Creation/evolution3

[Drich]

I'm confused by what you mean by "known/knowable events". I'm guessing you mean "non-miraculous events"?

yes non miraculous.

I agree that according the story, God was trying to create a generation of Israelites who trusted God, so they could be the nation that God promised Abraham, follow God's law, blah blah blah. So making them depend on miraculous food and water was part of God's plan.

The fastest way through to a man's heart is through his stomach.. and even then it took 40 years.

If you're willing to believe in manna, then I suppose it's not such a stretch to believe that the Israelites fastidiously recycled all their waste or that people eating manna had no need to defecate, or that there was no trash because nothing wore out, or whatever.

This is the point or position Tonus takes... Again when he does I point to the over 60 CITIES found in the desert who had have had tens of millions over the course of hundreds if not thousands of years live and work in them and still NONE of the stuff you mentioned above has been found for them. Only their stone foundations. Why?!?! Two reasons. The Jews would have taken all their stuff with them into the promise land and everything you mentioned is indeed biodegradeable. This means of the course of 4000 years all the stuff you mention rots away. That is why none of the stuff can be found for the hundred year old cities nor the 40 year old camping trip.

We might also believe that God created the universe 6000 years ago in such a way that it appeared to have been created by a big bang 13 billion years ago.

Why would we need do that, when their isn't a time line between the end of creation and the fall of man?
This could mean God created the garden in the seven day cycle and simply perserved it for the bazillions of years that evolution and the rock guys will ultimatly need to cover their stories.

One problem with miracles is that God supposedly created the laws of nature (gravity, etc.) It seems to me that God would not break those laws willy-nilly to impress a group of people so that they could go and commit genocide in the promised land. Wouldn't it make more sense for God to use his miraculous power to make the indigenous peoples of the promised land welcome the Israelites as God's chosen people?

I say that All the time kudoes for you!
"God is the creator of the Known universe which means He has put all the different laws of 'nature' into place. So why would he need to circumvent those laws each and every time He wanted to do something? Wouldn't an all knowing all powerful God simply create a system the would 'naturally' work with his will?"

The answer here comes in the stated reason for miricals/Signs and wonders to begin with. Christ said He did the things He did in the way that He did them so that 'we' would know He was God.

God sustained these people for 40 years with signs and wonders... Who in the first or second generation doubted who God was? What he did their sustained the jews throught the highs and lows of their existance. Centuries went by and they had no structure no goverment of their own and yet they kept their heritage alive because of what was done in the 40 span.