SEXISM...
These next few articles will be about how sexism is dividing the genders apart and only creating hatred between genders, the very groups that speak out against sexism are having a counter affect and creating more sexism, these movements being the Feminist Movement and the Male Rights Activists Movement (M.R.A.) I will be starting my article by debunking...
FEMINISM...
Yes, I am an Anti-Feminist. Why? Because Feminism doesn't support gender equality like it says it does. Instead it promotes female supremacy, matriarchy. Feminists will often stay away from the Christian or Islamic religions because they believe they are the proliferation of a patriarchal male-dominated religion that has historically silenced women in the church and taken their rights away in society to reduce them to no more than a Broodmare. Well, this rings true for Islam...…
Surah 4:34 - "Men are in charge of women by right of what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend for maintenance from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in the husband's absence what Allah would have them guard. But those wives from whom you fear arrogance - first advise them; then if they persist, forsake them in bed; and finally, strike them. But if they obey you once more, seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand."
Now let's compare to Christianity...
Colossians 3:19 - "Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them."
Funny how in America today the Feminist Movement attacks Christianity more than Islam... And how the Feminist Movement focuses more on the "War on Women in America" when there is a real war on women in the Middle-East. Now, before I get jumped on, I would like to point out that I am a born and raised All-American Girl.
The Feminist Movement focuses on very petty issues when there is real female oppression in the Middle-East... While women have to hide their faces, aren't allowed to drive or receive education... Here in America the Feminist movement fights for the right to kill her own unborn child —and not for justified reasons, because rape is only 1% of abortions, only 6% because of fetal or maternal health— Feminists also fight for the right that birth control and abortions be paid for by the Government, the un-existing wage gap, justifying dressing like a whore, complaining about rape culture after justifying dressing up like whores, all while trying to feminize our male youth and discriminate against men as far as Political-Correctness and Child Custody is concerned. Some Feminists groups seek to reduce the male population by 90% Globally... Don't believe me? Type it in your search engine... The "Femitheist" is a 22-year-old criminology student named Krista who has a three-year-old child and has advocated for an International "Castration Day."
Which is ironic considering it is more likely for a female to be aborted over a male in foreign countries. Only 5% of abortions in the U.S. are even potentially gender related, because only 5% occur when it is likely the mother knows the baby's gender. I hasten to point out that "only 5%" of the 1.6 Million abortions annually is still a tragedy. 42% of female fetuses are aborted compared to 25% of male fetuses worldwide, mainly in Middle-Eastern countries and China who prefer a boy to carry on family name, this is due to One Child Policy. See the REAL oppression, American Feminists? In the U.S., only a small percentage of abortions happen when it is even likely that the mother knows her unborn baby's gender, and there is no evidence that either gender is aborted more often.
It is funny in a sad sense that when a father doesn't want to take responsibility for his child, he is a deadbeat dad... But when a woman doesn't want to take responsibility for her child, it is her choice. We have given more rights to the pregnant woman, since they are allowed to have the right to kill a human in the early stages of life. Feminism has seemed not to bring strong, mature, independent women, but instead has brought irresponsible, selfish, whorish women into our society. Nothing disgusts me more than these counter affects... While Feminism promotes women to have confidence in their womanhood, it actually reduces it and brainwashes you that you are a victim because of your gender and that you have to masculinize yourself to get respect, to get a job and do everything a man does. This isn't taking confidence in your gender... If women had confidence and respect for themselves... There wouldn't be 1.6 Million abortions yearly, there wouldn't be women unhappy in their workplace as they grow old and alone...
The problem with Feminism is it is going against what a woman's heart is hardwired for... Every girl has played house and played with babydoll, because that is our calling, our role in society and the problem with Feminism is it is not teaching women to feel empowered and proud for this role as a Homemaker... Even if you want to be a career woman, so be it, but don't go getting pregnant and aborting a child if you want a career. You can't have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. If the Feminist Movement really supports a woman's choice... Why is it when a woman chooses to be a Housewife, she gets disrespected or at least less respect from the Feminist Movement than a working woman does? This is not equality or respect of a woman's choice... I personally have felt this.
As always, it is one of the most contradictory movements I've seen. Most hypocritical. Most unpleasant. This is no longer a place where women get treated as a second-class citizen, quite the contrary, as women we can vote, we can drive, we can seek education and everything else we desire... And I support for us to have all these rights, some women get a abandoned by an un-Godly man and need to support themselves, this is why we need the right to find work, but... What I don't support is grown women still remaining to act like children when we are equal with men in American society... So what is the Feminist Movement still fighting for? Whatever it is, it is destroying young women physically and emotionally, not to mention spiritually... As we see the Feminist Movements symbol is an inverted cross... A Satanic Symbol...
Let's look at God's intended role for women since it is so commonly misunderstood and ignored because of political-correctness... Let's first establish that God loves us all, no matter our gender or race, we are all equal...
Galatians 3:28 - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
But just because we are equal, doesn't mean we have the same roles to play in this World. We all have a duty that we must fulfill. Just like in an Army, some are Generals, some are Captains, some are Lieutenants. Just because we have a lower rank, does not mean we are any less valuable. Quite the contrary, because without women, generals cannot be born. Without lower-ranking officers, there is no one for the general to lead, there is no military. Women are needed in this life and we have a duty to do in this life. I would like to turn to Scripture now to emphasize my point...
1 Peter 3:7 - Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with [them] according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
Now many women or rather Feminists would be angered by this verse because it calls women 'weaker' even though this is an attribute that is undeniable for the majority, it is just how we were made, men tend to be the stronger gender... But just because they are stronger, doesn't mean women cannot be strong themselves. It takes a very strong woman to deny sin and juggle the standards God asks her to live up to. Just because we are weaker, doesn't mean we are not strong or needed... We are... Now compare 1 Peter 3:7 to 1 Corinthians 12:22...
1 Corinthians 12:22 - Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
Feeble or weaker are still necessary or essential in the body of Christ. Men are the head and women are the body, but without the body the head cannot operate, just as the body cannot operate without the head. Ephesians 5:23. This is structure, this is organization, discipline... Something needed in any family, church or organization. If you wish to rebel against order and usurp leadership than everything gets thrown into chaos and you hold your "team" down. Holding them back from progressing. So let's not be immature, but accept our role with empowerment, doing the best we can in our set jobs and responsibilities given.
Genesis 3:16 - "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
We see the first wife was disobedient, let's strive as Christian women today to be more pleasing onto The Lord our God... Let's read the rest of 1 Peter 3:1-7...
1 Peter 3:1-7 - "1 In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live, 2 While they behold your chaste conversation [coupled] with fear. 3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward [adorning] of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But [let it be] the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, [even the ornament] of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. 7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."
So first of all we are to be obedient onto our husbands, if you do not have a husband you are to be directly obedient unto God. 1 Corinthians 7:32-34. Marry if you need a loving partner or burn in sexual desire. 1 Corinthians 7:9. If you are a child you are to be obedient to both your parents. Second, women are not to adorn themselves, meaning we are not to be focused on outwardly beauty, but to be focused on inward beauty that is a quiet spirit, meek, gentle, loving. Both genders are not to be focused on vanity actually, goes for you men as well. Ephesians 4:7. Then we notice in 1 Peter 3:7 that men are ALSO called to honor their wives, not be harsh with them, but give them respect. We all have a role to follow... This Holy Book is obviously not sexist, but giving commands to both men and women... Women to work to take care of the home and men to make money to have a home... 1 Timothy 5:8, 1 Timothy 5:14.
Ephesians 5:22-33 - "22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife [see] that she reverence [her] husband."
There are many cults that take these verses out of context by saying that, "You do not have to submit to your husband if he is not Godly, righteous, Christ-like." This is completely un-Biblical and mere rebellion to look for loopholes in the Scripture when the Scripture is clear... Yes, Ephesians 5:25 does say...
Ephesians 5:25 - "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;"
But that doesn't mean just because your husband fails to do his role he is commanded by God to do, doesn't mean you get to justify failing to fulfill your role that God has asked you to do. Be pleasing and grateful onto your Lord that died for you. John 14:15. Do not be looking for loopholes when Scripture is clear...
1 Peter 3:1 - "In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live."
Even if husbands are disobedient, be Godly wives and submissive unto your husbands still. Of course, if your husband commands you to do a direct violation of God's commands such as, "murder this person" or "steal this item" of course you do not have to submit... But do not be looking for loopholes in this commandment of submitting unto your husband, not obeying Godly things your husband asks you to do. Genesis 3:16 said, You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you, it is a hard temptation to deny, wishing to control everything, but we must work together in harmony.
Unnecessary fights break out if we act like spoiled children that always want our way, not holding our tongues causes harm a lot of the time. Also... For those women who are in an abusive marriage, drunkard husbands and etc. If your husband is a threat to your and/or children's life as well as his own, the best thing you can do to serve your husband is to get him professional help. Proverbs 27:5 - "Open rebuke is better than secret love." This meaning that open rebuke is open love, if you are rebuking someone's sin it is love because it is concern for their physical and/or spiritual health. So this verse could be re-worded as open love is better than secret love. Get yourself somewhere safe, then get a professional to handle your spouse.
The only time divorce is allowed is if the covenant of marriage is broken by either partner. Matthew 19:9. Whoever divorces his wife or her husband except for immorality and marries another commits adultery.
1 Corinthians 7:10-16 - "10 To the married I give this command - not I, but the Lord - a wife should not divorce a husband. 11 (but if she does, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband), and a husband should not divorce his wife. 12 To the rest I say - I, not the Lord - if a man has a wife who is not a believer and she is happy to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is happy to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified because of the wife, and the unbelieving wife because of her husband. Otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever wants a divorce, let it take place. In these circumstances the brother or sister is not bound. God has called you in peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will bring your husband to salvation? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will bring your wife to salvation?"
Now of course this is referring to the already married where both were unbelievers and one spouse becomes a believer, do not divorce, but when you are dating or courting, if you are already a believer you should be dating a Christian. A believer shouldn't marry an unbeliever. 1 Corinthians 7:39. For in many cases it would end in divorce to which is not Godly. There is a 53% rate of divorce in America today, 71% in Belgium. Let's clean up our marriages, people. I think a lot of these marriages are destroyed by Feminist and M.R.A. ideals alike.
Now as far as sexual relations are concerned...
1 Corinthians 7:1-5 - "1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: [It is] good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, [to avoid] fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. 4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. 5 Defraud ye not one the other, except [it be] with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency."
So do not deny each other of sex, which the Quran commands men to do and as Feminism tells women to do. Do not do this, do not deny your partner in marital sex (unless are sick of course with good reason that partner can understand.) And as it is already obvious, polygamy, homosexuality, pedophilia, necrophilia, zoophilia, masochism and/or sadism are perverse acts in the bedroom. Now let's move back unto topic of the woman's role in her marriage...
1 Timothy 2:15 - "Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
We should bear children if able and married...
1 Timothy 2:9-12 - "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. A woman must learn quietly with all submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. She must remain quiet."
So we should not give into vanity and be modest, be quiet, and not teach... Let's expound on not teaching...
Titus 2:3-5 - "Older women likewise are to exhibit behavior fitting for those who are holy, not slandering, not slaves to excessive drinking, but teaching what is good. That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, fulfilling their duties at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the message of God may not be discredited."
Philippians 4:3 - "And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and [with] other my fellowlabourers, whose names [are] in the book of life."
And as we see there were Prophetesses in the Bible such as, Anna (Luke 2:36). Deborah (Judges 4:4). 1 Corinthians 11... We see women commanded to cover their head to pray and when prophesying, I'll expound on the head-covering in a future article. It has been a lost practice in the churches since the early 20th Century, when Feminism gained support.
So... Female Pastors are un-Biblical, a woman should not lead an entire church. Some very good examples that are very un-Biblical in doctrine itself are Joyce Meyers and Victoria Osteen. Women are allowed to teach their fellow sisters in Christ and the children, but not the entire congregation. Not men.
To be the woman God intends us to be is in the cliché verse for women, Proverbs 31... This is how a Christian woman should conduct herself, check yourself if you wish to be pleasing unto The Lord.
Proverbs 31:10 - "10 Who can find a wife of noble character? For her value is far more than rubies. 11 The heart of her husband has confidence in her, and he has no lack of gain. 12 She brings him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13 She obtains wool and flax, and she is pleased to work with her hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships; she brings her food from afar. 15 She also gets up while it is still night, and provides food for her household and a portion to her female servants. 16 She considers a field and buys it; from her own hand she plants a vineyard. 17 She begins her work vigorously, and she strengthens her arms. 18 She knows that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out in the night. 19 Her hands take hold of the distaff, and her hands grasp the spindle. 20 She extends her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hand to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all of her household are clothed with scarlet. 22 She makes for herself coverlets; her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is well-known in the city gate when he sits with the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. 25 She is clothed with strength and honor, and she can laugh at the time to come. 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also praises her: 29 "Many daughters have done valiantly, but you surpass them all!" 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised. 31 Give her credit for what she has accomplished, and let her works praise her in the city gates."
I am not a Feminist, I'm an Equalitarian. You want to be treated like an equal? Act like one. Support the rights of both genders. Stop the complaining and use that fire and will towards something for the better good. This is the 21st century and it isn't getting any better anytime soon, so help the world... Not complain about it... Let's be confident in our role as women and not play the man's role... Deuteronomy 22:5. I, as a woman feel more empowered as a Christian than a Feminist! Women are not victims, we are essential to the world and we need to be strong and play a helping part... We were made to be helpers, not a hindrance. We have our rights, now let's use them to speak out on real issues... Like helping our husbands, helping brothers in Christ deliver The Gospel to save souls. God bless.
