Peace & Security or Sudden Destruction?

[Hockeycowboy]

This caught my eye:

God did not prohibit domestic rape

Uh....yes, he did. -- Deuteronomy 22:25-26.

Other incidents, where the Hebrew writers employed the Hebrew word for rape or violation, were actually incidents of seduction, as with Dinah and Shechem, or as the actions described at Deuteronomy 22:22-24. That was considered shameful.

As for the outcome portrayed @ Deuteronomy 22:29 (again, seduction).....the parallel account at Exodus 22:16-17 reveals the father had a choice.

All an Israelite woman needed to do, was to scream....she would not be deemed guilty.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

He [Jehovah] does not make apologies for rooting out those who do not belong to him.

Good point, my brother. Jesus did the same, at John 6.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

Hey @nPeace , hope you are well.

Found this excerpt (from a non-JW site), and thought you might like it.

"Remember that we don't sin by watching, hoping, and anticipating. Rather, we sin when we stop doing that. For Jesus said (as recorded at Luke 12:37):
'Blest are those slaves that are watching
When their master arrives!"

Source:
Armageddon – When?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Uh....yes, he did. -- Deuteronomy 22:25-26.

That isn't domestic rape. Rape, but it does not specify the she is his betrothed.

Other incidents, where the Hebrew writers employed the Hebrew word for rape or violation, were actually incidents of seduction, as with Dinah and Shechem, or as the actions described at Deuteronomy 22:22-24. That was considered shameful.

As for the outcome portrayed @ Deuteronomy 22:29 (again, seduction).....the parallel account at Exodus 22:16-17 reveals the father had a choice.

That's adultery, not domestic rape, and not even necessarily rape (it lacks the specifier of "forced," implying this sex can be consensual - another mark of demerit for the Bible's sense of morality).

 

[Samantha Rinne]

The quick answer to this question is to view reality as a "terrible twos" state.

At around age 2, a child will try to push boundaries (I'm told, not ever had a child, both because I've not had someone feel that way about me and cuz it kinda seems like something you can't take back), and parents can either say "awww isn't that sweet that he's standing on top of the toilet" or "get down from there, you twit." From what I've seen of my siblings and their kids, the former creates some entitled kids, while the latter gives kids a healthy sense of what is expected in order for things to improve.

You can either enable the sort of lawlessness that leads to slavery, death, and destruction of culture or you can say "I do have a problem with something like this or like this or like this. Will some people call you names for standing up to such things? Sure, in the first example we have sundown towns, a practice during Jim Crow era where blacks had to get out by sundown, if you stood against this you'd get called a N-lover and probably be beaten up with those blacks. If you take a stand against Female Genital Mutilation, people might call you racist (pointing out that they secretly suspect certain minorities of being more likely to practice this) or even a sexist. If you take a stand against globalization particularly when it involves nations creating strong and intrusive governments that spy and suppress people, you get called a white nationalist (yes, even if you're black! ) and in any of these cases, the Powers That Be would prefer you just go along with how things are. But you know...

 

[nPeace]

I know crime is not the same as violence. But both are going down. We are having less and less, with so many places around the world enjoying a general downward trend in crime and violence.
Things are getting so much better (we're even starting to grant protections to non-human animals), not worse.

"Things are getting so much better ...not worse"
The way you say that, it sounds so beautiful...to the ears. Only, there are many people that would look at you like...
I guess while some are living a nightmare, some are having sweet dreams. Countries Compared by Crime > Believes crime increasing in the past 3 years. International Statistics at NationMaster.com

United States Index Crime Rate, 1933–1998
Although the crime rate plateaued during the last quarter of the century, the rate has dropped and climbed by as much as 900 crimes per 100,000 population over the last 20 years.

Spoiler

Changes in the overall incidence of crime are most often measured by examining the index crime rate, which includes the reported crimes of murder/nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. The reported crime rate was fairly level during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, before sharply increasing until the early 1970s. Although the crime rate plateaued during the last quarter of the century, the rate has dropped and climbed by as much as 900 crimes per 100,000 population over the last 20 years. The United States is currently in the midst of the longest period of decline over the entire period shown, with a 1998 crime rate of 4,615 per 100,000 population, the lowest since 1973, when the rate was 4,155.

[GALLERY=media, 8906]US-Index-Crime-Rate by nPeace posted Apr 22, 2019 at 1:03 PM[/GALLERY]
Source: Uniform Crime Reports, 1933–1998, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

United States Murder Rate, 1900–1998
The trend chart below shows the murder rate as a recurring flow of sustained increases and decreases spread over the 20th century.

