The Bible doesn't make sense. Clue me in.

[Faint]

I have questions (and I'm being serious in case you have your doubts):

1) Why is God so concerned about whether or not we love him? If he is perfect and whole and without desire, why would he want the love of a human? Do you think it's love he wants or unquestioned respect. I think it would be the latter because...
2) Why would God send anyone to hell if he really loved them as he claims? If someone you love breaks your heart, you would be pretty damn cold to want that person to be tortured for eternity. Personally, I want the people I love to be happy whether or not they love me.
3) We run into a lot of problems with translating the Bible, since we have so many languages because (according to scripture) God saw need to mix up the languages in that whole Babel incident. To me, this seems like a strategic mistake on the part of God. If he wanted us to heed him, he should have made his message clearer--maybe by releasing several thousand editions, one for every language. Or, why didn't God use some magic to etch his rules on the psyche of every newborn so there would be no room for interpretational error?
4) Why would God work in "mysterious ways"? If you want people to respect you and do what you say, wouldn't you be more direct with them about who's in charge? Why all the sneaking around?
5) If you have the ability to withhold something from God (love in this case) doesn't that give you a certain power over him? And, doesn't that mean he is not all-powerful after all?

 

[Squirt]

I have questions (and I'm being serious in case you have your doubts):

1) Why is God so concerned about whether or not we love him? If he is perfect and whole and without desire, why would he want the love of a human? Do you think it's love he wants or unquestioned respect. I think it would be the latter because...

I think God is deserving of our love and that He is ultimately responsible for every good thing we have. I don't see God as "needy" but as requiring from us what is rightfully His -- our gratitude and respect.

2) Why would God send anyone to hell if he really loved them as he claims? If someone you love breaks your heart, you would be pretty damn cold to want that person to be tortured for eternity. Personally, I want the people I love to be happy whether or not they love me.

I don't think He does. I believe in Hell, but I think those who end up there are the ones who choose to resist His love and actually want to be as far removed from Him as possible.

3) We run into a lot of problems with translating the Bible, since we have so many languages because (according to scripture) God saw need to mix up the languages in that whole Babel incident. To me, this seems like a strategic mistake on the part of God. If he wanted us to heed him, he should have made his message clearer--maybe by releasing several thousand editions, one for every language.

I don't think we need any more translations of the Bible. He has giving us living prophets instead.

Or, why didn't God use some magic to etch his rules on the psyche of every newborn so there would be no room for interpretational error?

We're human beings, not computers -- that's why. He wants us to figure it out for ourselves instead of just pulling up the program.

4) Why would God work in "mysterious ways"? If you want people to respect you and do what you say, wouldn't you be more direct with them about who's in charge? Why all the sneaking around?

I think we insist on making Him a whole lot more mysterious and complicated than He ever intended to be. He wants us to understand Him. We're the problem; He isn't.

5) If you have the ability to withhold something from God (love in this case) doesn't that give you a certain power over him? And, doesn't that mean he is not all-powerful after all?

No, I don't think that's what it means at all. It was God who gave us this power. It's called free agency. We wouldn't have it at all if He hadn't wanted us to.

 

[jewscout]

1) Why is God so concerned about whether or not we love him? If he is perfect and whole and without desire, why would he want the love of a human? Do you think it's love he wants or unquestioned respect. I think it would be the latter because...

If it is true, as some people believe, that G-d has no desire (or emotions for that matter) why would He WANT anything of us, including love.
My answer to that is, is it really for Him, or is it ultimately for us, that we may focus our mind, heart, and soul on a higher level of being, to raise ourselves up.

2) Why would God send anyone to hell if he really loved them as he claims? If someone you love breaks your heart, you would be pretty damn cold to want that person to be tortured for eternity. Personally, I want the people I love to be happy whether or not they love me.

not really an issue for me, i don't believe that hell exists.

3) We run into a lot of problems with translating the Bible, since we have so many languages because (according to scripture) God saw need to mix up the languages in that whole Babel incident. To me, this seems like a strategic mistake on the part of God. If he wanted us to heed him, he should have made his message clearer--maybe by releasing several thousand editions, one for every language. Or, why didn't God use some magic to etch his rules on the psyche of every newborn so there would be no room for interpretational error?

having one language can also be used for evil as well, that the wrong things would be taught among men that deviate from scripture. That was what happened at Babel essentially.
as far as programming into our brain ahead of time, if that were done there would be no spiritual growth for us which is one of the reasons we are here.