December 26, 2014
December 13, 2014
PART 2 - CONTRADICTIONS DEBUNKED……
After my last reply, Dan Barker replied to me focusing in on one supposed "contradiction" because God commanded not to kill, but then commanded and assisted Israel in killing their enemies... Let's look into this supposed contradiction... This was my second reply to Dan Barker...
First, let's get a good grasp of the Sixth Commandment...
"Ratsach", like many other words, has a wide range of meaning, and thus its meaning in a particular verse must be determined from both the immediate and remoter contexts. Thankfully, the Bible has a lot to say about murder, manslaughter, the execution of criminals and killing in war, and it is easy to tell by studying all the verses on the subject that the Sixth Commandment means not to take a life unjustly.
Sixth Commandment was not a prohibition against all killing, only unauthorized killing. The Lord authorized on a lot of circumstances. "You shall not murder" or "You shall not kill unjustly" would be a better translation. Ratsach means to... Murder, Kill, Avenger, Accidental, Premeditated, Assassinate.
Murder... The Merriam Webster Definition for Murder is: The crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought... Focus on "unlawful", "aforethought/premeditated" and "malice".
And Remember what God Jesus said, Whoever hates his brother in his heart committed murder in his heart. The hate, the jealousy, the bloodlust is murder.
Avenger... Because it is not for Self-Defense reasoning, but because of hatred and desire for revenge.
Premeditated... Also out of revenge/hatred most of the time since premeditated murder is plotted before ahead of time. Suicide is also thought about before it is done, hating oneself and ones life. This goes the same for Assassination since plotted ahead of time and usually is for money. God hates the love of money. 1 Timothy 6:10.
Accidental... A quick study of news and the history of mankind will clearly show that a lot of "accidental deaths" could have been prevented if people had cared more about their own lives and the lives of others. Accidental deaths for example could be a drug overdose or speeding.
Let's now go through the verses where God is accused of genocide...
1.) The Promised Land conquered by genocide
Deuteronomy 7:1-2 "When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy, and he clears away many nations before you—the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations mightier and more numerous than you— and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy."
Answer: These Tribes that were destroyed were Pagan, Idolaters. Much bigger Nations, as well, they could easily destroy the Israelites. Or if the Israelites would have lived among these Pagans, they would have corrupted the Israelites with their Idolatry, because these Tribes would kill anyone who wasn't Polytheistic.
2.) Dear God, please let us slaughter them all
Numbers 21:2-3 "Then Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, 'If you will indeed give this people into our hands, then we will utterly destroy their towns.' The Lord listened to the voice of Israel, and handed over the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their towns; so the place was called Hormah." ("Hormah" means "Destruction.")
Answer: Canaanites again, a demon-possessed, hard-hearted, unredeemable people. Who would only kill Israelites, as it says in Verse 1 that you conveniently left out. When the King of the Canaanites heard Israel was approaching in their travels, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.
Numbers 21:1 ~ And [when] king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took [some] of them prisoners.
Taking them as prisoners when just passing through, yeah, I'd label that as Self-Defense. If your loved-one traveled through somewhere, wouldn't you fight against the kidnapper?
3.) If they don't surrender, annihilate them
Deuteronomy 20:10-19 "When you draw near to a town to fight against it, offer it terms of peace. If it accepts your terms of peace and surrenders to you, then all the people in it shall serve you at forced labor. If it does not submit to you peacefully, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it; And when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword. You may, however, take as your booty the women, the children, livestock, and everything else in the town, all its spoil. You may enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God has given you. Thus you shall treat all the towns that are very far from you, which are not towns of the nations here. But as for the towns of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not let anything that breathes remain alive. You shall annihilate them—the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites—just as the Lord your God has commanded . . . If you besiege a town for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. Although you may take food from them, you must not cut them down. Are trees in the field human beings that they should come under siege from you? (Kill all the people but not the poor trees! "Are the trees human?")
Answer: Once again the Pagan tribes of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites... Who would attack and kill the Israelites because of their strange beliefs of Monotheism. Israelites suffered persecution, so... The Lord said to offer these tribes a peace treaty first, if they don't want peace, defend yourselves.
As for the trees, they are not human (says so in Verse 19) but they are living. If you are going to war with another Nation to besiege it, why kill the trees that would be your source of food? Stupid and reckless to kill resources, that is what God said in Verse 19 and 20. Only trees that do not bear produce may be taken down. Common sense.
19 If you besiege a city for a long time while attempting to capture it, you must not chop down its trees, for you may eat fruit from them and should not cut them down. A tree in the field is not human that you should besiege it!
20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they [be] not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.
4.) Not a single survivor
Deuteronomy 2:32-34 "So when Sihon came out against us, he and all his people for battle at Jahaz, the Lord our God gave him over to us; and we struck him down, along with his offspring and all his people. At that time we captured all his towns, and in each town we utterly destroyed men, women, and children. We left not a single survivor."
Answer: Again... I love how you conveniently kept Verse 26 out, offering peace treaty before engagement. 26 ~ "And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,"
They wanted peace, to pass by but King of Heshbon had a hardened heart against the monotheist Israelites. Sihon came out against Israel, not the other way around, it was an act of Self-Defense on Israel's part. But why women and children? They were polytheistic as well, you do not stop someone from devout practices that have been tradition, idolatry is a generational curse a lot of the time and these women and children would only plot revenge for the murder of their father's and husband's if left alive, the emotional pain would only attract demons. God knows when people's souls are redeemable.
5.) 20 million people killed
Genesis 6:6-8 "And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, 'I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord."
Answer: The Worldwide Flood... Now we know that the majority of this world was wicked... Bloodthirsty, sexually immoral, raping, stealing, baby sacrificing, etc. They only made the world corrupt and unhappy to live in. The majority population was unredeemable, they had sold their souls to their demon gods, a polytheistic religion and had forgotten God. YHVH was fair, He could have destroyed everyone to put an end to this heartache, but Noah was righteous, so God was fair and just.
I'd like to point out two things through my study of Eastern Philosophy, Spiritual Law and Science... There are studies by Dr. Emoto... This is Science through observation and repeated experiments... The Rice Experiment is just one of similar experiments of study of energy is emotion, the study conducts of saying negative things to one jar of rice and positive things to another jar of rice... The rice with negative things said to it rotted quicker. Proving such a thing as "vibes" energy affecting a person. Now think about this experiment on a much bigger scale... If a lot of negative emotion/energy or sin builds up in the world... Could this be a result of a Worldwide Flood, a Spiritual Defense Mechanism Earth has to purify herself automatically.
To add, even other polytheistic Pagan religions do not deny a Worldwide Flood in their History. A Worldwide Flood has been recorded not only by the Israelites, but as well as... Chinese, Hawaiian, Mayan, etc.
6.) The Lord handed them over for utter destruction
Deuteronomy 3:3-6 "So the Lord our God also handed over to us King Og of Bashan and all his people. We struck him down until not a single survivor was left. At that time we captured all his towns; there was no citadel that we did not take from them—sixty towns, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these were fortress towns with high walls, double gates, and bars, besides a great many villages. And we utterly destroyed them, as we had done to King Sihon of Heshbon, in each city utterly destroying men, women, and children. But all the livestock and the plunder of the towns we kept as spoil for ourselves."
Answer: First let's see who King Og is... Verse 11~ "For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead [was] a bedstead of iron; [is] it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits [was] the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man."
He's a giant, a Nephilim. Half-human, half-demon... Yeah, a partial demon is safe to be assumed is unredeemable. All his towns were giant territory.
7.) Amalekites cursed . . .
Deuteronomy 25:17-19 "Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way, when you were faint and weary, and struck down all who lagged behind you; he did not fear God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies on every hand, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; do not forget."
and
Amalekites destroyed
1 Samuel 15:7-8 "Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword."
Answer: The Amalekites were Pagan, and as it reads they attacked Israel in their journey, and so they would be attacked. Their unjust action coming back on them is called "karma" or "reaping what they sow." This wouldn't have happened to them if they were peaceable.
8.) Near-complete genocide, keeping young virgins as "war booty."
Numbers 31:7-40 "They did battle against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male. . . . The Israelites took the women of Midian and their little ones captive; and they took all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods as booty. . . . Moses said to them, "Have you allowed all the women to live? . . . Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him. But all the young girls who have not known a man by sleeping with him, keep alive for yourselves. . . . Then Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord had commanded Moses: The booty remaining from the spoil that the troops had taken totaled six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, seventy-two thousand oxen, sixty-one thousand donkeys, and thirty-two thousand persons in all, women who had not known a man by sleeping with him. The half-share, the portion of those who had gone out to war, was . . . sixteen thousand, of which the Lord's tribute was thirty-two persons."
Answer: Usually, these women who were to be the Lord's Tribute were to remain virgins the rest of their lives. As this is a common sacrifice Kings made, celibacy of their daughters. We see this in... Judges 11:35-39. Jephthah sacrificed his daughter's virginity.
As for the Midianites, Pagan and were the ones who sold Joseph to Egypt. They have been coming against Israel, so it was a Self-Defense action.
9.) Seven genocides in 13 verses
Joshua 10:28-40 "Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining. . . . Then Joshua passed on from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. The Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel; and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left no one remaining in it; . . . Next Joshua passed on from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and laid siege to it, and assaulted it. The Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he took it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah. Then King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, leaving him no survivors. From Lachish Joshua passed on with all Israel to Eglon; and they laid siege to it, and assaulted it; and they took it that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword; and every person in it he utterly destroyed that day, as he had done to Lachish. Then Joshua went up with all Israel from Eglon to Hebron; they assaulted it, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it; he left no one remaining, just as he had done to Eglon, and utterly destroyed it with every person in it. Then Joshua, with all Israel, turned back to Debir and assaulted it, and he took it with its king and all its towns; they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining; . . . So Joshua defeated the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings; he left no one remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded."
Answer: Let's go back a few verses... Joshua 10:3-4 ~ "Wherefore Adonizedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel."
Wow, would you look at that, a Self-Defense act. These kings were plotting and attacking Israel first... Joshua was just defending himself and his people, these were Pagan nations plotting against Israel.
10.) Death to Babylon
Jeremiah 50:18-27 "Go up to the land of Merathaim; go up against her, and attack the inhabitants of Pekod and utterly destroy the last of them, says the Lord; do all that I have commanded you."
Answer: Seriously? Babylon was a notorious evil Pagan city. Whore of Babylon, which is in truth referring to the Catholic Church, but all Pagan practices originated in Babylon. This city came against Israel all throughout Old Testament and especially in Jeremiah's time.
11.) Utterly destroy the "scoundrels" who worship other gods
Deuteronomy 13:12-15 "If you hear it said about one of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you to live in, that scoundrels from among you have gone out and led the inhabitants of the town astray, saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods,' whom you have not known, then you shall inquire and make a thorough investigation. If the charge is established that such an abhorrent thing has been done among you, you shall put the inhabitants of that town to the sword, utterly destroying it and everything in it—even putting its livestock to the sword."
Answer: "And led the inhabitants of the town astray..." Made the people fall into sin, and sin kills the soul. So these scoundrels killed the Israelites first.
12.) "Drink the blood"
Ezekiel 39:17-18 "As for you, mortal, thus says the Lord God: Speak to the birds of every kind and to all the wild animals: Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan."
Answer: This is why lack of Spiritual understanding is dangerous... What did Jesus say in Matthew 25:25-28? To eat the bread, His body. And to drink the wine, His blood. This is not literal. This is a reference in receiving Spiritual nourishment, Jesus' Spirit is nourishment to our souls like food. Jesus is God, Jesus is the Prince of Peace and Jesus is the Lamb.
13.) His sword is soaked with blood
Isaiah 34:5-7 "When my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, lo, it will descend upon Edom, upon the people I have doomed to judgment. The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood, it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Wild oxen shall fall with them, and young steers with the mighty bulls. Their land shall be soaked with blood, and their soil made rich with fat.
Answer: Remember God's sword is His Holy Word, the Bible as it states in Ephesians 6:17. Edomites were wicked, demon possessed people and God was ridding them of their demons to be judged. Demons only terrorize this world. Self-Defense, God was protecting His people from the Edomites.
14.) "My arrows are drunk with blood." Praise God!
Deuteronomy 32:39-43 "See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god besides me. I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; . . . I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh—with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired enemy. Praise, O heavens, his people, worship him, all you gods!"
Answer: "With the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired enemy. The blood of the slaughtered and captured, the chief of the enemy's leaders. Who could this be? Satan, Satan is the leader and Satan will be destroyed out of Self-Defense to protect God's people. Any of Satan's followers will go with him. They reap what they sow. God wishes for no one to perish, but some choose death.
15.) Blood required at your hand
Ezekiel 3:16,20 "At the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: . . . Again, if the righteous turn from their righteousness and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before them, they shall die; because you have not warned them, they shall die for their sin, and their righteous deeds that they have done shall not be remembered; but their blood I will require at your hand."
Answer: Thank you for this verse... They shall die for their sin, go to Hell because that is the second death. Wages of sin is Death. So if a Christian doesn't warn them they will die if they don't repent... Then the Christian is guilty, their blood is on our hands because didn't try to save them from sin. Ezekiel 3:18-19. Nice try taking it out of context.
