FaithfulServant - well said. I couldn't agree more.
You seem puzzled over this Old Testament story.
You are limited by your understanding of scripture, S.I.E.
Too much Calculus not enough reading of the scripture.
To be puzzled by the God of the O.T. should be a given --- how we deal with the puzzle'ment is the question at hand.
Did you happen to view the You Tube clip I referenced? We can parse out the Abraham story --- but that's just one instance of God's, let's just say - extreme - nature, which is displayed throughout the O.T.
It seems that your way to deal with the extreme nature of God in the O.T. is to simply choose to believe that it was all meant for good, because God, Himself,
you believe is good.
Fair enough.
For you.
At least for now.
And you may be right -- but I'm not so sure we can objectively know that. Again, leaving the calculus aside, it seems like --- well, a
leap of faith, to believe it was GOOD and only GOOD that led God to
- flood the earth
- cause Adam and Eve to be what amounts to setup
- allow? cause? Satan to have dominion over the earth
- allow? cause? one third of all the angels to follow him down
- allow? cause? Job to go through what he did
- command, many times, the destruction of entire cities as well as the killing of all the inhabitants that lived in them whether it be man, woman, child, or even animal (all his creations -- which he established were "very good" when He made them
- "test" Abraham in such a way with his son
- slain all the firstborn in Egypt. (i get it, that Egypt needed to be dealt with -- but did God really need to kill ALL the newborns to get that done?)
But enough listening to me say it
---------------------------------------
How about some other characteristics of the God of the O.T.?
here we go:
I kill .. I wound ... I will render vengeance to mine enemies ... I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh. Deuteronomy 32:38-42
And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them. Numbers 11:1
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine: Jeremiah 11:22
Thus saith the LORD of hosts ... go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ***. 1 Samuel 15:2-3
Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, an do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Gen 19:8
and what's this all about?
And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged. Leviticus 19:20
or this?
And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. Numbers 31:15-19
I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children. Leviticus 26:22
And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. Leviticus 26:29
Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 23:24
----------------------------------------
So again, it's a matter -- I think -- not of knowing scriptures here, but how you internally deal with, or rationalize, how a God such as this can be, or
is GOOD.
It seems to me that many here have
chosen to believe it, and many, in large part, because the
BIBLE says so.
What kind of "bible" has Satan given the 1/3 of the angels that work with him? Don't you think that they are convinced that Satan is the
Angel of Light...or the
Morning Star...and don't you think they believe that those are
good connotations? I'm sure that
book was written or ordained by Lucifer himself, no?
So how can it be an
objective witness, that the Bible says God is good?
It can't. It is only a guide. A helpful one, at that -- but still,
it isn't living and breathing.
That's why the true Word, which is Jesus,
can testify of it. And we can know and trust that.
I don't mean to dismiss scripture here -- I just mean to point out that it alone cannot be the final source that proves to you personally that God is good.
Jesus can.
And with the work of the Holy Spirit, we can be given
ebenezers from time to time, for us to look back to, and know that God was there. That He showed up. Those are jewels - and I need to remember mine. I was asking for yours in the OP. I need to remember.
But it takes the Holy Bible to prove your question
Yes, you may be right samphillipssr -- but of course, that depends on who you're trying to
prove it to. I'm trying to prove - or, better said,
re-prove - it to myself. You also need to
prove it to yourself. Perhaps you have. If you have, I've no doubt the Bible was a useful guide - but I believe the living Word has spoken it to you if you
truly believe it for yourself.
If, on the other hand, we're engaging in an exercise of apologetics, then perhaps you may be able to win the debate, and
prove whatever you might like to try to prove.
The Bible can be a useful tool for proving many things -- including many that I would imagine you would vehemently disagree with to.
