Why doesn't the Bible say what it means?

[Etritonakin]

god might as well have said
"about 40% of your entire population will be killed off. i know this will happen and how it will happen and because i am a just and merciful god i will let this happen"
ah, ok whatever you say....oh merciful and just god.

Actually, about 90 percent of the present world's population will die before Christ returns. We all die -and we will all be resurrected. Try to look at the big picture.

 

[waitasec]

Actually, about 90 percent of the present world's population will die before Christ returns. We all die -and we will all be resurrected. Try to look at the big picture.

no i would say 100% of the population will die before christ returns...

yes we all die. i have no reason to think any differently, why would you?

the big picture is the here and now. do the best you can. live a dignified life.
and if you're are lucky enough, with the ones you love.

 

[Etritonakin]

Please read the bible before you comment on it.


Exo 22:21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Exo 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
Exo 22:23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
Exo 22:24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. [and resurrect the dead in a better time!]

Lev 25:17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 25:18 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.

Isa 49:26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Yes -it is quite right for God to do all this -because he is able to make it right.

 

[waitasec]

Please read the bible before you comment on it.


Exo 22:21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Exo 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
Exo 22:23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
Exo 22:24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. [and resurrect the dead in a better time!]

Lev 25:17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 25:18 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.

Isa 49:26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Yes -it is quite right for God to do all this -because he is able to make it right.

i have.

 

[Etritonakin]

no i would say 100% of the population will die before christ returns...

yes we all die. i have no reason to think any differently, why would you?

the big picture is the here and now. do the best you can. live a dignified life.
and if you're are lucky enough, with the ones you love.

I don't mean to be rude, but what you say doesn't make a difference. What we believe does not affect the truth -though what we do can be slightly annoying until all is said and done.

Sad and Shortsighted, My Man!

Some will be alive at Christ's return and will be made immortal -some will go on to repopulate during the millenum.

Mar 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
Mar 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Mar 10:31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

 

[Etritonakin]

i have.

You obviously didn't get it -but not everyone does at first -you'll understand eventually.

Anyway -flogging a dead horse here.

Laters.

 

[waitasec]

Please read the bible before you comment on it.


Exo 22:21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Exo 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
Exo 22:23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
Exo 22:24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. [and resurrect the dead in a better time!]

Lev 25:17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 25:18 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.

Isa 49:26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Yes -it is quite right for God to do all this -because he is able to make it right.

גר in hebrew, which means
sojourner
a temporary inhabitant, a newcomer lacking inherited rights

your reaching. a stranger is considered to be someone who is now joining your community....
this does not apply as an emphatic command to treat EVERY HUMAN BEING equally

 

[Etritonakin]

גר in hebrew, which means
sojourner
a temporary inhabitant, a newcomer lacking inherited rights

your reaching. a stranger is considered to be someone who is now joining your community....

Sorry dude, but you're really not good at this. Try to look beyond your own understanding -or you won't learn. I'm sorry you choose to make it difficult -it doesn't have to be. Stop striving against what you know to be true. Just accept it. You'll feel much better. You are getting desperate.

 

[waitasec]

Lev 25:17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.

Lev 25:18 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.

tell me the context, was god speaking to his chosen people or did this apply to EVERY HUMAN BEING?

 

[waitasec]

Sorry dude, but you're really not good at this. Try to look beyond your own understanding -or you won't learn. I'm sorry you choose to make it difficult -it doesn't have to be. Stop striving against what you know to be true. Just accept it. You'll feel much better.

no. i will not. i will use my common sense, the one you claim is god given, to question everything...in order to come to a conclusion for which i know to be the right one.

edit: i believe what i know to be true, btw why would you assume i don't?

 

[no-body]

Sorry dude, but you're really not good at this. Try to look beyond your own understanding -or you won't learn. I'm sorry you choose to make it difficult -it doesn't have to be. Stop striving against what you know to be true. Just accept it. You'll feel much better. You are getting desperate.

Magical thinking at its finest.