4) Why would God work in "mysterious ways"? If you want people to respect you and do what you say, wouldn't you be more direct with them about who's in charge? Why all the sneaking around?

i'll use a quote from Futurama when Bender actually met G-d:
"do too much and people become dependent on you, do too little and people lose faith."

5) If you have the ability to withhold something from God (love in this case) doesn't that give you a certain power over him? And, doesn't that mean he is not all-powerful after all?

if G-d really didn't want you to do something events would transpire to effect that.

 

[Ronald]

To get to "Hell", one is not sent to hell, you volunteer to go. God throws a lifeline even though He knows(all knowing) you will not take hold! God is Love. He created man to fellowship with Him, this is what He wants, Fellowship. Freewill, God gave you freewill. You choose.

 

[Ðanisty]

I agree with everything Faint said and so far, I haven't read a compelling enough argument against it. In fact, the whole Babel incident is one of many that stick out in my mind that really shows how inconsiderate God is. I'm convinced that Christians are never going to understand the other side of the story and vice versa. No matter how much people try to convince me God is good, it never works because their arguments for it are the same ones I see as arguments for God being bad. I used to think there was a possibility that I'd understand it, but now I'm more certain than ever that I've found the right path for me.

 

[Adstar]

Hello Faint :hug:

This is my first real post on this forum so go easy on me

I have questions (and I'm being serious in case you have your doubts):

1) Why is God so concerned about whether or not we love him? If he is perfect and whole and without desire, why would he want the love of a human? Do you think it's love he wants or unquestioned respect. I think it would be the latter because...

Because loving Him and Knowing He loves us Helps us immensely in our lives here. You are right about the "respect" part also. God wants us to trust in Him with no doubts at all. Love is a emotion that supports trust. Developing this love comes from growing in knowledge of God.

2) Why would God send anyone to hell if he really loved them as he claims? If someone you love breaks your heart, you would be pretty damn cold to want that person to be tortured for eternity. Personally, I want the people I love to be happy whether or not they love me.

Because God above all else is Just, He cannot be unjust. Therefore those who Reject His Love and have no trust in Him will have no place with Him in eternity. This does not mean that God takes delight in sending people away. Scripture declares that God does not want anyone to be lost.

1 Timothy 2
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

3) We run into a lot of problems with translating the Bible, since we have so many languages because (according to scripture) God saw need to mix up the languages in that whole Babel incident. To me, this seems like a strategic mistake on the part of God. If he wanted us to heed him, he should have made his message clearer--maybe by releasing several thousand editions, one for every language.

Well the message of salvation is a pretty simple message indeed. But yes you are right that it is hard to translate the entire bible into many different languages. But then again the simple message of the Messiah Jesus is a simple thing to grasp and easy to translate.

Or, why didn't God use some magic to etch his rules on the psyche of every newborn so there would be no room for interpretational error?

Well we believe that there is such a thing that is commonly called a conscience. Many non-believers have a natural knowledge of what is good and bad. And have feelings of goodness within when they do good and the feelings of guilt when they do bad. But of course people also naturally start to learn how to suppress this conscience from an early age. Many people know that a conscience can get in the way of getting ahead in this world. So for social acceptance and advancement many people shout the little voice inside into submission.

4) Why would God work in "mysterious ways" ? If you want people to respect you and do what you say, wouldn't you be more direct with them about who's in charge? Why all the sneaking around?

Well "mysterious ways" simply means that we do not understand why He is doing something in the way it is being done. Loss of respect does not come from our inability to understand, Loss of respect comes from us thinking that the "mysterious ways" are "foolish ways" or "unjust ways". We being imperfect human beings can understand all of His Good ways but because we are imperfect we will never be able (in this current flesh configuration) to live %100 up to those standards. But we can still try our best anyway and show through our attitude to Gods will that we agree with His will.

5) If you have the ability to withhold something from God (love in this case) doesn't that give you a certain power over him? And, doesn't that mean he is not all-powerful after all?

People have that ability because God allowed them to have that ability. It all comes back to what God's goal is. If Gods goal was to force everyone to be a certain way then everyone would be that way. The fact that people are not tells us that God wants us to have the free will to reject Him. Therefore what God wants are people who will accept Him from their own free will.