16.) Blood shall pursue you
Ezekiel 35: 5-6 "Because you cherished an ancient enmity, and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment; therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed shall pursue you."
Answer: Since you did not hate bloodshed... So when God gave power to the Israelites to take down their enemies out of Self-Defense, the Israelites did not hate shedding blood, they loved it which they shouldn't have. Even if killing is unavoidable when trying to protect your own life, you should not enjoy killing. This is what God hates, blood-thirst.
17.) Incest blood
Leviticus 20:11-12 "'If a man has sexual relations with his father's wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, both of them are to be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads."
Homosexual blood
Leviticus 20:13 "If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
Bestiality blood
Leviticus 20:16 "If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
Medium blood
Leviticus 20:27 "A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads."
Don't dis Dad
Leviticus 20:9 "Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head."
Answer: Let's remember Ezekiel 3:18-19... how if you don't stop sinning you have your own blood on your hands, spiritual suicide. And let's remember Romans 6:23... Wages of sin is death and all these verses above is talking about death to sinners. All these are sins and their soul's will die in Hell. If Israel took it literally that is their shortcoming... If God wanted sinners to be stoned, why did God stop the Pharisees from stoning the Adulterous woman in John 8:7...?
18.) King David's last words, spoken to his son Solomon
1 Kings 2:9 "But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood."
Answer: First of all this is David speaking and second of all out of context... Who is he talking about? Let's read back a bit...
1 Kings 2:5 ~ "You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me - how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet."
Attacking while in peacetime...
1 Kings 2:8 ~ "Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim. He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promised him by the LORD, 'I will not strike you down with the sword.'"
He doesn't sound nice either... So, this is David speaking and only God knows if David was speaking out of a revengeful heart or merely out of Self-Defense and concern for his Kingdom and his son.
19.) Slaughter without mercy
Lamentation 2:17-22 "The Lord has done what he purposed, he has carried out his threat; as he ordained long ago, he has demolished without pity . . . The young and the old are lying on the ground in the streets; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; in the day of your anger you have killed them, slaughtering without mercy. You invited my enemies from all around as if for a day of festival; and on the day of the anger of the Lord no one escaped or survived."
Answer: And what was Israel doing to anger God? Killing their own souls by worshipping other gods, raping, baby sacrifice, etc. they had taken on Pagan practices that were damaging their own souls and that makes God hurt because He doesn't want to see His children hurting themselves. They were unredeemable, it's like shooting a rabid dog. Hopeless.
20.) Death for hitting your parents
Exodus 21:15 "Whoever strikes father or mother shall be put to death."
Death for fornication
Leviticus 21:9 "When the daughter of a priest profanes herself through prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned to death."
Death for adultery
Leviticus 20:10 "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death."
Death for disobeying the clergy
Deuteronomy 17:12 "As for anyone who presumes to disobey the priest appointed to minister there to the Lord your God, or the judge, that person shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Israel."
Death to nonbelievers
2 Chronicles 15:13 "Whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman."
Death to other religious followers
Exodus 22:20 "Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction."
Death for blasphemy
Leviticus 24:13-14 "The Lord said to Moses, saying: Take the blasphemer outside the camp; and let all who were within hearing lay their hands on his head, and let the whole congregation stone him."
Death to false prophets
Deuteronomy 18:20 "But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die."
Death to any non-Levite who approaches the Tabernacle
Numbers 1:51 "When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And any outsider who comes near shall be put to death."
Death to any woman who is not a virgin on her wedding night
Deuteronomy 22:20-21 "If, however, this charge is true, that evidence of the young woman's virginity was not found, then they shall bring the young woman out to the entrance of her father's house and the men of her town shall stone her to death, because she committed a disgraceful act in Israel by prostituting herself in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst."
Death to children of those hostile to God
Leviticus 26:21-22 "If you continue hostile to me, and will not obey me, I will continue to plague you sevenfold for your sins. I will let loose wild animals against you, and they shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock; they shall make you few in number, and your roads shall be deserted."
Death to a whole town that worships another god
Deuteronomy 13:12-16 "If you hear it said about one of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you to live in, that scoundrels from among you have gone out and led the inhabitants of the town astray, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods," whom you have not known, then you shall inquire and make a thorough investigation. If the charge is established that such an abhorrent thing has been done among you, you shall put the inhabitants of that town to the sword, utterly destroying it and everything in it—even putting its livestock to the sword. All of its spoil you shall gather into its public square; then burn the town and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall remain a perpetual ruin, never to be rebuilt."
Death to Babylon
Jeremiah 50:18-27 "Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land . . . Go up to the land of Merathaim; go up against her, and attack the inhabitants of Pekod and utterly destroy the last of them, says the Lord; do all that I have commanded you. The noise of battle is in the land, and great destruction! . . . The Lord has opened his armory, and brought out the weapons of his wrath . . . pile her up like heaps of grain, and destroy her utterly; let nothing be left of her. . . . Alas for them, their day has come, the time of their punishment!"
Death to the Assyrians
2 Kings 19:35 "That very night the angel of the Lord set out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; when morning dawned, they were all dead bodies."
Death to the prophets of Baal
1 Kings 18:39-40 "When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, 'The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.' Elijah said to them, 'Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.' Then they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and killed them there."
Answer: I'm just going to repeat my answer from earlier... Answer: Let's remember Ezekiel 3:18-19... how if you don't stop sinning you have your own blood on your hands, spiritual suicide. And let's remember Romans 6:23... Wages of sin is death and all these verses above is talking about death to sinners. All these are sins and their soul's will die in Hell. If Israel took it literally that is their shortcoming... If God wanted sinners to be stoned why did God stop the Pharisees from stoning the Adulterous woman in John 8:7...?
Do you even realize who Baal is? He is a high ranking demon of Hell, Babylon worshipped him and brought more sin into the world. Destruction. And as for going close to Tabernacle... Just like with Ark of the Covenant... This had a very Holy presence of God... His spiritual or presence is so great it can destroy the human body.
21.) Death in the streets
Ezekiel 9:5-6 "To the others he [God] said in my hearing, 'Pass through the city after him, and kill; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Cut down old men, young men and young women, little children and women, but touch no one who has the mark'."
Answer: Touch no one who has the mark... Hmmm... Mark of the Beast? 666? Probably, spiritual mark. Tells us they serve Satan.
22.) Kill your brothers and friends to get a blessing
Exodus 32:27-29 "He [Moses] said to them, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, "Put your sword on your side, each of you! Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor".' The sons of Levi did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand of the people fell on that day. Moses said, 'Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day'."
Answer: Matthew 10:36-37 ~ "And a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
Meaning... When you refuse to celebrate Christmas or Easter because they are in truth, Pagan Holidays and your family gets angry and tries to pressure you... You still choose Christ, not to celebrate. When you go out on the street to Preach the Gospel like the Apostles and your family discourages you and tells you to stay home with them and sin... You choose Christ and go out and save souls. And if ever you choose family, friends to make them happy by sinning with them... You are not worthy of Christ.
23.) Death by impalement to those who happen to worship the wrong god
Numbers 25:4-5 "The Lord said to Moses, 'Take all the chiefs of the people, and impale them in the sun before the Lord, in order that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.' And Moses said to the judges of Israel, 'Each of you shall kill any of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor'."
Answer: If you were yoked with Baal, who is a very high ranking Babylonian demon-god then most likely they were already unredeemable. They would sacrifice babies to Baal. Not ideal neighbors.
24.) Kill man, woman, child and infant
1 Samuel 15:3 "Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey'."
Answer: So this referring to children... The children attacked, killed in the enemy Pagan Nations destroyed by Israel... What would have become of these children if they were allowed to live? They would have continued to practice Pagan rituals that are demonic, destroying their own souls and they would have wished to seek revenge against Israel for the death of their fathers. So... Kill these children when they grow into adults would be worst because they will grow up to follow demonic traditions guaranteed... Ending themselves up in Hell. But if killed young while they are innocent... They can go to Heaven.
25.) Ezekiel 5:10 "Surely, parents shall eat their children in your midst, and children shall eat their parents; I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to every wind."
Answer: Let's get something straight... God isn't commanding them to eat their own children, but on the contrary is rebuking them for it. Cannibalism is obviously demonic, something extreme Pagans and Satanists would do... They are told if they continue down the path of the demonic that this is what will become of them, eating their own children.
First, let's get a good grasp of the Sixth Commandment...
"Ratsach", like many other words, has a wide range of meaning, and thus its meaning in a particular verse must be determined from both the immediate and remoter contexts. Thankfully, the Bible has a lot to say about murder, manslaughter, the execution of criminals and killing in war, and it is easy to tell by studying all the verses on the subject that the Sixth Commandment means not to take a life unjustly.
Sixth Commandment was not a prohibition against all killing, only unauthorized killing. The Lord authorized on a lot of circumstances. "You shall not murder" or "You shall not kill unjustly" would be a better translation. Ratsach means to... Murder, Kill, Avenger, Accidental, Premeditated, Assassinate.
Murder... The Merriam Webster Definition for Murder is: The crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought... Focus on "unlawful", "aforethought/premeditated" and "malice".
And Remember what God Jesus said, Whoever hates his brother in his heart committed murder in his heart. The hate, the jealousy, the bloodlust is murder.
Avenger... Because it is not for Self-Defense reasoning, but because of hatred and desire for revenge.
Premeditated... Also out of revenge/hatred most of the time since premeditated murder is plotted before ahead of time. Suicide is also thought about before it is done, hating oneself and ones life. This goes the same for Assassination since plotted ahead of time and usually is for money. God hates the love of money. 1 Timothy 6:10.
Accidental... A quick study of news and the history of mankind will clearly show that a lot of "accidental deaths" could have been prevented if people had cared more about their own lives and the lives of others. Accidental deaths for example could be a drug overdose or speeding.
Let's now go through the verses where God is accused of genocide...
1.) The Promised Land conquered by genocide
Deuteronomy 7:1-2 "When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy, and he clears away many nations before you—the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations mightier and more numerous than you— and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy."
Answer: These Tribes that were destroyed were Pagan, Idolaters. Much bigger Nations, as well, they could easily destroy the Israelites. Or if the Israelites would have lived among these Pagans, they would have corrupted the Israelites with their Idolatry, because these Tribes would kill anyone who wasn't Polytheistic.
2.) Dear God, please let us slaughter them all
Numbers 21:2-3 "Then Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, 'If you will indeed give this people into our hands, then we will utterly destroy their towns.' The Lord listened to the voice of Israel, and handed over the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their towns; so the place was called Hormah." ("Hormah" means "Destruction.")
Answer: Canaanites again, a demon-possessed, hard-hearted, unredeemable people. Who would only kill Israelites, as it says in Verse 1 that you conveniently left out. When the King of the Canaanites heard Israel was approaching in their travels, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.
Numbers 21:1 ~ And [when] king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took [some] of them prisoners.
Taking them as prisoners when just passing through, yeah, I'd label that as Self-Defense. If your loved-one traveled through somewhere, wouldn't you fight against the kidnapper?
3.) If they don't surrender, annihilate them
Deuteronomy 20:10-19 "When you draw near to a town to fight against it, offer it terms of peace. If it accepts your terms of peace and surrenders to you, then all the people in it shall serve you at forced labor. If it does not submit to you peacefully, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it; And when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword. You may, however, take as your booty the women, the children, livestock, and everything else in the town, all its spoil. You may enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God has given you. Thus you shall treat all the towns that are very far from you, which are not towns of the nations here. But as for the towns of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not let anything that breathes remain alive. You shall annihilate them—the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites—just as the Lord your God has commanded . . . If you besiege a town for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. Although you may take food from them, you must not cut them down. Are trees in the field human beings that they should come under siege from you? (Kill all the people but not the poor trees! "Are the trees human?")
Answer: Once again the Pagan tribes of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites... Who would attack and kill the Israelites because of their strange beliefs of Monotheism. Israelites suffered persecution, so... The Lord said to offer these tribes a peace treaty first, if they don't want peace, defend yourselves.
As for the trees, they are not human (says so in Verse 19) but they are living. If you are going to war with another Nation to besiege it, why kill the trees that would be your source of food? Stupid and reckless to kill resources, that is what God said in Verse 19 and 20. Only trees that do not bear produce may be taken down. Common sense.
19 If you besiege a city for a long time while attempting to capture it, you must not chop down its trees, for you may eat fruit from them and should not cut them down. A tree in the field is not human that you should besiege it!
20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they [be] not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.
4.) Not a single survivor
Deuteronomy 2:32-34 "So when Sihon came out against us, he and all his people for battle at Jahaz, the Lord our God gave him over to us; and we struck him down, along with his offspring and all his people. At that time we captured all his towns, and in each town we utterly destroyed men, women, and children. We left not a single survivor."
Answer: Again... I love how you conveniently kept Verse 26 out, offering peace treaty before engagement. 26 ~ "And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,"
They wanted peace, to pass by but King of Heshbon had a hardened heart against the monotheist Israelites. Sihon came out against Israel, not the other way around, it was an act of Self-Defense on Israel's part. But why women and children? They were polytheistic as well, you do not stop someone from devout practices that have been tradition, idolatry is a generational curse a lot of the time and these women and children would only plot revenge for the murder of their father's and husband's if left alive, the emotional pain would only attract demons. God knows when people's souls are redeemable.