"I don't have to provide facts because the truths are self evident and if you have a problem with this then you're wrong no matter how much evidence you have because God, so there"

Edit: I would like to add all the debate here proves the uselessness of saying "there is only one literal way to interpret the bible" those who say that will go on to tell you why their interpretation is best while they argue with others who have their own literal interpretation and want you to follow their correct "God inspired 100% true" version which of course isn't an interpretation either but "the truth" :sarcastic

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

Jesus says if you love Him you will keep the commandments. He goes on to show that He is talking about the 10 commandments. Do not kill. Do not steal, etc. But people have to make up reasons why the commandments do not apply to people today. They were only for the Jews. Jesus "nailed them to the cross."

There is a very common view among Christians that New Testament trumps the Old Testament. The OT only applies if it does not contradict the NT. It makes more sense if you look at it like that. It has nothing to do with the Jews killing Christ. Unless you are hanging out with KKK types.

 

[waitasec]

I don't mean to be rude, but what you say doesn't make a difference. What we believe does not affect the truth -though what we do can be slightly annoying until all is said and done.

Sad and Shortsighted, My Man!

Some will be alive at Christ's return and will be made immortal -some will go on to repopulate during the millenum.

Mar 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
Mar 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Mar 10:31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

well we are here to debate.
as far as your assumptions are concerned they are wrong just as you assume i am a guy

i have studied the bible, for the ministry in fact.
i came to this understanding of god because i could not reconcile how god in all his goodness would actually threaten me.
he is god after all and why would my faith, or lack thereof, mean anything to this omniscient being? god doesn't need me to be god. if he knew my heart, he would know i mean no harm and if god were real and knew my heart and still casts me in to hell, then that would speak volumes of god is tyrannical and narcissistic.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

i came to this understanding of god because i could not reconcile how god in all his goodness would actually threaten me.

Thats just plain naive, SHE took my lunch money last week and kicked sand in my face.

 

[waitasec]

Thats just plain naive, SHE took my lunch money last week and kicked sand in my face.

well that's because you think god's a she
god is very sensitive you know :sarcastic

 

[InvestigateTruth]

so was murder and stealing, but god forgot to include genocide, slavery,

rape and child abuse?

I am not sure what you mean though?

marriage:
gen 3:16
"he shall rule over you"

This is from the story of Adam and Eve. Which I believe is a symbolic story and not to be taken literally.

In Baha'i Faith, Men and Women are equal and this has been said in many verses clearly:

"When all mankind shall receive the same opportunity of education and the equality of men and women be realized, the foundations of war will be utterly destroyed." Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace

"The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly. Until womankind reaches the same degree as man, until she enjoys the same arena of activity, extraordinary attainment for humanity will not be realized; humanity cannot wing its way to heights of real attainment. When the two wings . . . become equivalent in strength, enjoying the same prerogatives, the flight of man will be exceedingly lofty and extraordinary." 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation

rape:
if a girl is pledged the rapist is murdered, because she is the property of another man; if the girl was not pledged he pays her father 50 pieces of silver and has to marry the victim without ever divorcing her...
what about thou shall not rape and any rape victim shouldn't be considered "dirty"...

duet 22:25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a young woman pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. 26 Do nothing to the woman; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbor, 27 for the man found the young woman out in the country, and though the betrothed woman screamed, there was no one to rescue her.

28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall pay her father fifty shekels[c] of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

Thanks for the info.
These are from old times, and doesn't make sense in our age at all.

the enlightenment had nothing to do with religion.
human rights was not a result of religion...in fact, human rights are suppressed with religion.

There are other things to think about and consider for judging fairly.

even science has been the 'mean and tool' for destruction and killing. When science throughout history has been used to build bombs and weapons, and used for killing millions and millions of people. But that doesn't mean we should consider science the root of killings. it was people who didn't have spiritual training, and made science the mean of killing.
So, if anything is abused by people can have a negative effect. If it used for the right purpose, it would have a possitive effect.
Religion is the same. Many people killed others in the name of God and religions. They just abused the religion of God. But in the history there were many who were enlightened by the spirtual teachings and have been the cause of progress and comfort for others.

