Tag Archives: God

I Love You and You are an Abomination to God

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lefthanded

I am sure you have been exposed to this kind of thinking or maybe you used it yourself when you were a Christian…I love you so much that I MUST tell you the truth. Truth, of course meaning a person’s interpretation of the Christian Bible.

People who think this way believe that truly loving someone means telling them the truth even when the person doesn’t want to hear it or the “truth” would be offensive.

Many Christians think they have a God-ordained right to offend people as long they say they are doing it in love.

Imagine trying this with your wife. Honey, I love you and because I love you I must tell you what I really think about you.  You are a fat bitch who can’t cook and, btw, the sex is lousy. How do you think that would go over with your wife? (after you got out of the hospital) Smile

This is exactly how many Christians act towards people they think are doing things that God and the Bible disapprove of.  When challenged on this, they will often say, I am just saying what God said.

They seem to be the oblivious to the fact that when they say , you are an abomination because __________________________________________ ,(fill in appropriate sin and Bible proof text) the person they are saying this to takes it quite personally. They don’t think God thinks of them that way. They think the person making the statement does.

love_sinner_hate_sinUsing the hate the sin and not the sinner line doesn’t work either. First, the Bible says God hates sin and those who do it. Second, a Christians should love what God loves and hate what God hates.

Let me illustrate it like this. Suppose you are talking a walk in the woods and all of a sudden you stumble upon a skunk. Before you can run backwards, the skunk raises its tail and sprays you. You run away from the skunk but the skunk’s smell covers your skin and clothing.

Do you say, oh I love the skunk but hate his smell? Of course not. The skunk and its smell are intricately linked. If the Christian is consistent with their theology they must conclude that the sinner is intricately linked to his sin. Who does the sinning? The sinner does.

Of course, I know why some Christians take the, love the sinner, hate sin position. They don’t want to be thought of as judgmental or hateful. Like most humans and dogs, they want to be liked by everyone.

But, trust me, when a Christian says, you are an abomination because _______________________, the person they are saying this to takes it personally. (and they should)

With these thoughts in mind, let me post a letter a former lesbian turned Christian wrote to women who are still lesbians. This letter can be found on John Piper’s, Desiring God website.

Jackie Hill, the ex-lesbian, now Jesus-loving heterosexual, wrote:

Dear ______,

I just want you to know that I understand.

I understand how it feels to be in love with a woman. To want nothing more than to be with her forever. Feeling as if the universe has played a cruel joke on your heart by allowing it to fall into the hands of a creature that looks just like you.

I too was a lesbian. I had same-sex attractions as early as five-years old. As I grew up, those feelings never subsided. They only grew. I would find myself having crushes on my female best friends, but I was far too ashamed to admit it to them — let alone to myself.

At the age of 17, I finally made the decision to pursue these desires. I entered into a relationship with a young lady who became my “first.” The first time we kissed, it felt extremely natural, as if this feeling is what I had been missing all along. After her came another woman and then another woman. Both relationships were very serious, each lasting over a year. I enjoyed these relationships and loved these women a lot. And it came to the point that I was willing to forsake all, including my soul, to enjoy their love on earth.

In October 2008, at the age of 19, my superficial reality was shaken up by a deeper love — one from the outside, one that I’d heard of before but never experienced. For the first time, I was convicted of my sin in a way that made me consider everything I loved (idolized), and its consequences. I looked at my life, and saw that I had been in love with everything except God, and these decisions would ultimately be the death of me, eternally. My eyes were opened, and I began to believe everything God says in his word. I began to believe that what he says about sin, death, and hell were completely true.

And amazingly, at the same time that the penalty of my sin became true to me, so did the preciousness of the cross. A vision of God’s Son crucified, bearing the wrath I deserved, and an empty tomb displaying his power over death — all things I had heard before without any interest had become the most glorious revelation of love imaginable.

After realizing all of what I would have to give up, I said to God, “I cannot let these things or people go on my own. I love them too much. But I know you are good and strong enough to help me.”