Spoiler

Across the country, and even internationally, the U.S. murder rate receives more attention than any other crime rate. The trend chart below shows the murder rate as a recurring flow of sustained increases and decreases spread over the 20th century. The rate increased through the early 1900s, peaking in 1933 at 9.7 murders per 100,000 population. The rate then decreased until 1960, followed by a sharp increase until the mid-1970s. The murder rate fluctuated over the last 25 years at a historically high level, as did the overall index crime rate, but has declined rapidly during the 1990s.
The murder rate in 1998, the last full year of available data, hit a 30-year low of 6.9 murders per 100,000 population. Preliminary FBI statistics show this downward trend continuing into 1999.

[GALLERY=media, 8907]US-Murder-Rate by nPeace posted Apr 22, 2019 at 1:03 PM[/GALLERY]
Source: Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics. The 1998 data, which are preliminary, are from Births and Deaths: Preliminary Data for 1998, Vol. 47, No. 25, p.48.

United States Drug Arrest Rate, 1965–1998
The drug arrest rate increased rapidly from the mid-1960s until the mid-1970s, then declined and stabilized until the early 1980s. The rate rose quickly again until the late 1980s, decreased sharply from 1989 to 1991, then increased rapidly through 1995. A leveling occurred over the last several years shown.

Spoiler

Unlike reported incidents of property or violent crime, drug crime is officially counted by police only when an arrest occurs. For this reason, using drug arrest data to measure overall illegal drug activity tends to be speculative, though drug arrest data can help measure police responses to drug crime, changes in drug use patterns, changes in the way drugs are sold and marketed, or shifts in public attitudes toward reducing drug-related crime. The following charts track drug arrest rates from 1965-1998.
The drug arrest rate increased rapidly from the mid-1960s until the mid-1970s, then declined and stabilized until the early 1980s. The rate rose quickly again until the late 1980s, decreased sharply from 1989 to 1991, then increased rapidly through 1995. A leveling occurred over the last several years shown.

Throughout most of the 1980s, arrests for drug crimes shifted from offenses involving marijuana to those involving heroin/cocaine (largely powder cocaine and “crack”).
In recent years, though, the proportion of arrests involving marijuana has increased, with marijuana-related arrests now accounting for the majority of arrests

.[GALLERY=media, 8905]US-Drug-Arrests_Rate by nPeace posted Apr 22, 2019 at 1:02 PM[/GALLERY]

United States State Prison Population, 1925–1997
In general, the entire 75-year trend in U.S. state prison populations has been characterized by growth, with the most dramatic increases beginning in the mid-1970s.

Spoiler

In general, the entire 75-year trend in U.S. state prison populations has been characterized by growth, with the most dramatic increases beginning in the mid-1970s. The average annual growth rate was about 4% for the period 1925–1997. However, for the period 1974–1997, the average annual growth rate was approximately 8%. The longest interruptions in the increase occurred in the peak selective service draft years during the World War II and Vietnam eras. These were the only years in which prison populations actually decreased. The pattern of federal prison population increases was similar to that of state correctional populations, although several peaks and valleys are more pronounced in the federal trend. Most noticeable is the peak in 1977, when there were 29,000 federal prisoners compared to 19,000 three years later.

[GALLERY=media, 8908]US-State-Prison-Population by nPeace posted Apr 22, 2019 at 1:04 PM[/GALLERY]
Sources: Historical Statistics on Prisoners in State and Federal Institutions, Year End 1925–1986: United States; Correctional Populations in the United States, 1987–1996; Prisoners in 1998: Bureau of Justice Statistics; The Army Almanac, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950; The Vietnam Almanac, 1985.

I just thought this was quite interesting - demonstrating what this thread shows - man's inability to solve these problems... which reminds me, you didn't answer my questions, which I asked become I really am interested in your opinion.
Are you seeing mankind change his mentality, and behavior for the better? Or are you seeing a force so great to stop man from carrying out his corrupt and depraved thoughts?

Notice the policy change. Do you think political change will ever result in a unified agreement?
Capital Punishment in the United States
Sources: Capital Punishment, 1998, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972) declares the death penalty under current statutes “arbitrary and capricious,” and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976) reinstates the death penalty under a model of guided discretion.
The history of the death penalty in the United States, shaped by legislation, public opinion, and judicial rulings, has had a powerful effect on the number of prisoners on death row and the number of prisoners executed.
The first chart shows how many persons were under the sentence of death during each year from 1953 to 1998.

Spoiler

The number of condemned prisoners grew slowly, but steadily, until 1971, when 620 persons were under a death sentence. With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling the death penalty unconstitutional, the number of sentenced prisoners dropped to 162 by 1973. In 1976, the Supreme Court upheld revised state capital punishment laws, and starting in 1978, the number of death row inmates rose rapidly through 1998.