5.) 20 million people killed
Genesis 6:6-8 "And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, 'I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord."
Answer: The Worldwide Flood... Now we know that the majority of this world was wicked... Bloodthirsty, sexually immoral, raping, stealing, baby sacrificing, etc. They only made the world corrupt and unhappy to live in. The majority population was unredeemable, they had sold their souls to their demon gods, a polytheistic religion and had forgotten God. YHVH was fair, He could have destroyed everyone to put an end to this heartache, but Noah was righteous, so God was fair and just.
I'd like to point out two things through my study of Eastern Philosophy, Spiritual Law and Science... There are studies by Dr. Emoto... This is Science through observation and repeated experiments... The Rice Experiment is just one of similar experiments of study of energy is emotion, the study conducts of saying negative things to one jar of rice and positive things to another jar of rice... The rice with negative things said to it rotted quicker. Proving such a thing as "vibes" energy affecting a person. Now think about this experiment on a much bigger scale... If a lot of negative emotion/energy or sin builds up in the world... Could this be a result of a Worldwide Flood, a Spiritual Defense Mechanism Earth has to purify herself automatically.
To add, even other polytheistic Pagan religions do not deny a Worldwide Flood in their History. A Worldwide Flood has been recorded not only by the Israelites, but as well as... Chinese, Hawaiian, Mayan, etc.
6.) The Lord handed them over for utter destruction
Deuteronomy 3:3-6 "So the Lord our God also handed over to us King Og of Bashan and all his people. We struck him down until not a single survivor was left. At that time we captured all his towns; there was no citadel that we did not take from them—sixty towns, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these were fortress towns with high walls, double gates, and bars, besides a great many villages. And we utterly destroyed them, as we had done to King Sihon of Heshbon, in each city utterly destroying men, women, and children. But all the livestock and the plunder of the towns we kept as spoil for ourselves."
Answer: First let's see who King Og is... Verse 11~ "For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead [was] a bedstead of iron; [is] it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits [was] the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man."
He's a giant, a Nephilim. Half-human, half-demon... Yeah, a partial demon is safe to be assumed is unredeemable. All his towns were giant territory.
7.) Amalekites cursed . . .
Deuteronomy 25:17-19 "Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way, when you were faint and weary, and struck down all who lagged behind you; he did not fear God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies on every hand, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; do not forget."
and
Amalekites destroyed
1 Samuel 15:7-8 "Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword."
Answer: The Amalekites were Pagan, and as it reads they attacked Israel in their journey, and so they would be attacked. Their unjust action coming back on them is called "karma" or "reaping what they sow." This wouldn't have happened to them if they were peaceable.
8.) Near-complete genocide, keeping young virgins as "war booty."
Numbers 31:7-40 "They did battle against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male. . . . The Israelites took the women of Midian and their little ones captive; and they took all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods as booty. . . . Moses said to them, "Have you allowed all the women to live? . . . Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him. But all the young girls who have not known a man by sleeping with him, keep alive for yourselves. . . . Then Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord had commanded Moses: The booty remaining from the spoil that the troops had taken totaled six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, seventy-two thousand oxen, sixty-one thousand donkeys, and thirty-two thousand persons in all, women who had not known a man by sleeping with him. The half-share, the portion of those who had gone out to war, was . . . sixteen thousand, of which the Lord's tribute was thirty-two persons."
Answer: Usually, these women who were to be the Lord's Tribute were to remain virgins the rest of their lives. As this is a common sacrifice Kings made, celibacy of their daughters. We see this in... Judges 11:35-39. Jephthah sacrificed his daughter's virginity.
As for the Midianites, Pagan and were the ones who sold Joseph to Egypt. They have been coming against Israel, so it was a Self-Defense action.
9.) Seven genocides in 13 verses
Joshua 10:28-40 "Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining. . . . Then Joshua passed on from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. The Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel; and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left no one remaining in it; . . . Next Joshua passed on from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and laid siege to it, and assaulted it. The Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he took it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah. Then King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, leaving him no survivors. From Lachish Joshua passed on with all Israel to Eglon; and they laid siege to it, and assaulted it; and they took it that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword; and every person in it he utterly destroyed that day, as he had done to Lachish. Then Joshua went up with all Israel from Eglon to Hebron; they assaulted it, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it; he left no one remaining, just as he had done to Eglon, and utterly destroyed it with every person in it. Then Joshua, with all Israel, turned back to Debir and assaulted it, and he took it with its king and all its towns; they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining; . . . So Joshua defeated the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings; he left no one remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded."
Answer: Let's go back a few verses... Joshua 10:3-4 ~ "Wherefore Adonizedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel."
Wow, would you look at that, a Self-Defense act. These kings were plotting and attacking Israel first... Joshua was just defending himself and his people, these were Pagan nations plotting against Israel.
10.) Death to Babylon
Jeremiah 50:18-27 "Go up to the land of Merathaim; go up against her, and attack the inhabitants of Pekod and utterly destroy the last of them, says the Lord; do all that I have commanded you."
Answer: Seriously? Babylon was a notorious evil Pagan city. Whore of Babylon, which is in truth referring to the Catholic Church, but all Pagan practices originated in Babylon. This city came against Israel all throughout Old Testament and especially in Jeremiah's time.
11.) Utterly destroy the "scoundrels" who worship other gods
Deuteronomy 13:12-15 "If you hear it said about one of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you to live in, that scoundrels from among you have gone out and led the inhabitants of the town astray, saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods,' whom you have not known, then you shall inquire and make a thorough investigation. If the charge is established that such an abhorrent thing has been done among you, you shall put the inhabitants of that town to the sword, utterly destroying it and everything in it—even putting its livestock to the sword."
Answer: "And led the inhabitants of the town astray..." Made the people fall into sin, and sin kills the soul. So these scoundrels killed the Israelites first.
12.) "Drink the blood"
Ezekiel 39:17-18 "As for you, mortal, thus says the Lord God: Speak to the birds of every kind and to all the wild animals: Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan."
Answer: This is why lack of Spiritual understanding is dangerous... What did Jesus say in Matthew 25:25-28? To eat the bread, His body. And to drink the wine, His blood. This is not literal. This is a reference in receiving Spiritual nourishment, Jesus' Spirit is nourishment to our souls like food. Jesus is God, Jesus is the Prince of Peace and Jesus is the Lamb.
13.) His sword is soaked with blood
Isaiah 34:5-7 "When my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, lo, it will descend upon Edom, upon the people I have doomed to judgment. The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood, it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Wild oxen shall fall with them, and young steers with the mighty bulls. Their land shall be soaked with blood, and their soil made rich with fat.
Answer: Remember God's sword is His Holy Word, the Bible as it states in Ephesians 6:17. Edomites were wicked, demon possessed people and God was ridding them of their demons to be judged. Demons only terrorize this world. Self-Defense, God was protecting His people from the Edomites.
14.) "My arrows are drunk with blood." Praise God!
Deuteronomy 32:39-43 "See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god besides me. I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; . . . I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh—with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired enemy. Praise, O heavens, his people, worship him, all you gods!"
Answer: "With the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired enemy. The blood of the slaughtered and captured, the chief of the enemy's leaders. Who could this be? Satan, Satan is the leader and Satan will be destroyed out of Self-Defense to protect God's people. Any of Satan's followers will go with him. They reap what they sow. God wishes for no one to perish, but some choose death.
15.) Blood required at your hand
Ezekiel 3:16,20 "At the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: . . . Again, if the righteous turn from their righteousness and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before them, they shall die; because you have not warned them, they shall die for their sin, and their righteous deeds that they have done shall not be remembered; but their blood I will require at your hand."
Answer: Thank you for this verse... They shall die for their sin, go to Hell because that is the second death. Wages of sin is Death. So if a Christian doesn't warn them they will die if they don't repent... Then the Christian is guilty, their blood is on our hands because didn't try to save them from sin. Ezekiel 3:18-19. Nice try taking it out of context.
16.) Blood shall pursue you
Ezekiel 35: 5-6 "Because you cherished an ancient enmity, and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment; therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed shall pursue you."
Answer: Since you did not hate bloodshed... So when God gave power to the Israelites to take down their enemies out of Self-Defense, the Israelites did not hate shedding blood, they loved it which they shouldn't have. Even if killing is unavoidable when trying to protect your own life, you should not enjoy killing. This is what God hates, blood-thirst.
17.) Incest blood
Leviticus 20:11-12 "'If a man has sexual relations with his father's wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, both of them are to be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads."
Homosexual blood
Leviticus 20:13 "If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
Bestiality blood
Leviticus 20:16 "If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
Medium blood
Leviticus 20:27 "A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads."
Don't dis Dad
Leviticus 20:9 "Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head."
Answer: Let's remember Ezekiel 3:18-19... how if you don't stop sinning you have your own blood on your hands, spiritual suicide. And let's remember Romans 6:23... Wages of sin is death and all these verses above is talking about death to sinners. All these are sins and their soul's will die in Hell. If Israel took it literally that is their shortcoming... If God wanted sinners to be stoned, why did God stop the Pharisees from stoning the Adulterous woman in John 8:7...?
18.) King David's last words, spoken to his son Solomon
1 Kings 2:9 "But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood."
Answer: First of all this is David speaking and second of all out of context... Who is he talking about? Let's read back a bit...
1 Kings 2:5 ~ "You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me - how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet."
Attacking while in peacetime...
1 Kings 2:8 ~ "Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim. He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promised him by the LORD, 'I will not strike you down with the sword.'"
He doesn't sound nice either... So, this is David speaking and only God knows if David was speaking out of a revengeful heart or merely out of Self-Defense and concern for his Kingdom and his son.
19.) Slaughter without mercy
Lamentation 2:17-22 "The Lord has done what he purposed, he has carried out his threat; as he ordained long ago, he has demolished without pity . . . The young and the old are lying on the ground in the streets; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; in the day of your anger you have killed them, slaughtering without mercy. You invited my enemies from all around as if for a day of festival; and on the day of the anger of the Lord no one escaped or survived."
Answer: And what was Israel doing to anger God? Killing their own souls by worshipping other gods, raping, baby sacrifice, etc. they had taken on Pagan practices that were damaging their own souls and that makes God hurt because He doesn't want to see His children hurting themselves. They were unredeemable, it's like shooting a rabid dog. Hopeless.
20.) Death for hitting your parents
Exodus 21:15 "Whoever strikes father or mother shall be put to death."
Death for fornication
Leviticus 21:9 "When the daughter of a priest profanes herself through prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned to death."
Death for adultery
Leviticus 20:10 "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death."
Death for disobeying the clergy
Deuteronomy 17:12 "As for anyone who presumes to disobey the priest appointed to minister there to the Lord your God, or the judge, that person shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Israel."
Death to nonbelievers
2 Chronicles 15:13 "Whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman."
Death to other religious followers
Exodus 22:20 "Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction."
Death for blasphemy
Leviticus 24:13-14 "The Lord said to Moses, saying: Take the blasphemer outside the camp; and let all who were within hearing lay their hands on his head, and let the whole congregation stone him."
Death to false prophets
Deuteronomy 18:20 "But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die."
Death to any non-Levite who approaches the Tabernacle
Numbers 1:51 "When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And any outsider who comes near shall be put to death."
Death to any woman who is not a virgin on her wedding night
Deuteronomy 22:20-21 "If, however, this charge is true, that evidence of the young woman's virginity was not found, then they shall bring the young woman out to the entrance of her father's house and the men of her town shall stone her to death, because she committed a disgraceful act in Israel by prostituting herself in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst."
Death to children of those hostile to God
Leviticus 26:21-22 "If you continue hostile to me, and will not obey me, I will continue to plague you sevenfold for your sins. I will let loose wild animals against you, and they shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock; they shall make you few in number, and your roads shall be deserted."
Death to a whole town that worships another god
Deuteronomy 13:12-16 "If you hear it said about one of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you to live in, that scoundrels from among you have gone out and led the inhabitants of the town astray, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods," whom you have not known, then you shall inquire and make a thorough investigation. If the charge is established that such an abhorrent thing has been done among you, you shall put the inhabitants of that town to the sword, utterly destroying it and everything in it—even putting its livestock to the sword. All of its spoil you shall gather into its public square; then burn the town and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall remain a perpetual ruin, never to be rebuilt."
Death to Babylon
Jeremiah 50:18-27 "Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land . . . Go up to the land of Merathaim; go up against her, and attack the inhabitants of Pekod and utterly destroy the last of them, says the Lord; do all that I have commanded you. The noise of battle is in the land, and great destruction! . . . The Lord has opened his armory, and brought out the weapons of his wrath . . . pile her up like heaps of grain, and destroy her utterly; let nothing be left of her. . . . Alas for them, their day has come, the time of their punishment!"
Death to the Assyrians
2 Kings 19:35 "That very night the angel of the Lord set out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; when morning dawned, they were all dead bodies."
Death to the prophets of Baal
1 Kings 18:39-40 "When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, 'The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.' Elijah said to them, 'Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.' Then they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and killed them there."
Answer: I'm just going to repeat my answer from earlier... Answer: Let's remember Ezekiel 3:18-19... how if you don't stop sinning you have your own blood on your hands, spiritual suicide. And let's remember Romans 6:23... Wages of sin is death and all these verses above is talking about death to sinners. All these are sins and their soul's will die in Hell. If Israel took it literally that is their shortcoming... If God wanted sinners to be stoned why did God stop the Pharisees from stoning the Adulterous woman in John 8:7...?