Now, at the age of 23, I can say with all honesty that God has done just that. He has helped me love him more than anything.

Now why did I just tell you about this? I gave you a glimpse of my story because I want you to understand that I understand. But I also want you to know that I also understand how it feels to be in love with the Creator of the universe. To want nothing more than to be with him forever. To feel his grace, the best news ever announced to mankind. To see his forgiveness, that he would take such a wicked heart into his hands of mercy.

But with that in mind, we’re in a culture where stories like mine either seem impossible or hilarious, depending on the audience. Homosexuality is everywhere — from music, to TV, even sports. If you’d believe all that society had to say about homosexuality, you’d come to the conclusion that it is completely normal, even somewhat admirable. But that is far from the truth. God tells us that homosexuality is sinful, abominable, and unnatural (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:18–32; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; 1 Timothy 1:8–10). But if I were to be honest, sometimes homosexual attractions can seem natural to me.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this may be your dilemma as well. You see what God has to say about homosexuality, but your heart doesn’t utter the same sentiments. God’s word says it’s sinful; your heart says it feels right. God’s word says it’s abominable; your heart says it’s delightful. God’s word says it’s unnatural; your heart says it’s totally normal. Do you see that there is a clear divide between what God’s word says and how your heart feels?

So which voice should you believe?

There was a time in my walk with Christ where I experienced a lot of temptation about falling back into lesbianism. These temptations caused me to doubt God’s word. My temptations and desires began to become more real to me than the truth of the Bible. As I was praying and meditating on these things, God put this impression on my heart: “Jackie, you have to believe that my word is true even if it contradicts how you feel.” Wow! This is right. Either I trust in his word or I trust my own feelings. Either I look to him for the pleasure my soul craves or I search for it in lesser things. Either I walk in obedience to what he says or I reject his truth as if it were a lie.

The struggle with homosexuality is a battle of faith. Is God my joy? Is he good enough? Or am I still looking to broken cisterns to quench a thirst only he can satisfy? That is the battle. It is for me, and it is for you.

The choice is yours, my friend. I pray you put your faith in Christ and flee from the lies of our society that coincide with the voices of your heart — a heart that Scripture says is wicked and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). Run to Jesus instead.

You were made for him (Romans 11:36). He is ultimately all that you need! He is good and wise (Psalm 145:9). He is the source of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3). He is kind and patient (2 Peter 3:9). He is righteous and faithful (Psalm 33:4). He is holy and just (1 John 1:9). He is our true King (Psalm 47:7). He is our Savior (Jude 1:25). And he is inviting you to be not just his servant, but also his friend. If lasting love is what you’re looking for anywhere else, you are chasing the wind, seeking what you will never find, slowly being destroyed by your pursuit.

But in Jesus, there is fullness of joy. In Jesus, there is a relationship worth everything, because he is everything. Run to him.

So what do you think of Hill’s letter? Please leave your pithy observations in the comment section.

As Seen and Heard on TV

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God and religion are frequent topics of discussion on TV. Here are a few things I caught on TV over the weekend.

From the SyFy Channel show Defiance:

The Mayor of Defiance and a Preacher are on a bus.

Preacher: Can I interest you in a bible?

Mayor: Frankly reverend I prefer scotch.

The Preacher turned out to be a Man of God AND a murderous thief.  Smile

From the Sundance Channel show Rectify:

A discussion between Daniel Holden, a man released from prison after nineteen years, and his devout Christian sister-in-law Tawney Talbot.

Tawney: Could you ever accept Christ into your heart?

Daniel: I don’t think Buddha would mind making room or Confucius. Nietzsche might grumble

Tawney: You’re so smart

Daniel: Not really. I’ve just spent long hours in the reading room

Reading…a sure cure for Christianity.

From the HBO Channel show Game of Thrones:

A discussion between the late Ned Stark’s daughter Arya and an unnamed man.

Unnamed Man: Red god is the one true god.

Arya: He is not my god.

Unnamed Man: Who is your god?

Arya: Death.

