact you do not know.

2) A covenant is an agreement.
 
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