[GALLERY=media, 8903]US-Capital-Punishment-1 by nPeace posted Apr 22, 2019 at 1:01 PM[/GALLERY]

The second chart shows the number of persons executed in the United States from 1930 to 1999.

Spoiler

In general, far fewer persons are executed than are under the sentence of death, although the ratio has varied greatly over time. In 1953, 131 persons were on death row, while 62 were executed, a ratio of 2:1. In 1960, the ratio of death sentences to executions was 4:1, and by 1984, the ratio was 67:1. The number of executions has increased 300% during the 1990s, with a doubling between 1996 and 1999.

[GALLERY=media, 8904]US-Capital-Punishment-2 by nPeace posted Apr 22, 2019 at 1:02 PM[/GALLERY]

United States Crime Rates 1960 - 2017
United States Population and Number of Crimes 1960 - 2017

Compiled by the DisasterCenter.com From: FBI UCS Annual Crime Reports
The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program is the starting place for those seeking information on crime in the nation. The UCR is produced from data received from over 18,000 law enforcement agencies voluntarily participating in the program. .

Violent crime is up some, but still well off historical high

"The violent crime rate has risen, and the homicide rate has risen by more than 20 percent in just two years, really after 30 years of decline in violent crime."
— Jeff Sessions on Tuesday, November 14th, 2017 in public testimony before Congress

"... do this because you know the season, that it is already the hour for you to awake from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than at the time when we became believers. The night is well along; the day has drawn near. Let us therefore throw off the works belonging to darkness and let us put on the weapons of the light. Let us walk decently as in the daytime, not in wild parties and drunkenness, not in immoral intercourse and brazen conduct, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not be planning ahead for the desires of the flesh." - The Apostle Paul - Romans 13:11-14

 

[nPeace]

It seems to me you are scared and not wanting to accept facts, perhaps because you want too much to not admit humans are doing what you think we need your god to do. God didn't end what most of the world used to know as poverty. Humans did. God didn't prohibit domestic rape. Humans did. God didn't invent the industrialism that lifted and elevated millions and billions out of extreme poverty around the world. Humans did.

Scared? There is no reason for me to fear anything. Why would I fear the truth, or reality? I cannot change reality, or truth. I welcome it.
Moreover, I believe reality and truth supports my view. So I can only benefit from the end results.
On the other hand, those who deny God, will have more to fear, than a disappointment. (Hebrews 10:27-31)

I think it is for this reason some prefer to remain in a deep sleep, and dream. They wish that somehow their dreams and hopes will prove their desire for God not to be. Hence they fear what is an obvious reality.
I don't think it would be very loving on my part to wish their dream comes true.
It would, I think, be more loving, for me to do what righteous God-fearing people, like Noah, and Lot did.

When Noah was building this huge construction, and speaking of destruction to come, the people likely thought he was some crazy old man, speaking about doom and gloom, when everything was just fine. Man would fix the problems, some probably thought.
What happened?
Oh right. You don't believe there was any flood of divine origin.

Well hows about Sodom and Gomorrah... Recall that Lot's sons-in-law thought he was "a man joking" when he warned them of destruction of divine origin, to come upon the city?
Oh. You don't believe that either.
Actually, you don't believe the Bible.... at all, do you? To you, it's nonsense, isn't it?
So here's the thing. Let's see if your dream comes true, or God's word.

As regard what God has done, and is doing, I think we need to be awake in order to see.

 

[nPeace]

Hey @nPeace , hope you are well.

Found this excerpt (from a non-JW site), and thought you might like it.

"Remember that we don't sin by watching, hoping, and anticipating. Rather, we sin when we stop doing that. For Jesus said (as recorded at Luke 12:37):
'Blest are those slaves that are watching
When their master arrives!"

Source:
Armageddon – When?

Thanks. I'm just busy.
It is true. we are commanded/warned to be alert and watchful.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

The way you say that, it sounds so beautiful...to the ears. Only, there are many people that would look at you like...

Only because you want to ignore when I've said "there is still room to improve" and because you are obsessed with their having to be horrible violence that is comparable to if not worse than times past. It just isn't. That is a fact.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

United States Index Crime Rate, 1933–1998
Although the crime rate plateaued during the last quarter of the century, the rate has dropped and climbed by as much as 900 crimes per 100,000 population over the last 20 years.

Let's see what that actually says:

Although the crime rate plateaued during the last quarter of the century, the rate has dropped and climbed by as much as 900 crimes per 100,000 population over the last 20 years. The United States is currently in the midst of the longest period of decline over the entire period shown, with a 1998 crime rate of 4,615 per 100,000 population, the lowest since 1973, when the rate was 4,155.

"Crime rate....the lowest since 1973." Thanks for supporting my point.

 

[nPeace]

Let's see what that actually says:

"Crime rate....the lowest since 1973." Thanks for supporting my point.