Now there’s a God I can believe in. Smile

If Super Heroes Acted Like the God of the Bible

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WARNING: Video clip contains adult language.

What if our modern day superheroes solved problems like the God of the bible? Would they still be considered good? Why don’t we need to be told that Superman, Batman, The Avengers, etc, are good, but we do need to be told that God is good? Because actions speak for themselves. If you were never told that the God of the bible is good – if those verses were omitted – would you come to that conclusion on your own? The destroyer of cities and worlds who fail to worship Him…Good?! OR is it more likely that this God is a product of a culture seeking to justify its methods and actions against other cultures?

HT: DarkMatters2525 via The Friendly Atheist via OPA on Twitter

Why Doesn’t God Heal the Sick?

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Take a look around you. Do you know anyone who is sick? Do you know anyone who is suffering?  Are many of them Christians? I am sure you have quietly asked yourself, WHERE is their God? Why does God ignore their pain and suffering? Why does it seem God is more interested in Tim Tebow scoring a TD than he is dear Christian Aunt Suzie finding relief from her suffering?

According to orthodox Christian belief, God is all-knowing and all-powerful. God knows who will be sick, who is sick, and what their outcome will be. God has unlimited power to heal them or keep them from getting sick. According to Christians, God is an AWESOME God and he can do ANYTHING!!

Ask yourself, how awesome of a father would I be if I saw my child suffering, knowing I could do something about it, and did nothing? I would rightly be considered an evil man, perhaps even subject to criminal charges.

But, God gets a free pass. When a plane crashes and one passenger out of the hundred that boarded the plane survives, God is praised for deliverance of the one passenger. He delivered 1% of the passengers. What about the other 99%? Were they not worthy of being delivered by the awesome God who can do anything?

Christians can say what they will, but look around…God is nowhere to be found. Every once in awhile a healing is attributed to God, but, for the most part, people get sick, suffer, and die. Christians go to the grave praising a God who they just know will be waiting for them on the the other side. If he wasn’t around when they really needed him, when they were suffering and in great pain, what makes them think God will be around once they get to the Promised Land?

Of course, Christian pastors have all kinds of answers for the issues I raise here. Sam Storms, in an article on the Resurgence website, had this to say:

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this [thorn], that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” 2 Corinthians 12:8–9

God loved the Apostle Paul. Yet God sovereignly orchestrated Paul’s painful thorn in the flesh and then declined to remove it, notwithstanding Paul’s passionate prayer that he be healed.

We are not apostles. Yet, God loves us as his children no less than he loved Paul. We don’t know the nature of Paul’s thorn, but each of us has undoubtedly suffered in a similar way, and some considerably worse.

We, like Paul, have prayed incessantly to be healed. Or perhaps knowing of a loved one’s “thorn,” we have prayed for him or her. And again, as with Paul, God declined to remove it.

Why?

It’s hard to imagine a more difficult, confusing, and controversial topic than why God chooses not to heal in response to the intercessory pleas of his people. I don’t profess to have all the answers, but I think I’ve got a few.

Storms goes on to list seven reasons why God might not heal someone. I have put these reasons in statements that are easy to understand:

  • A Lack of Faith-Occasionally healing does not occur because of the absence of that sort of faith that God delights to honor. This does not mean that every time a person isn’t healed, it is because of a defective faith, as if healing inevitably follows a robust and doubt-free faith. But it does mean that faith is very important…
  • Sin in the Person’s Life-Sometimes healing does not occur because of the presence of sin for which there has been no confession or repentance. James 5:15–16 clearly instructs us to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another that we may be healed.
  • A Lack of Desire to be Healed-Odd as it may sound to hear it, healing may not happen because the sick don’t want it to happen. Jesus asked the paralyzed man in John 5:6, “Do you want to be healed?” What on the surface may appear to be a ridiculous question is, on further examination, found to be profoundly insightful. Some people who suffer from a chronic affliction become accustomed to their illness and to the pattern of life it requires. Their identity is to a large extent wrapped up in their physical disability.
  • A Lack of Praying-We must also consider the principle articulated in James 4:2, where we are told, “You do not have, because you do not ask.” The simple fact is that some are not healed because they do not pray. Perhaps they pray once or twice, and then allow discouragement to paralyze their petitions. Prayer for healing often must be prolonged, sustained, persevering, and combined with fasting.
  • The Person is Influenced by Demons-Some are not healed because the demonic cause of the affliction has not been addressed. Please do not jump to unwarranted conclusions. I am not suggesting that all physical disease is demonically induced…
  • Because God has a Reason and He is not Telling-We must also consider the mystery of divine providence. There are undoubtedly times and seasons in the purposes of God during which his healing power is withdrawn or at least largely diminished. God may have any number of reasons for this to which we are not privy, whether to discipline a wayward and rebellious church or to create a greater desperation for his power or to wean us off excessive dependence on physical comfort and convenience or any number of other possibilities
  • Because God Wants to Teach You a Lesson and Make the Person Stronger-Oftentimes there are dimensions of spiritual growth and moral development and increase in the knowledge of God in us that he desires more than our physical health, experiences that in his wisdom God has determined can only be attained by means or in the midst of or in response to less-than-perfect physical health. In other words, healing the sick is a good thing (and we should never cease to pray for it), but often there is a better thing that can be attained only by means of physical weakness…

For those of us raised in the Evangelical church, we have heard each of these statements many times as church leaders attempted to explain why so many Christians are sick and why God doesn’t seem to be healing them.

Did you see a common theme in Sam Storms reasons? It is YOUR fault if you are not healed. You lack faith, have sin in your life, don’t pray enough, are influenced by demons, or you really don’t WANT to be healed.

Of course, this is Evangelicalism 101. The sinner is always to blame. God gets a free ride because be is an AWESOME God and he has a wonderful, super-duper plan for our lives. God gets credit anytime something good happens, but when bad things happen God is absolved of any culpability. (if only life was like this) Smile

Storms does allow for the fact that maybe the reason a person is not healed is because God has a mysterious plan that he is not sharing with the sick person OR God has a lesson he wants to teach the person.

Why would anyone want to worship a God who uses suffering and sickness to teach people a lesson? Why would anyone want to worship a God who leaves people in pain because they don’t do EXACTLY as he says and even if they do EXACTLY as he says, he still leaves them in their pain? In other words, the suffering Christian is damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

whoop_assThis is why Christian pastors often teach that life is meant to be endured, a test from God. Those who endure to the end will be saved, the Bible says. If the Christians bears all the cans of whoop-ass that God opens up and pours out on their lives, God promises to give them a real nice place in Heaven after they die.

I find the humanist approach to suffering and sickness superior to the Christian view. As a humanist, I know there is no deity behind the health problems I have. Genetics, environment, lifestyle choices, and a healthy dose of, we don’t know why, are the reasons I am disabled and live with unrelenting pain, fatigue, and loss of muscle strength.

When I go to the doctor, I expect him to help me IF he can. I have told him many times, I don’t expect you to heal me. All I want is for you to help me as much as you can. The rest? I just have to live with it, and when I no longer want to live with it…well…I won’t live with it any longer.

As a humanist, I embrace my life as it is. I don’t live in hope of a divine payoff in the sweet by and by. This is my life and it is the only one I have. Either I embrace my life as it is and make the most of it or I roll over and die.

I know this seems hard and cold but it better than living under the Christian delusion that if really, really pray God might, if he is not too busy, heal me. Imagine going to the doctor every week for six months, and every time you went to the doctor he wasn’t there. I suspect, after a while, you’d be looking for a new doctor.

And that is exactly what I have done. I no longer have need of the mythical, absent Great Physician. I choose to embrace my humanity and hope that those who love me will help me when I need it.

God Shows Up Ten Years Late

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god_delivers

Evidently, God has been on one long vacation.