I hope i have said something that will interest you Faint.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

[Karl R]

1) Why is God so concerned about whether or not we love him?

Loving god makes it easier for us to do what's right.

Think back to high school. Was there a teacher that you liked and respected? Didn't that respect make you want to try harder in their class than you would have otherwise?

Was their a teacher that you disliked and despised? Didn't that make you want to try to get away with whatever mischief you could in their class?

I could draw similar analogies with jobs that you love and hate.

2) Why would God send anyone to hell if he really loved them as he claims? If someone you love breaks your heart, you would be pretty damn cold to want that person to be tortured for eternity.

You're assuming one particular version of hell is correct.

Muslims believe that hell is a place where the unrighteous become purified so they can enter heaven.

C.S. Lewis (a christian theologian) wrote a fiction novel about people in hell who were given a chance to enter heaven ... and some of them chose not to take it. The only condition placed on them was that they give up the behavior that landed them in hell in the first place.

Kushner (a jewish theologian) doens't believe in the afterlife. He believes heaven and hell are what we create on earth as the outcome of our actions.

3) We run into a lot of problems with translating the Bible, since we have so many languages because (according to scripture) God saw need to mix up the languages in that whole Babel incident.

The Tower of Babel is a morality tale, not a real incident. One moral of that story is that you can't create a shortcut to heaven.

A linguist could give you a better idea how different languages actually developed.

why didn't God use some magic to etch his rules on the psyche of every newborn so there would be no room for interpretational error?

The story of Adam and Eve is another morality tale, but it's an allegory for the way all people behave.

You could put a person in paradis, give them one simple rule that's easy to understand, and they'd get themselves kicked out by breaking it.

The basics of the bible are easy to understand. Following them is the hard part.

4) Why would God work in "mysterious ways"? If you want people to respect you and do what you say, wouldn't you be more direct with them about who's in charge? Why all the sneaking around?

God's not trying to be sneaky. We're too ignorant to understand what god is doing.

Let me give you an analogy. A neighbor of mine was in the hospital. He was told that he wasn't allowed to smoke in his room. He lit up anyway. A nurse caught him, and she threw an absolute fit.

When I went to visit my neighbor, he complained about how the nurse was a nut, and that she'd totally overreacted to him smoking.

I pointed out to my neighbor that his roommate was on oxygen. Therefore, his roommate was about as flammable as a puddle of gasoline.

If god explained to you the true purpose behind everything, do you really think you'd understand the answer?

5) If you have the ability to withhold something from God (love in this case) doesn't that give you a certain power over him?

Absolutely not. I grew up in a fairly dysfunctional family, and we've pulled stunts like this repeatedly. It doesn't work if the other person realizes what you're trying to do.

Since you can't withhold anything that god actually requires to survive, you have no leverage. (And when dealing with people, withholding survival needs doesn't always work either.)

 

[MdmSzdWhtGuy]

I am with Faint and Danisty on this one. The more I read the Bible and listen to people discuss it, the less it makes sense if one attempts to take it as anything more than ancient mythology.

B.

 

[finalfrogo]

I have questions (and I'm being serious in case you have your doubts):

1) Why is God so concerned about whether or not we love him? If he is perfect and whole and without desire, why would he want the love of a human? Do you think it's love he wants or unquestioned respect. I think it would be the latter because...
2) Why would God send anyone to hell if he really loved them as he claims? If someone you love breaks your heart, you would be pretty damn cold to want that person to be tortured for eternity. Personally, I want the people I love to be happy whether or not they love me.
3) We run into a lot of problems with translating the Bible, since we have so many languages because (according to scripture) God saw need to mix up the languages in that whole Babel incident. To me, this seems like a strategic mistake on the part of God. If he wanted us to heed him, he should have made his message clearer--maybe by releasing several thousand editions, one for every language. Or, why didn't God use some magic to etch his rules on the psyche of every newborn so there would be no room for interpretational error?
4) Why would God work in "mysterious ways"? If you want people to respect you and do what you say, wouldn't you be more direct with them about who's in charge? Why all the sneaking around?
5) If you have the ability to withhold something from God (love in this case) doesn't that give you a certain power over him? And, doesn't that mean he is not all-powerful after all?