Do you even realize who Baal is? He is a high ranking demon of Hell, Babylon worshipped him and brought more sin into the world. Destruction. And as for going close to Tabernacle... Just like with Ark of the Covenant... This had a very Holy presence of God... His spiritual or presence is so great it can destroy the human body.
21.) Death in the streets
Ezekiel 9:5-6 "To the others he [God] said in my hearing, 'Pass through the city after him, and kill; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Cut down old men, young men and young women, little children and women, but touch no one who has the mark'."
Answer: Touch no one who has the mark... Hmmm... Mark of the Beast? 666? Probably, spiritual mark. Tells us they serve Satan.
22.) Kill your brothers and friends to get a blessing
Exodus 32:27-29 "He [Moses] said to them, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, "Put your sword on your side, each of you! Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor".' The sons of Levi did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand of the people fell on that day. Moses said, 'Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day'."
Answer: Matthew 10:36-37 ~ "And a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
Meaning... When you refuse to celebrate Christmas or Easter because they are in truth, Pagan Holidays and your family gets angry and tries to pressure you... You still choose Christ, not to celebrate. When you go out on the street to Preach the Gospel like the Apostles and your family discourages you and tells you to stay home with them and sin... You choose Christ and go out and save souls. And if ever you choose family, friends to make them happy by sinning with them... You are not worthy of Christ.
23.) Death by impalement to those who happen to worship the wrong god
Numbers 25:4-5 "The Lord said to Moses, 'Take all the chiefs of the people, and impale them in the sun before the Lord, in order that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.' And Moses said to the judges of Israel, 'Each of you shall kill any of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor'."
Answer: If you were yoked with Baal, who is a very high ranking Babylonian demon-god then most likely they were already unredeemable. They would sacrifice babies to Baal. Not ideal neighbors.
24.) Kill man, woman, child and infant
1 Samuel 15:3 "Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey'."
Answer: So this referring to children... The children attacked, killed in the enemy Pagan Nations destroyed by Israel... What would have become of these children if they were allowed to live? They would have continued to practice Pagan rituals that are demonic, destroying their own souls and they would have wished to seek revenge against Israel for the death of their fathers. So... Kill these children when they grow into adults would be worst because they will grow up to follow demonic traditions guaranteed... Ending themselves up in Hell. But if killed young while they are innocent... They can go to Heaven.
25.) Ezekiel 5:10 "Surely, parents shall eat their children in your midst, and children shall eat their parents; I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to every wind."
Answer: Let's get something straight... God isn't commanding them to eat their own children, but on the contrary is rebuking them for it. Cannibalism is obviously demonic, something extreme Pagans and Satanists would do... They are told if they continue down the path of the demonic that this is what will become of them, eating their own children.
PART 1 - CONTRADICTIONS DEBUNKED...…
So I got into a small via email debate with a famous Atheist known as Dan Barker who was once a Pastor. I debunked his book that George, (the famous atheist of Yonge & Dundas) recommended to me. I saw Dan Barker's faith was Lukewarm from the start and that he had false doctrine giving him a bad foundation of faith... Nothing to stand on... As Jesus says in, Luke 6:49. I contacted Dan Barker, to my surprise he replied twice. He attacks God by saying God contradicts Himself... Let's see if this is true...
CONTRADICTIONS DEBUNKED...
Losing Faith In Faith: From Preacher To Atheist by Dan Barker - Chapter 23.
1.) Should we kill? Exodus 20:13, Leviticus 24:17 vs. Exodus 32:27, 1 Samuel 6:19, 1 Samuel 15:2-8, Numbers 15:36, Hosea 13:16.
All of these were an act of Self-Defense, which is righteous. Also, I think many of the Israelites took God saying, "They will be put to death," literally, instead of Spiritually put to death.
Best example is the adulterous woman in John 8:1-11 where Jesus stops the Pharisees from stoning her, even though it was the Law of Moses, I trust God's own words, Jesus is God.
2.) Should we tell lies? Exodus 20:16, Proverbs 12:22 vs. 1 Kings 22:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:11
1 Kings 22:23 ~ 20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade [him], and prevail also: go forth, and do so."
So it seems a demon stepped forth to be a lying spirit to Ahab, the demon already had legal rights to Ahab's body because he was an evil king (1 Kings 16:30).
Some lying has shown to be justified... Lying to protect like the lie the Hebrew midwives tell Pharaoh seems to result in the Lord's blessing on them (Exodus 1:15-21), and it probably saved the lives of many Hebrew babies. Another example is Rahab's lie to protect the Israelite spies in Joshua 2:5. Again it's self-defense to save lives, lying for any other reason is sin.
3.) Should we steal? Exodus 20:15, Leviticus 19:13 vs. Exodus 3:22, Exodus 12:35-36, Luke 19:29-34.
Re: Exodus 3:22, Exodus 12:35... The Egyptians stole from the Israelites and treated them unfairly, they were taking back was theirs. But I do not believe they were "stealing" for it says "Borrow."
To steal is to acquire something of value from its rightful owner without consent; to borrow requires us to ask or beg for something, as the Israelites did.
Re: Luke 19:29... The Owners of the colt were Israelites and since they did not try to stop the Disciples, they let them take the colt thus having permission, not stealing. They were probably honored that their Lord used their colt to come into Jerusalem. To add, who were the people that told the rest of the city to welcome Jesus with palms? Most likely the owners of the colt that were the first to know Jesus was coming into Jerusalem.
4.) Shall we keep the sabbath? Exodus 20:8, Exodus 31:15, Numbers 15:32, 36 vs. Isaiah 1:13, John 5:16, Colossians 2:16
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy... Jesus, God Himself was persecuted for doing work on the Sabbath, His work was holy though. When it says do no work, in those days was to be reserved to be a Holy day. Being lazy, slothful isn't keeping the Sabbath Holy.
Mark 3:4 ~ And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
Luke 13:15 ~ The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
Jesus taught that we should do good on Sabbath. As the original commandment commanded to keep Sabbath Holy. If you don't do work to give water to your animals, they will die. Killing. And that's not Holy.
5.) Shall we make graven images? Exodus 20:4, Leviticus 26:1, Deuteronomy 27:15 vs. Exodus 25:18, 1 Kings 7:15-16, 23-25
"You shall not worship them or serve them." The command of God to not make images concerned objects of worship, not objects used for decorative or educational purposes as Exodus 25:18 and 1 Kings 7:15 was for. Not worship, but decorative and educational.
6.) Are we saved through works? Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:20,28, Galatians 2:16 vs. James 2:24, Matthew 19:16-21
We are not saved by Works, but are saved by Faith. Our Faith must be a Work-based Faith though, if we have True Faith we will do Works out of love for God. If the Holy Spirit dwells in you, you will produce works naturally.
Ephesians 2:10 ~ "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
7.) Should good works be seen? Matthew 5:16, I Peter 2:12 vs. Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 23:3-5
As it says in Matthew 23:5 ~ "But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,"
So do not do works to earn people's approval, but do work to earn God's approval. God sees all works, if doing works in public feeds the ego, it is better to do works in private. That is the teaching. This is to keep people humble.
8.) Should we own slaves? Leviticus 25:45-46, Genesis 9:25, Exodus 21:2-7, Joel 3:8, Luke 12:47-48, Colossians 3:22 vs. Isaiah 58:6, Matthew 23:10
Notice that slavery was okay in the beginning, but then the right to own slaves was taken away because Masters did not treat Slaves with compassion and fairness as God intended. Jeremiah 34:10. This is why in later Scripture slavery is abolished. Luke 12:47 was a parable; Jesus speaking in the Spiritual sense.
Re: Leviticus 25:45... Let's read down a little further down to Leviticus 25:53 ~ "[And] as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: [and the other] shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight."
So the first allowance to have slaves was to not treat them with rigour, not to treat them harshly.
9.) Does God change his mind? Malachi 3:6, Numbers 23:19, Ezekiel 24:14, James 1:17 vs. Exodus 32:14, Genesis 6:6-7, Jonah 3:10
Re: Genesis 6:6, Jonah 3:10, Exodus 32:14... These verses speak of the Lord "repenting" of something and seem to contradict the doctrine of God's immutability. However, close examination of these passages reveals that these are not truly indications that God is capable of changing. In the original language, the word that is translated as "repent" or "relent" is the Hebrew expression "to be sorry for." Being sorry for something does not mean that a change has occurred; it simply means there is regret for something that has taken place.
Consider Genesis 6:6: "…the LORD was grieved that He had made man on the earth." This verse even goes on to say "His heart was filled with pain." This verse declares that God had regret for creating man. However, obviously He did not reverse His decision. Instead, through Noah, He allowed man to continue to exist. The fact that we are alive today is proof that God did not change His mind about creating man. Also, the context of this passage is a description of the sinful state in which man was living, and it is man's sinfulness that triggered God's sorrow, not man's existence. Consider Jonah 3:10: "…He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened." Again, the same Hebrew word is used, which translates "to be sorry for." Why was God sorry for what He had planned for the Ninevites? Because they had a change in heart and as a result changed their ways from disobedience to obedience. God is entirely consistent. God was going to judge Nineveh because of its evil. However, Nineveh repented and changed its ways. As a result, God had mercy on Nineveh, which is entirely consistent with His character. God does not change, Humans change.
10.) Are we punished for our parents' sins?
Exodus 20:5, Exodus 34:6-7, I Corinthians 15:22 vs. Ezekiel 18:20, Deuteronomy 24:16
Keeping Exodus 20:5 in context, we notice right away that God is referring to the sin of idolatry. God considered idolatry to be an extremely treacherous betrayal of a sacred trust. Idolaters were traitors to God's theocracy. Idolatry had a way of ingraining itself in a culture. Children raised in such an environment would keep the tradition going and practice similar idolatry, thus falling into the established pattern of disobedience. The effect of one disobedient generation was that wickedness would take root so deeply that it took several generations to reverse.
The implication of Exodus 20:5 is that children are akin to their parents. A new generation will tend to repeat the sins of their fathers. Therefore, God "punishing the children" is simply another way of saying that the children are repeating the fathers' sins. The tendency to repeat the mistakes of history is especially strong in an idolatrous culture.
11.) Is God good or evil? Psalm 145:9, Deuteronomy 32:4 vs. Isaiah 45:7, Lamentations 3:38, Jeremiah 18:11, Ezekiel 20:25-26
"Evil" or "Ra" in Hebrew means, "Misfortune" or a Calamity, this isn't moral evil such as sin, but punishment for human wickedness, reaping what we sow or "Karma" as Eastern Philosophy would put it. If you do good, you have good happen. If you do bad, you have bad happen.
I also find it interesting the Hebrew word for "evil" is "Ra" whom Ra is an Egyptian god who was merged with the god Horus (who sliced off his mother's head, Isis) as Re-Horakhty ("Ra, who is Horus of the Two Horizons"). He was believed to rule in all parts of the created world: the sky, the earth, and the underworld. Take this as you will.
12.) Does God tempt people? James 1:13 vs. Genesis 22:1
In Genesis 22:1 when it says, "Tempt" it is the word, "Nacah" in Hebrew which means to, "Prove, try, test." Therefore, it was a test that God offered to Abraham, not a temptation to sin. God wouldn't have allowed Abraham to sin, God just wanted to see if Abraham was truly loyal.
13.) Is God peaceable? Romans 15:33, Isaiah 2:4 vs. Exodus 15:3, Joel 3:9-10
Yes, He is, but He goes to war against wickedness. If Hitler had not been defeated by World War II, how many more millions would have been killed? If a robber breaks into your home will you allow him to kill you or will you protect yourself and your family? It is obvious that God justifies Self-Defence, as these were the only reasons God was a warrior. He doesn't wish to kill, just as you wouldn't wish to kill... But you will for the sake of wife and children, I presume.
Hebrew word literally means "the intentional, premeditated killing of another person with malice; murder."
14.) Was Jesus peaceable? John 14:27, Acts 10:36, Luke 2:14 vs. Matthew 10:34, Luke 22:36
Refer to my previous response in point 14.) because Jesus is God.
15.) Was Jesus trustworthy? John 8:14 vs. John 5:31
Re: John 5:31... the context is Jesus speaking about how He depends upon the Father and how He is seeking the will of the Father. Jesus, however is the Father, Jesus has the Holy Spirit, but they count as witnesses. Jesus is reflecting on the Old Testament law that didn't allow the testimony of one person to condemn another to death. Two witnesses were needed to establish the fact.
John 8:14... He was speaking of being the light of the word and the Pharisees accused Him of bearing witness of Himself. Jesus was simply telling the truth that if He did, it would be true because He comes from the Father, He is the Father, all knowing. They were questioning God's own authority.
16.) Shall we call people names? Matthew 5:22 vs. Matthew 23:17, Psalm 14:1
When Jesus said in Matthew 5:22 that you should not call anyone a fool, He was speaking of those who were unrighteously angry. That is why Jesus mentions anger in this verse. There is a righteous anger which is not sinful (Ephesians 4:26). As well as unrighteous anger that is sinful (James 1:20).
When God is angry with someone, He is always righteous in His anger. Jesus, being God in flesh, can righteously be angry with people and pronounce upon them the foolishness of their deeds because it was truth. Also, undoubtedly, Jesus knew Psalm 14:1 which says, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God' . . ." Jesus didn't forget the well-known verse; and God is not wrong for calling someone a fool, the Pharisees because they didn't believe Jesus was God.