A decade ago, three Cleveland teenagers were kidnapped, and, until this week, they had been held against their will for almost ten years. One of the kidnapped women is Gina DeJesus.

DeJesus’ aunt, Sandra Ruiz,  had this to say about her niece’s stunning escape:

…I will tell you this because I was there to see her- all three girls. God works in mysterious ways. It’s just unbelievable, unbelievable, these girls, these women are so strong; stronger than I am…

…And God has blessed us by bringing all three of those girls, all of them back…

I realize, in the heat of the moment, people tend to praise God for their loved ones being rescued or surviving a horrific ordeal. However, the real question is, if God did indeed deliver these women from a decade of being held against their will, why did he wait so long?

God had ten years to rescue these women. Surely he could have made an anonymous 911 call or sent someone to check on them. Instead, God did what God does…nothing.

It is fair to ask, if God indeed delivered them, then WHY did God not deliver them years ago?  Why did he allow them to abused and brutalized?  Why did he allow them to be so deeply scarred that their entire life going forward will be defined by the ten years they spent being held against their will?

Why I am Agnostic on the God Question

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clarence_darrow_quote

A commenter on Ken Ham’s Facebook page stated:

Interesting how one billboard says: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”. Notice the word “probably” : ) …and we thought they knew for sure!

Why do many Christians think atheists are certain there is no God?

One reason is that we tend to speak in absolutes when we talk about God. As a blogger, I don’t have the time or energy to modify everything I write about the Gods with nuanced words so it “seems” that I am certain there is NO God.

It is like the word Christian. When I write about Christians and Christianity, I am almost always referring to Fundamentalist oriented Evangelicalism. People who frequent this blog know this, but the newbie who finds this blog via a web search does not know this. As a result, they will often think that I am painting all Christians with the same brush. (and I need to do a better job at being clear about WHO I am writing about)

So it is with atheists and their talk about God.

I am an atheist and an agnostic. I live my day-to-day life as an atheist. The only time God enters my thinking is when I am writing a blog post or working on a book project.

When I first deconverted I called myself an agnostic. But, I got tired of having to constantly explain myself, so I decided to call myself an atheist.  Even then, many people do not really understand what it means to be an atheist. (please read my post The A Word)

When it comes to the God question, no one can be absolutely sure there is no God. Anyone who says they are absolutely certain there is no God is stating something that can not be proved.(no more than the Christian can prove there is a God)

At best, atheists are agnostic on the God question. Based on the available evidence it is unlikely a God exists. It is all about probabilities. Is it probable a God exists? From my seat in the pew, I say No.

An atheist can, however, be atheistic towards the current panoply of Gods worshipped by humans.  It is one thing to say, I am not certain a God exists and a whole other thing to say, the Christian God, as revealed in the Christian Bible, does not exist.

Perhaps there IS a God and that God has not yet revealed itself to us. Perhaps there is a divine energy that we can not see and know.  We simply can’t and don’t know for certain and we need to be honest about not knowing for certain. Of course, the same could be said of those who believe there is a God. They can’t know for certain either.

Some atheists deride agnostics as people who are cowards, people who still have religious sympathies. I don’t think this is a true assessment of agnostics. The agnostic is a still open to new evidence. They are willing to consider any new study, find, or evidence that comes to light. However, the hardcore, there are NO NO NO NO NO God, atheist has closed their mind and is not much different from a closed-minded Fundamentalist Christian. Both have their minds made up.

Some people suggest that science will give us the answer to the God question some day. Science will some day answer the origin question. Perhaps. But, until then, I intend to continue to be agnostic when it comes to God. It will take a lot more evidence than is currently available for me to state with great certainty, there is NO God.

Let me end this post with the words of Clarence Darrow:

An agnostic is a doubter. The word is generally applied to those who doubt the verity of accepted religious creeds of faiths. Everyone is an agnostic as to the beliefs or creeds they do not accept. Catholics are agnostic to the Protestant creeds, and the Protestants are agnostic to the Catholic creed. Any one who thinks is an agnostic about something, otherwise he must believe that he is possessed of all knowledge. And the proper place for such a person is in the madhouse or the home for the feeble-minded. In a popular way, in the western world, an agnostic is one who doubts or disbelieves the main tenets of the Christian faith.