You're right; it doesn't make sense. It's the Bible.

 

[Bangbang]

Whe you stop trying to make sense of it you will understand it and set free of its chains. The reason it does not make sense to you is because you are reading it from the bekief that it is the Word of God. You are having trouble equating the Bible with what church leaders have taught you(brainwashed). Thats normal because the Bible is not the word of God. It was written by man for man.

 

[Ðanisty]

Whe you stop trying to make sense of it you will understand it and set free of its chains. The reason it does not make sense to you is because you are reading it from the bekief that it is the Word of God. You are having trouble equating the Bible with what church leaders have taught you(brainwashed). Thats normal because the Bible is not the word of God. It was written by man for man.

Nope, I'm fully aware it was written by man. That doesn't make this make any more sense. Even if the entire story were completely made up (which it very well may be...I can't prove otherwise), it does not explain at all why anyone would even idolize or look up to God as the hero of the story, etc. Whether it is a book of facts or a work of pure fiction does not change the character of God. Also, church leaders haven't taught me anything. I wasn't raised a Christian. I will agree that some church leaders brainwash people though.

 

[Lindsey-Loo]

1) Why is God so concerned about whether or not we love him? If he is perfect and whole and without desire, why would he want the love of a human? Do you think it's love he wants or unquestioned respect. I think it would be the latter because...

He wants us to love him because if we truly do love him, he knows we follow his Word. And he loves us so much, why shouldn't we love him?

2) Why would God send anyone to hell if he really loved them as he claims? If someone you love breaks your heart, you would be pretty damn cold to want that person to be tortured for eternity. Personally, I want the people I love to be happy whether or not they love me.

If a father spanks his child for disobeying the rules, does that mean he doesn't love the child? I know that burning in hell is way worse than being spanked, but God laid down the law, and expects us to follow it. He told us very, very clearly what would happen if we don't. He wants us all in Heaven, but those who disobey are not going to be there. And if they choose not to follow, it is their own fault.

3) We run into a lot of problems with translating the Bible, since we have so many languages because (according to scripture) God saw need to mix up the languages in that whole Babel incident. To me, this seems like a strategic mistake on the part of God. If he wanted us to heed him, he should have made his message clearer--maybe by releasing several thousand editions, one for every language. Or, why didn't God use some magic to etch his rules on the psyche of every newborn so there would be no room for interpretational error?

I think that Bibles are available in almost every language, and even when they are not, there is always someone available to teach the Bible in that language.

God left it up to us to learn about him as we grow older. And who are we to even put forth the question "why did God do this or that"? He did it because he wanted to, and he has a reason for everything.

4) Why would God work in "mysterious ways"? If you want people to respect you and do what you say, wouldn't you be more direct with them about who's in charge? Why all the sneaking around?

I believe the mysterious ways verse was reffering to the fact that God helps us or blesses us in mysterious ways. God is perfectly direct with us about who is in charge, and he tells us exactly what he wants. If this is not clear, perhaps you should go back and read the Bible.

5) If you have the ability to withhold something from God (love in this case) doesn't that give you a certain power over him? And, doesn't that mean he is not all-powerful after all?

The only reason we don't have to love God is because he wants us to have that choice. He could make us love him if he wanted. But he gave us free will, so that we may freely choose which path we will follow...the path to salvation, or the path to sin and hell.

 

[CAPPA]

I have questions (and I'm being serious in case you have your doubts):

1) Why is God so concerned about whether or not we love him? If he is perfect and whole and without desire, why would he want the love of a human? Do you think it's love he wants or unquestioned respect. I think it would be the latter because...
2) Why would God send anyone to hell if he really loved them as he claims? If someone you love breaks your heart, you would be pretty damn cold to want that person to be tortured for eternity. Personally, I want the people I love to be happy whether or not they love me.
3) We run into a lot of problems with translating the Bible, since we have so many languages because (according to scripture) God saw need to mix up the languages in that whole Babel incident. To me, this seems like a strategic mistake on the part of God. If he wanted us to heed him, he should have made his message clearer--maybe by releasing several thousand editions, one for every language. Or, why didn't God use some magic to etch his rules on the psyche of every newborn so there would be no room for interpretational error?
4) Why would God work in "mysterious ways"? If you want people to respect you and do what you say, wouldn't you be more direct with them about who's in charge? Why all the sneaking around?
5) If you have the ability to withhold something from God (love in this case) doesn't that give you a certain power over him? And, doesn't that mean he is not all-powerful after all?

