- NEW!
by Dmitri on November 1st, 2009
Good argument. In this day and age, minds are trained to believe just that, that the Bible is a farce, and that Moses never existed or even if he did, the commandments don't.
You could say that modern public education has clouded out the sun with what they want to think is the truth. That is global warming, and/or aliens, evolution, and the big bang theory. No one thinks to break through the clouds of deception any more. Or at least far fewer than ever before in America.
by Hyperion is back in China on November 5th, 2009
+4 If it's Christians that you're talking about, they believe it by shutting off a part of their mind to it. They can think about the story of Moses at a very basic summarized level but they will themselves to avoid any in depth thinking about the horrors of the OT laws and some of the other nastier elements of the OT and what they would mean about the nature of their 'all loving' God.
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They give these kind of stories a kind of fairy tale gloss over. Noah's ark is another example - it's told in kids Sunday school classes like it was Jack and the Beanstalk or Cinderella. You have kids singing away happily about the animals marching into the ark two by two etc., There's not so much singing about God's actions shortly after all this when, in his all loving and merciful way, he drowns millions of people including kids and babies.
.
But for Christians generally the answer is that they have to believe it, no matter how ridiculous it is. The problem being that Jesus is supposed to have referred to Moses and to OT law. If Jesus believed it then they have to believe. If Jesus said it it can't be a lie, if it is then their whole belief system would fall apart.
.
by weatherman taking week or so off on November 5th, 2009
Faith
by Tom on November 5th, 2009
The same way one can believe that Russia and Alaska were once connected but are now on separate continents. The same way we believe that dinosaurs actually roamed the earth. The longer ago something happens, the harder it is to believe.
by Orson11 on November 5th, 2009
Yes, I can believe. The 10 commandments or moral law given to Moses are still just as valid today.
The ceremonial and civil laws given to them do not strictly apply today, but the principles behind them do.
Remember these people had been slaves for hundreds of years, and many of the laws given them were actually to keep them healthy or to teach them, since they were clueless. Some of the laws such as which animals to eat was to set them apart from pagans. (who may have used snakes in rituals for instance) Or to teach them which animals are unhealthy to eat (such as birds that eat dead animals) Some of these laws taught them preservation and land management, like leaving the fields fallow for a certain time. The guide for civil law was to teach them the punishment should fit the crime. Or how to set up a fair judicial system. Or how to set up a way to take care of the poor among them.
The cermonial laws given to them such as animal sacrifice for forgiveness of sins became obsolete when Jesus Christ was sent as a sacrifice for sin.
Again, it is fascinating really how God laid out for them a plan for living, since none of them had any experience caring for themselves. They were starting from scratch, which we cannot imagine with our volumes of books and internet and our advanced knowledge!
by Lady Alathia of Vulcan on November 5th, 2009
These are the same people that believe a physically handicapped mass murderer wrote "thou shalt not kill", and forecasted his own death and successor.
by Anonymous on November 1st, 2009
Most of the laws in Deuteronomy made sense to a nomadic tribe 3000 years ago. To apply them in todays world is absurd. +5
by tessa 5 on November 1st, 2009
Hi,sure beats the hell out of me. regards Tessa5
by Baggins on November 1st, 2009
Yes.
by palmagma on November 4th, 2009
It seems this question has been plaguing
the Christian Church for centuries.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Marcion (ca. 85-160) was the son of the bishop of Sinope (modern Sinop, Turkey),
and excommunicated by Rome as a heretic because he rejected
the entire Hebrew Bible, and argued for the existence of two Gods:
(1) “Yahweh”, who created the material universe, and
(2) the “Heavenly Father” of the New Testament.
These two Gods were thought of as having distinct personalities:
Yahweh is petty, cruel and jealous, a tribal God who is only interested
in the welfare of the Jews, while the Heavenly Father is a universal God
who loves all of humanity, and looks upon His children with mercy and benevolence.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This dual-God notion allowed Marcion to reconcile the apparent contradictions
between the Old Testament and the narratives of Jesus' life and ministry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcion
Are Abraham and Moses already in heaven?
by WABOO on September 27th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
Whats the difference between killing and murdering? Thou shall not kill or murder-whats true in Ten Commandments?
by anil m on May 2nd, 2010
| 1 person likes this
Have you ever broken one of the ten commandments........?
by anil m on September 5th, 2010
| 8 people like this
The 10 commandments...Are they relevant today?
by anil m on October 23rd, 2011
| 3 people like this
What is the last time you broke one of the Ten Commandments?
by Woah! This Jew's bored!! on October 15th, 2010
| 3 people like this
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Comments
A recent TV documentary accepted the story of Moses,
and the tribes of Israel; but analyzed it from a
military perspective. This made a lot of sense too.
by palmagma on November 1st, 2009
A lot can be gleaned from the OT battles. Joshua was a good one too. Science, history and even paleontology back the Bible.
by Dmitri on November 1st, 2009
They do indeed support the tales of conquest;
but as for a Divine Being telling Moses when to stone people
to death, etc., well that's where the credibility breaks down,
by palmagma on November 1st, 2009
Not at all. Holiness demands strict justice. Life to the Israelites was a privilege under Jehovah.
by Dmitri on November 1st, 2009
Do you yourself see morality,
humanity and/or social justice
in the various laws that end in
the sentence of stoning people to death?
by palmagma on November 1st, 2009
+6
by Mountain Momma on November 1st, 2009
Yes. Look at the commandments. Each of them represents a huge problem that could ruin a people. Ruin a civilization. All those problems occur daily, many times a day actually, in America and America is half way down the toilet as we speak, er type.
by Dmitri on November 1st, 2009
Look at some other parts of the world.
India for example.
by palmagma on November 2nd, 2009
America is becoming increasingly more similar to other non third world countries as each day of his administration progresses.
by Dmitri on November 2nd, 2009
Hooray?
by palmagma on November 2nd, 2009
You'll think hooray!
by Mountain Momma on November 2nd, 2009
Hooray for the day
Bigotry went away.
by palmagma on November 2nd, 2009
But bigotry is always a day away. :)
by Dmitri on November 2nd, 2009
Poetry is hot.
by Mountain Momma on November 2nd, 2009
And this poet is hot for his baby.
by Dmitri on November 3rd, 2009
What about hot pockets??
by Mountain Momma on November 3rd, 2009
Your back pockets will be with my hands in them. :)
by Dmitri on November 4th, 2009
Ohhhh! Scandalous!
by Mountain Momma on November 4th, 2009
But sexy. Very sexy.
by Dmitri on November 4th, 2009
=D
by Mountain Momma on November 4th, 2009
History hardly backs the Pentateuch at all. Joshua fought the "battle" (more like, massacre) of Jericho? Jericho wasn't founded until 800 years after the supposed battle took place. And how did Moses write the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy if he was already dead when those events supposedly took place?
That's just one example.
But, it's evolution and global warming that are farcical, hm?
by Lady Alathia of Vulcan on November 5th, 2009