I would say that belief in at least three tenets is necessary to the faith of a Christian: a belief in God, a belief in immortality, and a belief in a supernatural book. Various Christian sects require much more, but it is difficult to imagine that one could be a Christian, under any intelligent meaning of the word, with less. Yet there are some people who claim to be Christians who do not accept the literal interpretation of all the Bible, and who give more credence to some portions of the book than to others.

I am an agnostic as to the question of God. I think that it is impossible for the human mind to believe in an object or thing unless it can form a mental picture of such object or thing. Since man ceased to worship openly an anthropomorphic God and talked vaguely and not intelligently about some force in the universe, higher than man, that is responsible for the existence of man and the universe, he cannot be said to believe in God. One cannot believe in a force excepting as a force that pervades matter and is not an individual entity. To believe in a thing, an image of the thing must be stamped on the mind. If one is asked if he believes in such an animal as a camel, there immediately arises in his mind an image of the camel. This image has come from experience or knowledge of the animal gathered in some way or other. No such image comes, or can come, with the idea of a God who is described as a force.

Man has always speculated upon the origin of the universe, including himself. I feel, with Herbert Spencer, that whether the universe had an origin– and if it had– what the origin is will never be known by man. The Christian says that the universe could not make itself; that there must have been some higher power to call it into being. Christians have been obsessed for many years by Paley’s argument that if a person passing through a desert should find a watch and examine its spring, its hands, its case and its crystal, he would at once be satisfied that some intelligent being capable of design had made the watch. No doubt this is true. No civilized man would question that someone made the watch. The reason he would not doubt it is because he is familiar with watches and other appliances made by man. The savage was once unfamiliar with a watch and would have had no idea upon the subject. There are plenty of crystals and rocks of natural formation that are as intricate as a watch, but even to intelligent man they carry no implication that some intelligent power must have made them. They carry no such implication because no one has any knowledge or experience of someone having made these natural objects which everywhere abound.

To say that God made the universe gives us no explanation of the beginnings of things. If we are told that God made the universe, the question immediately arises: Who made God? Did he always exist, or was there some power back of that? Did he create matter out of nothing, or is his existence coextensive with matter? The problem is still there. What is the origin of it all? If, on the other hand, one says that the universe was not made by God, that it always existed, he has the same difficulty to confront. To say that the universe was here last year, or millions of years ago, does not explain its origin. This is still a mystery. As to the question of the origin of things, man can only wonder and doubt and guess…

My Encounter with Jesus

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A guest post by Ashu

I was born in a liberal yet religious Hindu family. I am a ritualistic person and I believe in idol- worship, going to temples and in holy chants. Thankfully, I have always been open to embrace the goodness of other religions and since my elder sister studied in a convent, Jesus Christ made an early entry into my life.

Christians were probably the most forward people in our society when I was growing up. Ladies wore skirts, went to church during menstruation, something which is not allowed both in Hinduism as well as Islam. I chose to read Bible, only because of this reason as I could read it all 30 days of the month, without the fear and the guilt of being unholy during some days. I was impressed by New Testament but wondered why do Protestants not worship Mother Mary? The mother has to be divine to produce a divine offspring and thus with times got attracted more towards Catholicism. I was impressed by their idea of service, saw the great work missionaries were doing and marveled that why were other religions not doing so much?

Much later in my life, I was exposed to the conversions of tribal and poor in remote parts of my country. I saw the speeches of great orators who performed miracles and the crowd that gathered. This time I was not impressed as I could see through the façade. I read more literature and realized that sex is considered to be a sin and that is the main reason humans are considered to be sinners. Gosh, the religion was turning out to be regressive. I read stories on how women were burnt alive as they were considered to be having sex with the devil, an allegation they could not counter

Today if someone asks me about my faith in Christ, I would accept, more than that I believe in Mother Mary coz being a Hindu I believe in the divine power of mother and I realize that Christ has nothing to do with the services and conversions that take place in his name. He would listen to my prayer and answer even if I am a Hindu, I need not convert to attract him more.