Great Questions Faint, and I’ll admit you have had some intriguing responses to your post as well. With that said, allow me to express my feeling on the topic. The fact is, you along with a great number of us have questions about the teachings of the bible or perhaps the religion, or even perhaps the existence of GOD. However, the questions you pose can not be answered by a human. That's the actual truth. Their answers will arrive in the form of a "personal belief" method of interpretation. You can suppose, you can imagine you can even guess and conclude. The fact of the matter is that no one on this earth can with a 100% accuracy answer those questions for you. Moreover, you’re not the first, and surely not the last to ask questions, and the answers; well, you'll see, they're that of man and nothing more.

Hope that helped.

 

[Ðanisty]

Great Questions Faint, and I’ll admit you have had some intriguing responses to your post as well. With that said, allow me to express my feeling on the topic. The fact is, you along with a great number of us have questions about the teachings of the bible or perhaps the religion, or even perhaps the existence of GOD. However, the questions you pose can not be answered by a human. That's the actual truth. Their answers will arrive in the form of a "personal belief" method of interpretation. You can suppose, you can imagine you can even guess and conclude. The fact of the matter is that no one on this earth can with a 100% accuracy answer those questions for you. Moreover, you’re not the first, and surely not the last to ask questions, and the answers; well, you'll see, they're that of man and nothing more.

Hope that helped.

You bring up a really good point, CAPPA. All we can really do is interpret for ourselves what the text means. That's really what I would prefer everyone do. Read it for yourself and don't think about what your parents, friends, pastors, etc. have said it means. Decide for yourself what it means.

 

[bain-druie]

I have questions (and I'm being serious in case you have your doubts):

1) Why is God so concerned about whether or not we love him? If he is perfect and whole and without desire, why would he want the love of a human? Do you think it's love he wants or unquestioned respect. I think it would be the latter because...
2) Why would God send anyone to hell if he really loved them as he claims? If someone you love breaks your heart, you would be pretty damn cold to want that person to be tortured for eternity. Personally, I want the people I love to be happy whether or not they love me.
3) We run into a lot of problems with translating the Bible, since we have so many languages because (according to scripture) God saw need to mix up the languages in that whole Babel incident. To me, this seems like a strategic mistake on the part of God. If he wanted us to heed him, he should have made his message clearer--maybe by releasing several thousand editions, one for every language. Or, why didn't God use some magic to etch his rules on the psyche of every newborn so there would be no room for interpretational error?
4) Why would God work in "mysterious ways"? If you want people to respect you and do what you say, wouldn't you be more direct with them about who's in charge? Why all the sneaking around?
5) If you have the ability to withhold something from God (love in this case) doesn't that give you a certain power over him? And, doesn't that mean he is not all-powerful after all?

Welcome, Faint. It's largely for real seekers like you that places such as this one exist.

Predictably, many eager Bible defenders leaped to answer your post with the same regurgitated dogma they have always been taught, or have learned somehow to embrace. Hopefully they will one day reach the stage of the journey you have.

I'll go through your points and respond, but I will have a caveat at the end.

1. Before you ask whether this god really requires love, consider what his definition of love actually is. This is something you have already begun to do, as evidenced by your second point. (We'll get there in a moment.) Everyone likes 1st Corinthians 13 as a definition of true biblical love, but that's about as far as you can possibly get from the character actually displayed by the god of the bible.

Assuming for the moment that the bible is actually true, and depicts a true deity, here we have a creator who endows his creatures with freewill and then punishes them *AND* everything else he made with death (something they can't even comprehend, being newly made) for exercising it in the only way he left open to them. [Adam & Eve] They had none of the power or knowledge that he has, because he gave them nothing but a will they were apparently supposed to suppress, and dominion over other creatures who did nothing at all to deserve the death sentence.

Not long after that we have the flood, the emotional torture of Abraham being commanded to sacrifice his only son, the genocide Israel was commanded to perpetrate, lots of rape, torture, murder, war, plagues, the torture of Job for a bet God made with Satan over whether he'd be stupid enough to stay faithful (which he was, sadly), and on and on. The lives of the prophets make for very painful reading as well.