As a result, we see that the condemnation by Jesus regarding calling someone a fool is in the context of doing it out of unrighteous anger, which does not fit the later citations of Jesus labeling the hypocritical, cynical Pharisees as fools.
17.) Has anyone seen God? John 1:18, Exodus 33:20, John 6:46, I John 4:12 vs. Genesis 32:30, Exodus 33:11, Isaiah 6:1, Job 42:5
Re: Genesis 32:30... Jacob saw God appearing as an angel; he did not truly see God. Samson's parents were terrified when they realized they had seen God (Judges 13:22), but they had only seen Him appearing as an angel. Jesus was God in the flesh (John 1:1,14) so when people saw Him, they were seeing God. So, yes, God can be "seen" and many people have "seen" God. At the same time, no one has ever seen God revealed in all His glory. In our fallen human condition, if God were to fully reveal Himself to us, we would be consumed and destroyed because His spiritual frequency is so high for our senses to comprehend. A finite being cannot fully comprehend the presence of a infinite being. Therefore, God veils Himself and appears in forms in which we can "see" Him. So we've seen pieces of God's Spirit, but not His full Spirit. This is different than seeing God with all His glory and holiness displayed. People have seen visions of God, images of God, and appearances of God, but no one on Earth has ever seen God in all His fullness. As it reveals in Exodus 33, Moses seen the back of God, never the face of God or else His power would destroy us.
18.) How many Gods are there? Deuteronomy 6:4 vs. Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:22, I John 5:7
Okay... One. John 10:30 ~ "I and my Father are one."
Jesus throughout the New Testament reveals Himself to be God, the Father in flesh. "Emmanuel" meaning "God with us."
John 14:8-11 ~ "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake."
John 8:24 ~ "Thus I told you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins."
John 1:1-3 ~ "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
John 1:14 ~ "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
Jesus is the Creator of the Earth.. Colossians 1:16, John 1:3.
The Son is Holy, He has a Spirit that is Holy. The Father is Holy, He has a Spirit that is Holy. So both the Father and the Son are the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit, one Spirit. The Father had a piece of His Spirit go into Mary's womb and Jesus was born, God Himself.
Matthew 1:18 ~ "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost (Father)."
19.) Are we all sinners? Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10, Psalm 14:3 vs. Job 1:1, Genesis 7:1, Luke 1:6
Re: Romans 3:23... Doesn't that reveal the answer right there? Yes, Job was Righteous, many prophets and people in the Bible were described as Righteous because they strive after perfection, picking up their cross, denying their sin daily. Matthew 6:24. They were sinners, we all sin thus falling short of God because He has never sinned. We are called righteous when we give up our sin filled lives, consciously sinning and not caring if we sin... Changing to trying not to sin. The people who strive and try not to sin are called righteous even if they sinned in their past. Romans 6 is the best read on this. We are a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17.
20.) How old was Ahaziah? II Kings 8:26 vs. II Chronicles 22:2
He was 22 years old. Ahaziah's being "a son of 42 years" in his reigning is seen to refer to his being a son of the dynasty of Omri which was in its 42nd year. Putting the two Scriptures together reveals that Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began to reign during the 42nd year of the dynasty of Omri.
21.) Should we swear an oath? Numbers 30:2, Genesis 21:22-24,31, Hebrews 6:13-17, Genesis 22:15-19, Genesis 31:53, Judges 11:30-39 vs. Matthew 5:34-37, James 5:12
When Jesus admonished Believers not to swear at all in Matthew 5, His caution in verse 34-35 can be seen as a warning not to bring condemnation down on one's self by obligation to do something or to perform something that was impossible or improbable for a person to fulfill. People in Jesus' day went about swearing to all sorts of things which they then later failed to fulfill. The same is obviously true today. In addition, when a person swear's "by God" on an issue, what they are saying may be completely outside of what God's will is for a given situation.
The Lord's warning in verse 36 is different then His warning in verse 34-35 however. It is akin to taking what is commonly referred to as a "blood" oath. How do we know? Jesus says do not "swear by thou head." This is the type that occultists swear. It gives a sort of legal right for other humans (and demonic forces alike) to bring harm to you if you fail at keeping whatever it is you swear. More so, the moment you swear an oath, the penalty of which is your own life, you have sinned against God's word and are game for the Enemy's intrusion in your life circumstances. "Blood" oaths give the Devil spiritual authority to operate in a person's life. It is such oaths that have bound and brought deception, spiritual blindness and demonic curses into the lives and homes of Freemasons.
22.) When was Jesus crucified? Mark 15:25 vs. John 19:14-15
First off, John was using the Roman measurement of time when dealing with the crucifixion. Matthew, Mark, and Luke used the Hebrew system of measuring a day: from sundown to sunrise. The Roman system was from midnight to midnight, as we use Today in U.S.A.
So, if the sun comes up at 6am which would be the First Hour, 9am would be the Third Hour as Mark describes. This is when Jesus was crucified, 9am. This is according to Hebrew Time.
John, using Roman time said Jesus was before Pilate at the Sixth Hour, being 6am, add 6 hours from Midnight. So He was before Pilate at Sunrise and crucified at 9am. Remember, He went through floggings before Crucifixion.
23.) Shall we obey the law? I Peter 2:13, Matthew 22:21, Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1.
vs. Acts 5:29
Re: 1 Peter 2:13... It clearly reads "for the Lord's sake". If the ordinance is Godly, submit to it.
Re: Mathew 22:21... Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's... What really belongs to Caesar? The idolatry... The Money... The wickedness... Etc. That is not God's, but Caesar's.
Re: Romans 13:1-7... Ordained of God, yes. Not all Politicians/Government is ordained by God, but they come into power because of the demonic. It goes on to say in Verse 9 what to not do as Christians. God's Law is above man's Law, God's Law comes first to follow. We may not transgress that Law.
Re: Titus 3:1... Says right in the verse in question itself... To be ready to every "GOOD WORK". The laws of God... Good works.
God has written His law on our hearts (Romans 2:15) but it is man's self-righteousness that gets in the way and that is what creates unjust, unfair, and sinful laws.
24.) How many animals on the ark? Genesis 6:19, Genesis 7:8-9, Genesis 7:15 vs. Genesis 7:2
Genesis 6:19-20 simply instructs Noah to preserve two of every kind. Genesis 7:2-3 is additional information where seven of the clean animals were to be taken and two of every other kind. The reason for this is that the extra animals were for sacrifice. "Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar." (Gen. 8:20).
Logically, to have seven pairs also means that there are two pairs since the two are included in the seven. If one verse said take only one pair and another verse said seven pairs, that would be a contradiction.
25.) Were women and men created equal? Genesis 1:27 vs. Genesis 2:18-23
First of all, Genesis 2:18... Why is her being a help, make her not his equal? Instead of seeing the Helper as lower class, see her as essential as the Bible teaches.
1 Peter 3:7 ~ "Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers."
Compare...
1 Corinthians 12:22 ~ "On the contrary, those members that seem to be weaker are essential,"
Also, let's not forget, Galatians 3:28 ~ "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
Women have a role. Men have a role. A General in an Army has a role, so does a Cadet. One cannot operate without the other, so we are equal. As it teaches in 1 Corinthians 12, to operate with best harmony, you need your eyes, feet, etc. even though they are small, each a small role, they play a big part in our whole body's functioning.
26.) Were trees created before humans? Genesis 1:12-31 vs. Genesis 2:5-9
Genesis 1:12 ~ "And the earth brought forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good."
Genesis 1:27 ~ "So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
So, God created Plants before man.
Genesis 2:5-7... "5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
So, plants were created before man. God needed somebody to attend to taking care of the plants. Plants before man.
Genesis 2:8-9 ~ "8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
Okay, so God created more plants. To conclude, God created Plants, then created Man, then created more Plants. Simple.
27.) Did Michal have children? II Samuel 6:23 vs. II Samuel 21:8
The two phrases, "she bore to" and "she brought up," are actually the same in the Hebrew (Yalad). When the translators realized the glitch that Michal had no children according to 2 Samual 6:23, they tried to "fix" the issue by translating this as "she brought up," even though the Hebrew is identical for both italicized sections and in the same Qal tense, which means "bore" or "begat"— and not "brought up." So Michal had no children of her own, but raised Adrial's children.
2 Samuel 21:8 ~ "But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:"
Emphasis on, "brought up for Adrial,". Just because she brought up, raised Adrial's children doesn't mean she had children of her own. She didn't give birth to children herself, or that would be contradicting. Hebrew is a Sentence usage dependent language.
28.) How many stalls did Solomon have? I Kings 4:26 vs. II Chronicles 9:25
The two verses do not contradict because they describe different types of stalls. The stalls in 1 Kings 4:26 were "of horses" which were used for chariots and by horsemen. Nothing in this verse says that these stalls were for the chariots. On the other hand, the stalls in 2 Chronicles 9:25 were for "horses and chariots". Such a stall to house both horses and chariots would not have been as numerous as stalls to house just horses because there is always a smaller ratio of chariots to horses.
40,000 Stalls of Horses, 4,000 Stalls for Horses and Chariots. Meaning 10 x 4,000 = 40,000. There's 10 horses pulling 1 Chariot.
29.) Did Paul's men hear a voice? Acts 9:7 vs. Acts 22:9
Paul heard a voice as Jesus communicated directly with him. The men with Paul heard the voice speaking to Paul but, to them, it was just an unintelligible sound. They heard something. But, since they could not understand what the voice said, it was nothing more than a sound—in other words, they couldn't really "hear" what Jesus' was saying. They heard, but didn't understand.
The Greek word, "akouō" used in both verses means, "to hear," but also means, "to understand". So again, it is a sentence usage issue. This one word can have different meanings. I can hear someone speaking another language, but I cannot understand.
30.) Is God omnipotent? Jeremiah 32:27, Matthew 19:26 vs. Judges 1:19
Yes, He is. Judges 1:19 is referring to Judah, that Judah couldn't drive out the inhabitants in the Valley. Referring to Judah, not to God.
As for the battle itself, there is no promise in the Bible that the Jews would win every battle. For any number of reasons, Judah was in constant rebellion, the Lord allowed the people of Judah only a limited success at that time and they were unable to conquer the people of the Valley.
31.) Does God live in light? I Timothy 6:15-16, James 1:17, John 12:35, Job 18:18, Daniel 2:22 vs. I Kings 8:12, II Samuel 22:12, Psalm 18:11, Psalm 97:1-2
Bible uses the terms "light" and "darkness" in several ways and in a variety of contexts. God's dwelling place in the spiritual realm of the heaven of heavens is filled with "unapproachable light" (1 Timothy 6:16), because His unrestrained glory illuminates it (Revelation 21:23). God made light in the physical Universe during the six-day Creation and "called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night" (Genesis 1:5). He made the Sun, Moon, and stars on day four of Creation, thus making Him the "Father of lights" (James 1:17). Jesus was miraculously transfigured before three of His apostles and "His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light" (Matthew 17:2). The psalmist referred to light in the sense of divine instruction: "The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple" (119:130). Conversely, the psalmist referred to those who "do not know, nor...understand," as those who "walk about in darkness" (82:5). While addressing the subjects of sin and righteousness, the apostle John used the terms light and darkness symbolically: "God is light (i.e., holy) and in Him is no darkness (i.e., sin)" (1 John 1:5). This same apostle referred to Jesus as "the Light" throughout his gospel account (1:4-9; 8:12; 9:5; 12:34-36,46), and Matthew recorded that Jesus spoke of His disciples as "the light of the world" (5:14-16), reflectors of His righteousness.
The passage in 1 Kings 8:12 ("The Lord said that he would dwell in thick darkness"—KJV) is not discussing God's dwelling place in the heaven of heavens. First Kings 8:12-13, along with 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, discuss God's presence in the physical temple of God in Jerusalem. Just as "the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" in the days of Moses (Exodus 40:34), so "the house of the Lord [the temple], was filled with a cloud" (2 Chronicles 5:13). Similarly, the highly poetic wording in Psalm 18 and 1 Samuel 22 (a quotation of Psalm 18) pictures God, not on His majestic, glorious throne in heaven, but as One Who "came down" from heaven (Psalm 18:9), "flew upon the wings of the wind" (18:10), and delivered his servant David from his enemies while making "darkness His secret place" and "His canopy...dark waters" (18:11)
32.) Does God accept human sacrifice? Deuteronomy 12:31 22:2, Exodus 22:29, Judges 11:30-39, II Samuel 21:8-14, Hebrews 10:10-12, I Corinthians 5:7
Re: Genesis 22:2... That's Abraham's test, wasn't a Human Sacrifice, an angel stopped Abraham before Isaac was killed.
Re: Exodus 22:29... This wasn't intended to mean that the Israelites were supposed to sacrifice their firstborn sons to God. Not to kill them. In fact, Exodus 13:13 says, "And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem." To redeem meant that the Israelites were to give to the Lord five skekels of silver when the firstborn son was one month old (Numbers 18:16). Moses explained that it was a memorial of the process by which God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 13:14-15).
Re: Judges 11:30-39... Again, not a Human sacrifice, not killing. His daughter just remained a virgin and God never asked that of Jephthah.
