Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
NV-
I did read every single word of ALL your answers...what I did not do is put every word of your answer into my reply to you...the one which you quote (and you know it or surely should).
I wanted to expand on the discussion of Israel the unique nation as was being discussed above where I first began to comment on this thread...as crucial God evidence...not b/c you ever mentioned it.
You appear to be uptight about our discussions so I will end here...this post is only meant to convince you that you are in error on your judgement of my motives and intentions.
Huh???
They only survived the ancient world BECAUSE they were surrounded by enemies.
Look at an ancient world map. See that blank area of land? It's quite dangerous. It's filled with barbarians. You see, if an emperor marches on your city, you can usually avoid the fight entirely by paying him tribute. He taxes you. If you are marched on by a barbarian army, you win or you are annihilated. Period. Jewish kings survived by bowing down and touching head to the ground.
Ok. What part of my original argument is inaccurate? Do emperors not negotiate and take vassal kings? Do barbarian armies not seek war only for the sake of war?
You see here how you are not addressing my objection...my objection is that you have drawn a final conclusion...seemingly final conclusion at least...with no support. I disagree with your conclusion and can offer Biblical support...that doesn't carry much weight with you right now (though I do hope your views will change in the future) but at least it is a source...I can also point to some archaeological evidence which shows Israel to be the powerhouse and names Joshua as Israel's commander. Nation after nation fell...moving right through the lands in the same order the Bible describes.
God had commanded that Edom was to be treated as a brother and there was so conciliatory measures were taken by Israel's in their dealings with that land.
Get back with you soon.
The original claim that I responded to is something along the lines of,
Israel could not have survived as long as it did without divine protection because it was surrounded on all sides by enemies.
As the claim is formed, I do not even have to present evidence of anything but rather give a plausible alternative explanation. I did just that from the start and he hasn't even replied. I also explained why I came to this conclusion. I could find a source but I'm not going to bother. I've already given up on you due to your counterproductive contributions to one of my other threads, so my effort on your behalf will be limited. If you are truly interested, look up college staffs online, email hundreds of history professors with a copy/pasted question, and compare the responses.
There's a great quote by Crossan "We began [with the Enlightenment] to think that ancient peoples ("other" peoples) told dumb, literal stories that we were no smart enough to recognize as such. Not quite. Those ancient people told smart, metaphorical stories that we were now dumb enough to take literally." The point of Genesis 1, for example, was never to lay down a historical, scientific account for the origin of creation. That's not what Ancient Near-Eastern creation stories did, their point was to talk about what kind of god created the world. Furthermore, that world was not nearly as factual, processed-driven society, historians of that day were not concerned with getting all the facts right, whereas we are concerned with getting all of the facts right.
How do you know that?
To be fair, you would have to ask yourself the same question. How do you know that your own doctrine is true?
I tend to believe the more likely scenario, which is what I described in my original post.
I know it's true because of prophesy. No human can prophesy things that will happen in the distant future and then bring them to pass. That's history, not opinion. What reason do you have to believe what you stated in the OP?
Matthew lied about the virgin birth prophecy so I think that casts doubt over the validity of the other prophecies.
That's a non sequitur. I'd bet you've lied in you life, does that mean everything you say is suspect?
What evidence do you have that Mathew lied?
I know it's true because of prophesy. No human can prophesy things that will happen in the distant future and then bring them to pass. That's history, not opinion. What reason do you have to believe what you stated in the OP?
Give an example of this so-called prophecy!!
No, what it means is that I'm not speaking for God.
Have you read Isaiah 7?
In order to be consistent you'd have to say the same for Mathew. However, I'm still not sure how you think he lied. How do you know his motives? If you think what he said is incorrect it could be a mistake which is not a lie.
Yes, I have. What is the point you're trying to make?
Read Isaiah 7. The king of Judah is worried about an invasion, Isaiah says one won't happen and that the king should seek a sign, the king declines (likely out of reverence for Deuteronomy 6:16), then Isaiah says that a sign will be given anyway: that a virgin will give birth to a child, and that before the child is old enough to know right from wrong, the king's enemies will be destroyed.
So can you explain how the birth of Jesus 500 years later is in any way relevant?
Isaiah said, 'hear O Isarael'. The prophecy, the sign, was to the house of David. The land was forsaken of both her kings before the virgin gave birth.
What if the stories and legends of the Bible were actually written as religious fables? But they were so well written that the people of the day believed they were true. They contained very real and human behavior, interacting with God the way that real people do. Even hearing what they thought was his audible voice at times. Having dreams and visions.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?