Also, it would be very unlikely, that God, never interacted with His creatures. It is very strange, after he created, He never send any guidance to human.
It's also very unlikely that every single person who claimed to be a prophet, was either a liar or crazy. So, I think, it requires careful investigation.

 

[Thief]

well we are here to debate.
as far as your assumptions are concerned they are wrong just as you assume i am a guy

Assumption is a tool....and properly used can allow you to go forward....
instead of waiting for 'proof'.

i have studied the bible, for the ministry in fact.

(not necessarily a point of credibility)

i came to this understanding of god because i could not reconcile how god in all his goodness would actually threaten me. God's Fault?

he is god after all and why would my faith, or lack thereof, mean anything to this omniscient being? True. god doesn't need me to be god. True. if he knew my heart, he would know i mean no harm and if god were real and knew my heart and still casts me in to hell, then that would speak volumes of god is tyrannical and narcissistic.

You do seem threatened by God.
You have mentioned the word 'threat' on more than one occasion.

Perhaps you are confusing that word with 'consequence'?

Hell is more like....
waking up in that place....with people like yourself....
and there is no one to protect you.
No God.

 

[waitasec]

I am not sure what you mean though?



This is from the story of Adam and Eve. Which I believe is a symbolic story and not to be taken literally.

In Baha'i Faith, Men and Women are equal and this has been said in many verses clearly:

"When all mankind shall receive the same opportunity of education and the equality of men and women be realized, the foundations of war will be utterly destroyed." Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace

"The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly. Until womankind reaches the same degree as man, until she enjoys the same arena of activity, extraordinary attainment for humanity will not be realized; humanity cannot wing its way to heights of real attainment. When the two wings . . . become equivalent in strength, enjoying the same prerogatives, the flight of man will be exceedingly lofty and extraordinary." 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation


Thanks for the info.
These are from old times, and doesn't make sense in our age at all.



There are other things to think about and consider for judging fairly.

even science has been the 'mean and tool' for destruction and killing. When science throughout history has been used to build bombs and weapons, and used for killing millions and millions of people. But that doesn't mean we should consider science the root of killings. it was people who didn't have spiritual training, and made science the mean of killing.
So, if anything is abused by people can have a negative effect. If it used for the right purpose, it would have a possitive effect.
Religion is the same. Many people killed others in the name of God and religions. They just abused the religion of God. But in the history there were many who were enlightened by the spirtual teachings and have been the cause of progress and comfort for others.

Also, it would be very unlikely, that God, never interacted with His creatures. It is very strange, after he created, He never send any guidance to human.
It's also very unlikely that every single person who claimed to be a prophet, was either a liar or crazy. So, I think, it requires careful investigation.

my question boils down to this...
why doesn't the bible emphatically state we all (all nations) are equal that no one is to dominate another, but instead is more concerned with how one worships god, an omniscient all powerful being?

 

[Thief]

my question boils down to this...
why doesn't the bible emphatically state we all (all nations) are equal that no one is to dominate another, but instead is more concerned with how one worships god, an omniscient all powerful being?

Finally....the intelligent question!!!!!

The bible was written too long ago....by too many different people....in too many different places...too many different reference points...etc...etc..etc...

Then if you throw what other cultures believe to be scripture...on top of the bible.....

Oy!

Then compound the paperwork by the refusal to accept current prophets....
there is no hope of resolve.

Really...all you can hope for is to reconcile with God as well as you can before you die.

 

[waitasec]

Finally....the intelligent question!!!!!

that wasn't nice..
what about the golden rule

The bible was written too long ago....by too many different people....in too many different places...too many different reference points...etc...etc..etc...

The if you throw what other cultures believe to be scripture...on top of the bible.....

Oy!

Then compound the paperwork by the refusal to accept current prophets....
there is no hope of resolve.

Really...all you can hope for is to reconcile with God as well as you can before you die.

if you believe the bible is the word of god guided by the holy spirit to be what it is intended for...that's one thing
but if you believe the bible was written by men to justify their imperfections that's somethin' else.