That was your point? I suggest not.
Gee. I don't want to bring up every post you made on this thread.

What is your point?
Open the window to a crack, and "let's see what I can cherry pick to try to find at least one seed I can hold on to", so as to keep dreaming?

I think the facts have been presented to you clear as day.
Since 1914 a growing mountain of insecurity have disrupted peace and security on earth. A mountain so large as to make mount Everest look like the surface of a tennis court.
Since then all it has been, is a roller-coaster ride of increase and decrease, with increase largely dominating. any decline seen however, is a mirage, since unreported crime, is a reality (along with the fact that the US is not the only existing place on earth) which only sleepy eyed persons yawn and shake their head, in denial.
Cyber crime has added to the transparency of crime that is committed in the shadows.... and corruption continues to breed and multiply like bacteria - a disease that affects those in the highest positions on the planet.

Shadow Wolf.... What is your point? Seems you have not made one, or I can't seem to pinpoint it.
Do you mind making it clear... for the record? Because honestly, what I am seeing, is a window that is being opened to a crack, and someone peeping out, to look at only what they want to see, so that they can dream and hope that their world does not end at the hands of their most hated personage - the almighty God - creator of our universe and life.
Really, how can any amount of dreaming change that reality? Denying the clear evidence, that man cannot direct his steps, and only dominates to the injury of themselves and others, is to me, denying reality? Expressed facts long stated in the ancient text - the Bible - along with the Whys, and Henceforth.

Are you not answering my questions, because you don't have the answers, or because you don't want to admit what many have come to accept as a reality?
No. I am not seeing mankind change his mentality, and behavior for the better. They appear to be getting worst. Road rage today is ridiculous. What force is there so great as to stop man from carrying out his corrupt and depraved thoughts? The UN?
The data I presented shows that international unity of thought does not originate with man.

The question in the title of this thread, and the OP, present my thoughts. It's not what I dreamed for. It's what has been written as a guarantee. The current seeming decline, imo, is a welcoming observation. "Whenever it is that they are saying, “Peace and security!” then sudden destruction is to be instantly on them, just like birth pains on a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape. . ." (1 Thessalonians 5:3)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Enjoy the ride.

It has to end somewhere....

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

How do you know?

The same way I know that I don't have to worry about being eaten by an undetectable interdimensional 7-headed dragon.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

What I mean is, why is it even needed or shown?

He basically already told you in the very post you are replying to: because it provides evolutionary advantage to the next generation.

See, when our primate ancestors gradually evolved bipedalism, there were a few anatomical costs to pay, the disadvantages of which did not weigh up to the advantages of bipedalism, resulting in a net increase of survival.

One of those things was that hips of women became more narrow. That has a cost on birth. Did you know that biologically speaking (as compared to the rest of the animal kingdom), humans are actually all born prematurely? This is because women can no longer carry babies "full term" (in that sense) because the child would get too big making birth impossible. Birth itself also became a lot more dificult for women - meaning they too now required extra care, both before as well as for some time after giving birth.

This early birth had its own consequences... Being that born children were more dependent on nurturing parents. It took longer for them to be able to manage on their own - or with less help.

This means that parents (fathers, specifically) had to "stick around" longer to secure their offspring's survival. Now it becomes interesting.....

If as a male, you need to stick around longer to take care of off spring and their mother, then you're going to want to make sure that those kids are actually YOUR kids. Because you will be investing valuable time and resources into this (especially in that day and age, with life expectancy being 25-35 at best).

So this is how lots of cultures ended up with concepts of monogamy - simply due to necessity of a tighter and longer bond between pairing couples and their off spring, to secure off spring survival.

Another interesting things....
Statistically the 3 tot 5 year mark in a relationship is a crucial period. A lot of relationships don't survive this period. Ask yourself: from what age onwards do humans really become independend? Exactly: between 3 and 5. There is something in the psych of humans, which triggers them after 3 to 5 years in a relationship to look around for new/other people. Or to "move on" and see what comes next. It's a time where it is ridiculously easy to "grow apart". To become interested in other people.

This is where that comes from. These are our ancient customs, which still linger around in our instinctive psych or our "id" if you will.

Our complex social skills, interactions, impulses, instincts, emotions,... Many of them literally center around stuff such as this. Logical off course, if you consider that the "driving force" of evolution is: what works best for survival and procreation?

So your kid is wallowing around helpless. So what. Why does it need you? Why do you care?

Why does a bird feed its young?

 

[Hockeycowboy]

Let's see what that actually says:

"Crime rate....the lowest since 1973." Thanks for supporting my point.

What was the average, prior to 1914?
For Jehovah's Witnesses, the pivotal year is 1914...the start of the Last Days...."the beginning of pangs of distress".

And the facts support this view!