Then we have the whole concept of Substitutionary Atonement, which is salvation through the blood of Jesus - who had never committed any sin, but had to be punished for all of us as the only way to qualify for salvation.

See the pattern? This god is a complete sociopath. He's a bipolar narcissistic sadist; how can someone like that define what love is? He's not qualified, pure and simple. There's no love to be found in a character like that; not even real self-love.

2. No sane person would want *ANYONE* to be tortured for eternity; not even his or her worst enemy - not even Hitler. Requiring someone to be accountable for their actions and pay for them, yes; but no temporal creature is capable of committing an atrocity deserving of eternal torment.

3. If that god is real, the one thing we can be certain of is that he never wanted humanity to get it right. That's the whole point. What he wants is guilt from his creatures, so he can feel justified in torturing them. That's the character you're seeing in those pages, pure and simple.

4. See above.

5. Yes.

Now here's the caveat: the fact that you have these questions already tells you that you cannot look to the bible for answers. The fact that humans are by nature subjective creatures means that you must discover your own path. No one can show you the 'right' one, because it isn't there yet - you have to make it, find it, or force your way through to it. Don't look to any other for answers. That's the best way to use the gift of a rational mind - regardless of who or what did or did not grant us that gift. Guidance, yes, and support can and should be found in others - but ultimately your path is yours alone.

Again, you are very welcome here. Good luck on your quest.

 

[LuisDantas]

Not wanting to discourage you, bain-druie, but it has been quite a while since Faint last logged in. Over five and a half years to be more precise.

 

[lovemuffin]

God may be dead but the threads live on, O Luis of Dantes

 

[bain-druie]

Well, crap. I was tricked by thinking I found it under 'Recent Posts'. Bah!

 

[Conceivia]

Love is a far more advanced concept than you think. It is not an emotional feeling that God wants from you. Whether you love God or not, is determined by what is your priorities in life. If you had a choice between a million dollars and World Peace, or even a trillion dollars and World Peace, which would choose? If you had a choice between saving your own life, or saving the lives of 10 people, which would you choose? That is love.

What people don't understand, is the Bible is all about World Peace. It is all encrypted information, given to special people who do things that bring us closer to World Peace. Some of it is trickery, to prevent the wrong people from understanding things.

Mostly though, the Bible was influenced by both God and the Devil. Both the essence of good, and the essence of evil. People have no clue which is which.

Tony

 

[bobhikes]

I have questions (and I'm being serious in case you have your doubts):

1) Why is God so concerned about whether or not we love him? If he is perfect and whole and without desire, why would he want the love of a human? Do you think it's love he wants or unquestioned respect. I think it would be the latter because...
2) Why would God send anyone to hell if he really loved them as he claims? If someone you love breaks your heart, you would be pretty damn cold to want that person to be tortured for eternity. Personally, I want the people I love to be happy whether or not they love me.
3) We run into a lot of problems with translating the Bible, since we have so many languages because (according to scripture) God saw need to mix up the languages in that whole Babel incident. To me, this seems like a strategic mistake on the part of God. If he wanted us to heed him, he should have made his message clearer--maybe by releasing several thousand editions, one for every language. Or, why didn't God use some magic to etch his rules on the psyche of every newborn so there would be no room for interpretational error?
4) Why would God work in "mysterious ways"? If you want people to respect you and do what you say, wouldn't you be more direct with them about who's in charge? Why all the sneaking around?
5) If you have the ability to withhold something from God (love in this case) doesn't that give you a certain power over him? And, doesn't that mean he is not all-powerful after all?

How I interpret the Bible

God is required to give humans choice. Maybe choice is life. The bible doesn't explain why but it points it out over and over again. This answers 1, 3, 4

I don't believe Hell exists. The Satan and hell are rarely mentioned in the bible and the new testament. When Satan is mentioned he is an advocate for God. He challenges Job and Jesus to prove they are worthy. Satan never steals souls or battles Gods army, that only happens in works of fiction. Dante's Inferno is where most of Hell is described.Answer 2

God Doesn't require anything from you. God wants you to make the correct choice. God is not hurt if you don't you are hurt. If you make bad choices you can not move on. The reason's are not clear but the bible constantly points it out. Answer 5