I have a firm faith and belief that God exists whether he is Christ or Allah or Lord Ganesha, I don’t know but who so ever he is, he is above all these petty differences.

Does God Approve of Sex with Children?

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mosesAnd the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian…

…And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males…And they slew the kings of Midian… And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods…

…And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho…

…And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.  And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?  Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.

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 31:1-18)

Under the command of  God and Moses, the Israelites waged war against the Midianites. They slaughtered the Midianites, eventually killing everyone except the virgin female children.

What should we make of this passage of  Scripture? On one hand, this  is just another example of God’s murderous genocidal rage. But the fact that the virgin female children are spared shows that God and Moses approve of Israelite men having sex with young girls.

Christian commentators, sensing that this passage of Scriptures seems to suggest that the Israelite men were permitted to have sex with these young virgin female children or were permitted to make them their concubines, go to great lengths to explain away the text says.

Speaking of Numbers 31:18, John Gill writes:

But all the women children,…. The females among the little ones:  that have not known a man by lying with him; which might be pretty clear, and easily concluded, from their age:  keep for yourselves; either to be handmaids to them, or to be married among them when grown up, and become proselytes, and initiated into their religion.

RA Torrey, in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge states:

keep alive for yourselves: It has been groundlessly asserted, that Moses here authorized the Israelites to make concubines of the whole number of female children; and an insidious objection against his writings has been grounded upon this monstrous supposition. But the whole tenor of the law, and especially a statute recorded in Deu_21:10-14, proves most decisively to the contrary. They were merely permitted to possess them as female slaves, educating them in their families, and employing them as domestics; for the laws concerning fornication, concubinage, and marriage, were in full force, and prohibited an Israelite even from marrying a captive, without delays and previous formalities; and if he afterwards divorced her, he was to set here at liberty, “because he had humbled her.”

The above commentators would have us believe that the reason for keeping the young virgin female Midianites alive was for some other reason than to have sex with them.

However, it is clear from this story that God, Moses, and the Israelites were barbarians who slaughtered everyone who stood in their way. History shows us that other barbarous people saw young girls, young women, and women in general, as the spoils of war. Were the Israelites any different than other warring people? I doubt it.

While it certain that these young girls were used as slaves, it is ludicrous to think that the Israelite men did not have sex with them. Do Christians really expect us to believe that the violent Israelite men, who slaughtered men, women, and children, suddenly became kind, decent, moral Sunday School teachers when it came to the young virgin female Midianites?

One online commentator suggests that the Midianites were so evil that they had to be destroyed and that God was actually doing the young Midianite girls a favor by sparing them and integrating them into  God’s chosen people. However, any cursory reading of the Old Testament clearly reveals that evil people=anyone who did not worship the Israelite God.

The God commanded genocide found in the Old Testament is an insurmountable problem for Christians when  unbelievers bring it up.  No matter the explanation, one truth remains…God is a vicious, murderous deity who commanded his followers to kill everyone who does not worship Him.

Christians will often point to the Koran and its commands to kill the infidel, yet they seem to conveniently ignore that their own God commands the same thing.

I suppose a Christian might argue that we are under the New Covenant now and that God acts differently than he did in the Old Testament. While this might help the Christian sleep better at night, it doesn’t square with the fact that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The only answer for the Christian is to admit that God had anger management problems and that through counseling he is now a kinder, gentler God.

But…there is the last book of the Bible…the book of Revelation, and this book is a reminder that the Christian God has not changed at all. He remains, as he always has, a vicious, murderous deity who demands that everyone, under the penalty of death, worship Him.