Re: 2 Samuel 21:8-14... Notice that the text indicates that the ones who were hanged were "men" (2 Samuel 21:6), who would have been old enough to be responsible for their moral decisions. Furthermore, notice that the text indicates that Saul's "house" or "household" was a bloodthirsty house (2 Samuel 21:1), apparently implying that many of his relatives were involved in his murderous plots. In 2 Samuel 16:5-14, the Bible introduces a wicked man named Shimei who was "from the family of the house of Saul" (2 Samuel 16:5). And Saul's wickedness is documented throughout the book of 1 Samuel. Could it be that Saul's descendants who were hanged had followed in the wicked paths of many from the "house of Saul" and deserved the death penalty? Yes. Thus, it is once again impossible to use this passage to "prove" that God accepted human sacrifice.
And... Jesus wasn't merely human. If He were, then His sacrifice would have also been a temporary one because one human life couldn't possibly cover the sins of the multitudes who ever existed. Neither could one finite human life atone for sin against an infinite God. The only viable sacrifice must be an infinite one, which means only God Himself could atone for the sins of mankind. Only God Himself, an infinite Being, could pay the penalty owed to Himself. This is why God had to become a Man and dwell among men (John 1:14). No other sacrifice would suffice.
33.) Who was Joseph's father? Matthew 1:16 vs. Luke 3:23
"The second thing is that this genealogy differs in significant ways from the genealogy in Matthew. Why? Most Bible scholars believe that Luke gives the genealogy of Mary (who was also of the royal Davidic line), while Matthew traces the family of Joseph. Thus by both His mother and His earthly father, Jesus had a right to the throne of Israel.
Jacob was Joseph's father. Heli was Mary's father. Since there was no Greek word for "son-in-law," Joseph was called the "son of Heli" by marriage to Mary, Heli's daughter.
CONTRADICTIONS DEBUNKED...
Losing Faith In Faith: From Preacher To Atheist by Dan Barker - Chapter 23.
1.) Should we kill? Exodus 20:13, Leviticus 24:17 vs. Exodus 32:27, 1 Samuel 6:19, 1 Samuel 15:2-8, Numbers 15:36, Hosea 13:16.
All of these were an act of Self-Defense, which is righteous. Also, I think many of the Israelites took God saying, "They will be put to death," literally, instead of Spiritually put to death.
Best example is the adulterous woman in John 8:1-11 where Jesus stops the Pharisees from stoning her, even though it was the Law of Moses, I trust God's own words, Jesus is God.
2.) Should we tell lies? Exodus 20:16, Proverbs 12:22 vs. 1 Kings 22:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:11
1 Kings 22:23 ~ 20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade [him], and prevail also: go forth, and do so."
So it seems a demon stepped forth to be a lying spirit to Ahab, the demon already had legal rights to Ahab's body because he was an evil king (1 Kings 16:30).
Some lying has shown to be justified... Lying to protect like the lie the Hebrew midwives tell Pharaoh seems to result in the Lord's blessing on them (Exodus 1:15-21), and it probably saved the lives of many Hebrew babies. Another example is Rahab's lie to protect the Israelite spies in Joshua 2:5. Again it's self-defense to save lives, lying for any other reason is sin.
3.) Should we steal? Exodus 20:15, Leviticus 19:13 vs. Exodus 3:22, Exodus 12:35-36, Luke 19:29-34.
Re: Exodus 3:22, Exodus 12:35... The Egyptians stole from the Israelites and treated them unfairly, they were taking back was theirs. But I do not believe they were "stealing" for it says "Borrow."
To steal is to acquire something of value from its rightful owner without consent; to borrow requires us to ask or beg for something, as the Israelites did.
Re: Luke 19:29... The Owners of the colt were Israelites and since they did not try to stop the Disciples, they let them take the colt thus having permission, not stealing. They were probably honored that their Lord used their colt to come into Jerusalem. To add, who were the people that told the rest of the city to welcome Jesus with palms? Most likely the owners of the colt that were the first to know Jesus was coming into Jerusalem.
4.) Shall we keep the sabbath? Exodus 20:8, Exodus 31:15, Numbers 15:32, 36 vs. Isaiah 1:13, John 5:16, Colossians 2:16
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy... Jesus, God Himself was persecuted for doing work on the Sabbath, His work was holy though. When it says do no work, in those days was to be reserved to be a Holy day. Being lazy, slothful isn't keeping the Sabbath Holy.
Mark 3:4 ~ And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
Luke 13:15 ~ The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
Jesus taught that we should do good on Sabbath. As the original commandment commanded to keep Sabbath Holy. If you don't do work to give water to your animals, they will die. Killing. And that's not Holy.
5.) Shall we make graven images? Exodus 20:4, Leviticus 26:1, Deuteronomy 27:15 vs. Exodus 25:18, 1 Kings 7:15-16, 23-25
"You shall not worship them or serve them." The command of God to not make images concerned objects of worship, not objects used for decorative or educational purposes as Exodus 25:18 and 1 Kings 7:15 was for. Not worship, but decorative and educational.
6.) Are we saved through works? Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:20,28, Galatians 2:16 vs. James 2:24, Matthew 19:16-21
We are not saved by Works, but are saved by Faith. Our Faith must be a Work-based Faith though, if we have True Faith we will do Works out of love for God. If the Holy Spirit dwells in you, you will produce works naturally.
Ephesians 2:10 ~ "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
7.) Should good works be seen? Matthew 5:16, I Peter 2:12 vs. Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 23:3-5
As it says in Matthew 23:5 ~ "But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,"
So do not do works to earn people's approval, but do work to earn God's approval. God sees all works, if doing works in public feeds the ego, it is better to do works in private. That is the teaching. This is to keep people humble.
8.) Should we own slaves? Leviticus 25:45-46, Genesis 9:25, Exodus 21:2-7, Joel 3:8, Luke 12:47-48, Colossians 3:22 vs. Isaiah 58:6, Matthew 23:10
Notice that slavery was okay in the beginning, but then the right to own slaves was taken away because Masters did not treat Slaves with compassion and fairness as God intended. Jeremiah 34:10. This is why in later Scripture slavery is abolished. Luke 12:47 was a parable; Jesus speaking in the Spiritual sense.
Re: Leviticus 25:45... Let's read down a little further down to Leviticus 25:53 ~ "[And] as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: [and the other] shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight."
So the first allowance to have slaves was to not treat them with rigour, not to treat them harshly.
9.) Does God change his mind? Malachi 3:6, Numbers 23:19, Ezekiel 24:14, James 1:17 vs. Exodus 32:14, Genesis 6:6-7, Jonah 3:10
Re: Genesis 6:6, Jonah 3:10, Exodus 32:14... These verses speak of the Lord "repenting" of something and seem to contradict the doctrine of God's immutability. However, close examination of these passages reveals that these are not truly indications that God is capable of changing. In the original language, the word that is translated as "repent" or "relent" is the Hebrew expression "to be sorry for." Being sorry for something does not mean that a change has occurred; it simply means there is regret for something that has taken place.
Consider Genesis 6:6: "…the LORD was grieved that He had made man on the earth." This verse even goes on to say "His heart was filled with pain." This verse declares that God had regret for creating man. However, obviously He did not reverse His decision. Instead, through Noah, He allowed man to continue to exist. The fact that we are alive today is proof that God did not change His mind about creating man. Also, the context of this passage is a description of the sinful state in which man was living, and it is man's sinfulness that triggered God's sorrow, not man's existence. Consider Jonah 3:10: "…He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened." Again, the same Hebrew word is used, which translates "to be sorry for." Why was God sorry for what He had planned for the Ninevites? Because they had a change in heart and as a result changed their ways from disobedience to obedience. God is entirely consistent. God was going to judge Nineveh because of its evil. However, Nineveh repented and changed its ways. As a result, God had mercy on Nineveh, which is entirely consistent with His character. God does not change, Humans change.
10.) Are we punished for our parents' sins?
Exodus 20:5, Exodus 34:6-7, I Corinthians 15:22 vs. Ezekiel 18:20, Deuteronomy 24:16
Keeping Exodus 20:5 in context, we notice right away that God is referring to the sin of idolatry. God considered idolatry to be an extremely treacherous betrayal of a sacred trust. Idolaters were traitors to God's theocracy. Idolatry had a way of ingraining itself in a culture. Children raised in such an environment would keep the tradition going and practice similar idolatry, thus falling into the established pattern of disobedience. The effect of one disobedient generation was that wickedness would take root so deeply that it took several generations to reverse.
The implication of Exodus 20:5 is that children are akin to their parents. A new generation will tend to repeat the sins of their fathers. Therefore, God "punishing the children" is simply another way of saying that the children are repeating the fathers' sins. The tendency to repeat the mistakes of history is especially strong in an idolatrous culture.
11.) Is God good or evil? Psalm 145:9, Deuteronomy 32:4 vs. Isaiah 45:7, Lamentations 3:38, Jeremiah 18:11, Ezekiel 20:25-26
"Evil" or "Ra" in Hebrew means, "Misfortune" or a Calamity, this isn't moral evil such as sin, but punishment for human wickedness, reaping what we sow or "Karma" as Eastern Philosophy would put it. If you do good, you have good happen. If you do bad, you have bad happen.
I also find it interesting the Hebrew word for "evil" is "Ra" whom Ra is an Egyptian god who was merged with the god Horus (who sliced off his mother's head, Isis) as Re-Horakhty ("Ra, who is Horus of the Two Horizons"). He was believed to rule in all parts of the created world: the sky, the earth, and the underworld. Take this as you will.
12.) Does God tempt people? James 1:13 vs. Genesis 22:1
In Genesis 22:1 when it says, "Tempt" it is the word, "Nacah" in Hebrew which means to, "Prove, try, test." Therefore, it was a test that God offered to Abraham, not a temptation to sin. God wouldn't have allowed Abraham to sin, God just wanted to see if Abraham was truly loyal.
13.) Is God peaceable? Romans 15:33, Isaiah 2:4 vs. Exodus 15:3, Joel 3:9-10
Yes, He is, but He goes to war against wickedness. If Hitler had not been defeated by World War II, how many more millions would have been killed? If a robber breaks into your home will you allow him to kill you or will you protect yourself and your family? It is obvious that God justifies Self-Defence, as these were the only reasons God was a warrior. He doesn't wish to kill, just as you wouldn't wish to kill... But you will for the sake of wife and children, I presume.
Hebrew word literally means "the intentional, premeditated killing of another person with malice; murder."
14.) Was Jesus peaceable? John 14:27, Acts 10:36, Luke 2:14 vs. Matthew 10:34, Luke 22:36
Refer to my previous response in point 14.) because Jesus is God.
15.) Was Jesus trustworthy? John 8:14 vs. John 5:31
Re: John 5:31... the context is Jesus speaking about how He depends upon the Father and how He is seeking the will of the Father. Jesus, however is the Father, Jesus has the Holy Spirit, but they count as witnesses. Jesus is reflecting on the Old Testament law that didn't allow the testimony of one person to condemn another to death. Two witnesses were needed to establish the fact.
John 8:14... He was speaking of being the light of the word and the Pharisees accused Him of bearing witness of Himself. Jesus was simply telling the truth that if He did, it would be true because He comes from the Father, He is the Father, all knowing. They were questioning God's own authority.
16.) Shall we call people names? Matthew 5:22 vs. Matthew 23:17, Psalm 14:1
When Jesus said in Matthew 5:22 that you should not call anyone a fool, He was speaking of those who were unrighteously angry. That is why Jesus mentions anger in this verse. There is a righteous anger which is not sinful (Ephesians 4:26). As well as unrighteous anger that is sinful (James 1:20).
When God is angry with someone, He is always righteous in His anger. Jesus, being God in flesh, can righteously be angry with people and pronounce upon them the foolishness of their deeds because it was truth. Also, undoubtedly, Jesus knew Psalm 14:1 which says, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God' . . ." Jesus didn't forget the well-known verse; and God is not wrong for calling someone a fool, the Pharisees because they didn't believe Jesus was God.
As a result, we see that the condemnation by Jesus regarding calling someone a fool is in the context of doing it out of unrighteous anger, which does not fit the later citations of Jesus labeling the hypocritical, cynical Pharisees as fools.
17.) Has anyone seen God? John 1:18, Exodus 33:20, John 6:46, I John 4:12 vs. Genesis 32:30, Exodus 33:11, Isaiah 6:1, Job 42:5
Re: Genesis 32:30... Jacob saw God appearing as an angel; he did not truly see God. Samson's parents were terrified when they realized they had seen God (Judges 13:22), but they had only seen Him appearing as an angel. Jesus was God in the flesh (John 1:1,14) so when people saw Him, they were seeing God. So, yes, God can be "seen" and many people have "seen" God. At the same time, no one has ever seen God revealed in all His glory. In our fallen human condition, if God were to fully reveal Himself to us, we would be consumed and destroyed because His spiritual frequency is so high for our senses to comprehend. A finite being cannot fully comprehend the presence of a infinite being. Therefore, God veils Himself and appears in forms in which we can "see" Him. So we've seen pieces of God's Spirit, but not His full Spirit. This is different than seeing God with all His glory and holiness displayed. People have seen visions of God, images of God, and appearances of God, but no one on Earth has ever seen God in all His fullness. As it reveals in Exodus 33, Moses seen the back of God, never the face of God or else His power would destroy us.
18.) How many Gods are there? Deuteronomy 6:4 vs. Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:22, I John 5:7
Okay... One. John 10:30 ~ "I and my Father are one."