A Christian Prays that God Will Kill Me

21 Replies

there_is_no_god

A person  by the name of CJ sent me the following email yesterday:

Jesus said, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All people were born into sin and the only way to escape is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. There is none righteous no not one. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I understand you have thoughts about this IFB, crowd. However, there is a dying world out there and people need the truth to be set free from the bondage of sin, self and satan. My friend do you have a personal relationship with the Lord? If so, then, why not give the Gospel to every creature as the Lord commands all believers to tell the ‘Good News’. Life is short, death is sure and eternity is forever. John 3:16

Being in a feisty mood I wrote the following response to CJ:

Bruce said, For none have sinned and come short of the glory of God for there is no God. All people are born and some day die. There is none who are perfect including Jesus. For the wages of bad behavior is regret and feeling bad, but the gift of being human is a chance to make things right. For whosoever shall make things right will be forgiven by those they have offended. The gospel according to Bruce.

You do know I am an atheist, right? Please preach your bullshit to someone who wants to hear it. I don’t.

Bruce

CJ responded tonight:

There was a man named Judas who rejected God’s love and is in hell tonight. I can pray that God will give you a heart attack and you can die tonight and meet Judas if you want.  He is not having a good time, trust me.

Your Choice

And still being in a feisty mood, and a bit cranky since I am in a lot of physical pain tonight and my Ohio State Buckeyes just lost to Wichita State, I responded:

Please do pray. Let’s see if your god answers your prayer.

You don’t even know your Bible well enough to know that when people die they go to the grave to   await the resurrection.

So if I have a heart attack tonight and die your God is real. Is that the challenge, genius? And if I don’t you will admit your prayers are worthless and your god doesn’t exist?

Of course not. You will find some way to excuse your gods inaction.

I am not scared of your prayers or God. So by all means, let’s have a 1 Kings 18 challenge. Let us see if your God is real.

I felt the Presence of God

24 Replies

feeling_god

As a Christian, I felt the presence of God many, many times. I felt God moving and working in my life. I felt God speaking to me. There were moments when I was overwhelmed with the presence of Almighty God. I just knew God was right there beside me.

My experiences were very similar to the experiences of others in my religious tradition. Have you noticed that people who are from the same religious tradition tend to have the same religious experiences?

Baptists rarely, if ever, speak in tongues, yet people in the Assembly of God or the Pentecostal church routinely speak in tongues. Why the difference?

The answer is quite simple. We tend to mimic the actions and behaviors of the groups we are a part of.  We want to be accepted; we want to feel that we are a part of the group. What better way to show that you are a part of the group than doing what others in the group do?

I spent most of my life in the Baptist church. While Baptists have a common doctrinal heritage, Baptist churches can have quite diverse practices. Baptist churches in the North are much more staid, whereas churches is the south are much freer.

I grew up in churches where people rarely said amen or expressed their emotions during church services. I remember going to a pastor’s conference in Rossville, Georgia where I was exposed, for the first time,to  Baptist worship Southern-style. Preachers were hooting and a hollering, standing on the chairs, running the aisles…pretty much like Pentecostals except no one spoke in tongues, (unless speaking with a heavy Southern accent  counts as speaking in tongues)

When I was the pastor of a Christian Union church I attended a pastor’s meeting where they had a season of prayer. Ok, I thought, praying is praying, right? Nope. Everyone in the room started praying out loud. I thought, how can God make sense of this noise? Smile  After a short time of this, the praying died down and the pastor of church closed the prayer time with a prayer. I experienced several more prayer meetings just like this and EVERY one of them started and ended the same way.

So when a person says, I felt the presence of God, their experience must be judged in light of the religious culture they are a part of. While I can make no judgment about them feeling the presence of God since feeling anything is a subjective experience, I can try to understand how and why they had this experience.

All of the subjective experiences I had in church must be judged according to the religious culture I was a part of.  As I look back on these experiences I now know they were driven by a deep emotional desire  I had to be connected to something bigger and outside of myself.  Little did I know that something bigger and outside myself was the ceiling of the church. Smile

How about you? Have you ever had a time where you felt the presence of God? If you are now an unbeliever, how do you explain your experience? Please share your story in the comment section.