Jesus throughout the New Testament reveals Himself to be God, the Father in flesh. "Emmanuel" meaning "God with us."
John 14:8-11 ~ "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake."
John 8:24 ~ "Thus I told you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins."
John 1:1-3 ~ "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
John 1:14 ~ "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
Jesus is the Creator of the Earth.. Colossians 1:16, John 1:3.
The Son is Holy, He has a Spirit that is Holy. The Father is Holy, He has a Spirit that is Holy. So both the Father and the Son are the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit, one Spirit. The Father had a piece of His Spirit go into Mary's womb and Jesus was born, God Himself.
Matthew 1:18 ~ "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost (Father)."
19.) Are we all sinners? Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10, Psalm 14:3 vs. Job 1:1, Genesis 7:1, Luke 1:6
Re: Romans 3:23... Doesn't that reveal the answer right there? Yes, Job was Righteous, many prophets and people in the Bible were described as Righteous because they strive after perfection, picking up their cross, denying their sin daily. Matthew 6:24. They were sinners, we all sin thus falling short of God because He has never sinned. We are called righteous when we give up our sin filled lives, consciously sinning and not caring if we sin... Changing to trying not to sin. The people who strive and try not to sin are called righteous even if they sinned in their past. Romans 6 is the best read on this. We are a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17.
20.) How old was Ahaziah? II Kings 8:26 vs. II Chronicles 22:2
He was 22 years old. Ahaziah's being "a son of 42 years" in his reigning is seen to refer to his being a son of the dynasty of Omri which was in its 42nd year. Putting the two Scriptures together reveals that Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began to reign during the 42nd year of the dynasty of Omri.
21.) Should we swear an oath? Numbers 30:2, Genesis 21:22-24,31, Hebrews 6:13-17, Genesis 22:15-19, Genesis 31:53, Judges 11:30-39 vs. Matthew 5:34-37, James 5:12
When Jesus admonished Believers not to swear at all in Matthew 5, His caution in verse 34-35 can be seen as a warning not to bring condemnation down on one's self by obligation to do something or to perform something that was impossible or improbable for a person to fulfill. People in Jesus' day went about swearing to all sorts of things which they then later failed to fulfill. The same is obviously true today. In addition, when a person swear's "by God" on an issue, what they are saying may be completely outside of what God's will is for a given situation.
The Lord's warning in verse 36 is different then His warning in verse 34-35 however. It is akin to taking what is commonly referred to as a "blood" oath. How do we know? Jesus says do not "swear by thou head." This is the type that occultists swear. It gives a sort of legal right for other humans (and demonic forces alike) to bring harm to you if you fail at keeping whatever it is you swear. More so, the moment you swear an oath, the penalty of which is your own life, you have sinned against God's word and are game for the Enemy's intrusion in your life circumstances. "Blood" oaths give the Devil spiritual authority to operate in a person's life. It is such oaths that have bound and brought deception, spiritual blindness and demonic curses into the lives and homes of Freemasons.
22.) When was Jesus crucified? Mark 15:25 vs. John 19:14-15
First off, John was using the Roman measurement of time when dealing with the crucifixion. Matthew, Mark, and Luke used the Hebrew system of measuring a day: from sundown to sunrise. The Roman system was from midnight to midnight, as we use Today in U.S.A.
So, if the sun comes up at 6am which would be the First Hour, 9am would be the Third Hour as Mark describes. This is when Jesus was crucified, 9am. This is according to Hebrew Time.
John, using Roman time said Jesus was before Pilate at the Sixth Hour, being 6am, add 6 hours from Midnight. So He was before Pilate at Sunrise and crucified at 9am. Remember, He went through floggings before Crucifixion.
23.) Shall we obey the law? I Peter 2:13, Matthew 22:21, Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1.
vs. Acts 5:29
Re: 1 Peter 2:13... It clearly reads "for the Lord's sake". If the ordinance is Godly, submit to it.
Re: Mathew 22:21... Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's... What really belongs to Caesar? The idolatry... The Money... The wickedness... Etc. That is not God's, but Caesar's.
Re: Romans 13:1-7... Ordained of God, yes. Not all Politicians/Government is ordained by God, but they come into power because of the demonic. It goes on to say in Verse 9 what to not do as Christians. God's Law is above man's Law, God's Law comes first to follow. We may not transgress that Law.
Re: Titus 3:1... Says right in the verse in question itself... To be ready to every "GOOD WORK". The laws of God... Good works.
God has written His law on our hearts (Romans 2:15) but it is man's self-righteousness that gets in the way and that is what creates unjust, unfair, and sinful laws.
24.) How many animals on the ark? Genesis 6:19, Genesis 7:8-9, Genesis 7:15 vs. Genesis 7:2
Genesis 6:19-20 simply instructs Noah to preserve two of every kind. Genesis 7:2-3 is additional information where seven of the clean animals were to be taken and two of every other kind. The reason for this is that the extra animals were for sacrifice. "Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar." (Gen. 8:20).
Logically, to have seven pairs also means that there are two pairs since the two are included in the seven. If one verse said take only one pair and another verse said seven pairs, that would be a contradiction.
25.) Were women and men created equal? Genesis 1:27 vs. Genesis 2:18-23
First of all, Genesis 2:18... Why is her being a help, make her not his equal? Instead of seeing the Helper as lower class, see her as essential as the Bible teaches.
1 Peter 3:7 ~ "Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers."
Compare...
1 Corinthians 12:22 ~ "On the contrary, those members that seem to be weaker are essential,"
Also, let's not forget, Galatians 3:28 ~ "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
Women have a role. Men have a role. A General in an Army has a role, so does a Cadet. One cannot operate without the other, so we are equal. As it teaches in 1 Corinthians 12, to operate with best harmony, you need your eyes, feet, etc. even though they are small, each a small role, they play a big part in our whole body's functioning.
26.) Were trees created before humans? Genesis 1:12-31 vs. Genesis 2:5-9
Genesis 1:12 ~ "And the earth brought forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good."
Genesis 1:27 ~ "So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
So, God created Plants before man.
Genesis 2:5-7... "5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
So, plants were created before man. God needed somebody to attend to taking care of the plants. Plants before man.
Genesis 2:8-9 ~ "8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
Okay, so God created more plants. To conclude, God created Plants, then created Man, then created more Plants. Simple.
27.) Did Michal have children? II Samuel 6:23 vs. II Samuel 21:8
The two phrases, "she bore to" and "she brought up," are actually the same in the Hebrew (Yalad). When the translators realized the glitch that Michal had no children according to 2 Samual 6:23, they tried to "fix" the issue by translating this as "she brought up," even though the Hebrew is identical for both italicized sections and in the same Qal tense, which means "bore" or "begat"— and not "brought up." So Michal had no children of her own, but raised Adrial's children.
2 Samuel 21:8 ~ "But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:"
Emphasis on, "brought up for Adrial,". Just because she brought up, raised Adrial's children doesn't mean she had children of her own. She didn't give birth to children herself, or that would be contradicting. Hebrew is a Sentence usage dependent language.
28.) How many stalls did Solomon have? I Kings 4:26 vs. II Chronicles 9:25
The two verses do not contradict because they describe different types of stalls. The stalls in 1 Kings 4:26 were "of horses" which were used for chariots and by horsemen. Nothing in this verse says that these stalls were for the chariots. On the other hand, the stalls in 2 Chronicles 9:25 were for "horses and chariots". Such a stall to house both horses and chariots would not have been as numerous as stalls to house just horses because there is always a smaller ratio of chariots to horses.
40,000 Stalls of Horses, 4,000 Stalls for Horses and Chariots. Meaning 10 x 4,000 = 40,000. There's 10 horses pulling 1 Chariot.
29.) Did Paul's men hear a voice? Acts 9:7 vs. Acts 22:9
Paul heard a voice as Jesus communicated directly with him. The men with Paul heard the voice speaking to Paul but, to them, it was just an unintelligible sound. They heard something. But, since they could not understand what the voice said, it was nothing more than a sound—in other words, they couldn't really "hear" what Jesus' was saying. They heard, but didn't understand.
The Greek word, "akouō" used in both verses means, "to hear," but also means, "to understand". So again, it is a sentence usage issue. This one word can have different meanings. I can hear someone speaking another language, but I cannot understand.
30.) Is God omnipotent? Jeremiah 32:27, Matthew 19:26 vs. Judges 1:19
Yes, He is. Judges 1:19 is referring to Judah, that Judah couldn't drive out the inhabitants in the Valley. Referring to Judah, not to God.
As for the battle itself, there is no promise in the Bible that the Jews would win every battle. For any number of reasons, Judah was in constant rebellion, the Lord allowed the people of Judah only a limited success at that time and they were unable to conquer the people of the Valley.
31.) Does God live in light? I Timothy 6:15-16, James 1:17, John 12:35, Job 18:18, Daniel 2:22 vs. I Kings 8:12, II Samuel 22:12, Psalm 18:11, Psalm 97:1-2
Bible uses the terms "light" and "darkness" in several ways and in a variety of contexts. God's dwelling place in the spiritual realm of the heaven of heavens is filled with "unapproachable light" (1 Timothy 6:16), because His unrestrained glory illuminates it (Revelation 21:23). God made light in the physical Universe during the six-day Creation and "called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night" (Genesis 1:5). He made the Sun, Moon, and stars on day four of Creation, thus making Him the "Father of lights" (James 1:17). Jesus was miraculously transfigured before three of His apostles and "His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light" (Matthew 17:2). The psalmist referred to light in the sense of divine instruction: "The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple" (119:130). Conversely, the psalmist referred to those who "do not know, nor...understand," as those who "walk about in darkness" (82:5). While addressing the subjects of sin and righteousness, the apostle John used the terms light and darkness symbolically: "God is light (i.e., holy) and in Him is no darkness (i.e., sin)" (1 John 1:5). This same apostle referred to Jesus as "the Light" throughout his gospel account (1:4-9; 8:12; 9:5; 12:34-36,46), and Matthew recorded that Jesus spoke of His disciples as "the light of the world" (5:14-16), reflectors of His righteousness.
The passage in 1 Kings 8:12 ("The Lord said that he would dwell in thick darkness"—KJV) is not discussing God's dwelling place in the heaven of heavens. First Kings 8:12-13, along with 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, discuss God's presence in the physical temple of God in Jerusalem. Just as "the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" in the days of Moses (Exodus 40:34), so "the house of the Lord [the temple], was filled with a cloud" (2 Chronicles 5:13). Similarly, the highly poetic wording in Psalm 18 and 1 Samuel 22 (a quotation of Psalm 18) pictures God, not on His majestic, glorious throne in heaven, but as One Who "came down" from heaven (Psalm 18:9), "flew upon the wings of the wind" (18:10), and delivered his servant David from his enemies while making "darkness His secret place" and "His canopy...dark waters" (18:11)
32.) Does God accept human sacrifice? Deuteronomy 12:31 22:2, Exodus 22:29, Judges 11:30-39, II Samuel 21:8-14, Hebrews 10:10-12, I Corinthians 5:7
Re: Genesis 22:2... That's Abraham's test, wasn't a Human Sacrifice, an angel stopped Abraham before Isaac was killed.
Re: Exodus 22:29... This wasn't intended to mean that the Israelites were supposed to sacrifice their firstborn sons to God. Not to kill them. In fact, Exodus 13:13 says, "And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem." To redeem meant that the Israelites were to give to the Lord five skekels of silver when the firstborn son was one month old (Numbers 18:16). Moses explained that it was a memorial of the process by which God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 13:14-15).
Re: Judges 11:30-39... Again, not a Human sacrifice, not killing. His daughter just remained a virgin and God never asked that of Jephthah.
Re: 2 Samuel 21:8-14... Notice that the text indicates that the ones who were hanged were "men" (2 Samuel 21:6), who would have been old enough to be responsible for their moral decisions. Furthermore, notice that the text indicates that Saul's "house" or "household" was a bloodthirsty house (2 Samuel 21:1), apparently implying that many of his relatives were involved in his murderous plots. In 2 Samuel 16:5-14, the Bible introduces a wicked man named Shimei who was "from the family of the house of Saul" (2 Samuel 16:5). And Saul's wickedness is documented throughout the book of 1 Samuel. Could it be that Saul's descendants who were hanged had followed in the wicked paths of many from the "house of Saul" and deserved the death penalty? Yes. Thus, it is once again impossible to use this passage to "prove" that God accepted human sacrifice.
And... Jesus wasn't merely human. If He were, then His sacrifice would have also been a temporary one because one human life couldn't possibly cover the sins of the multitudes who ever existed. Neither could one finite human life atone for sin against an infinite God. The only viable sacrifice must be an infinite one, which means only God Himself could atone for the sins of mankind. Only God Himself, an infinite Being, could pay the penalty owed to Himself. This is why God had to become a Man and dwell among men (John 1:14). No other sacrifice would suffice.
33.) Who was Joseph's father? Matthew 1:16 vs. Luke 3:23
"The second thing is that this genealogy differs in significant ways from the genealogy in Matthew. Why? Most Bible scholars believe that Luke gives the genealogy of Mary (who was also of the royal Davidic line), while Matthew traces the family of Joseph. Thus by both His mother and His earthly father, Jesus had a right to the throne of Israel.
Jacob was Joseph's father. Heli was Mary's father. Since there was no Greek word for "son-in-law," Joseph was called the "son of Heli" by marriage to Mary, Heli's daughter.
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