Dear Christians: What does your god actually do?
September 22, 2015 at 8:23 pm
(This post was last modified: September 22, 2015 at 10:26 pm by Aractus.)
One of the problems with the Abrahamic god is that he doesn't do anything, despite what the Bible says he should be doing.
Perhaps of even greater concern is that he breaks all of the sacred covenants he makes with us anyway (not that the dispensationalist Xians seems to mind much):
The New Testament is even more bizarre:
Matt 10:23 is yet another broken promise, but this time it's Jesus not Yahweh who makes it:
So what does the Abrahamic God actually do, if anything?
And why did Christians start fleeing to cities outside of Israel? Jesus said the 'Son of Man' would have come by then.
Perhaps of even greater concern is that he breaks all of the sacred covenants he makes with us anyway (not that the dispensationalist Xians seems to mind much):
- Adamic covenant: Yahweh asserts his authority to judge humanity because Adam ate from the tree he told him not to eat from. Supposidly this covenant still applies today, despite the ones I'm about to mention being mothballed by his gloriousness.
- Noahic covenant: Yahweh tells Noah he can eat meat now (before this humans were vegetarian, according to the Bible), so long as it's kosher. He will also make all animals fear mankind. He will also never again flood the Earth to kill everyone. Yahweh also introduces capital punishment at this time for the crime of murder (in a few generations time he introduces it for homosexual acts and other things too, but for now it's just for murder).
- Abrahamic covenant: Genesis 15. This is the single most disturbing covenant Yahweh makes, because he blatantly lies to and misleads Abram. He foretells that the Israelite people will be enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years and promises to deliver them, with great possessions, and then to lead them to the land of Canaan, the land where Abraham is now, to possess. In Genesis 17 he renews the covenant with Abram (now Abraham) and tells him that his descendants shall have the whole of the Canaan land to possess as an eternal possession.
- Yahweh reaffirms this covenant with Moses, and then Joshua, and then David (2 Samuel 7). But it's all a lie. If Yahweh was to tell Abram the truth the first time then he would have said: "Your descendants will be enslaved in Egypt, then I will deliver them, then I'll make them wait 40 years in the desert, then I will give them the Canaan land to possess, and then I will become displeased with them and allow other nations such as Rome to come in and seize control of the land from them".
The New Testament is even more bizarre:
- Jesus gives his disciples the ability to drive out daemons and heal every kind of disease and sickness (Luke 9/Matt 10). This authority is never revoked -
- In Acts 3 Peter heals a crippled beggar and then in Acts 4 he faces some Jewish leaders and tells them that the man was healed "in the name of Jesus".
- In Acts 9 Jesus takes away Saul's sight and Ananias heals him after three days: "So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored." (Acts 9:17-18a).
- Peter heals a paralysed man named Aeneas: "Peter said to him, 'Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!' And immediately he got up." (Acts 9:34)
- In Acts 14 Paul heals a man who was crippled from birth: "And Paul, looking at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said in a loud voice, 'Stand upright on your feet.' And the man sprang up and began to walk." (Acts 19b-10).
- James says the prayer of a righteous man can heal the sick (James 5).
- Yahweh is not faithful to his devoted followers: Jesus is crucified, John the Baptist is beheaded, Judas Iscariot hangs himself, Herod has James the son of Zebedee killed by the sword, Simeon and James the Just are stoned to death, Peter is crucified, Paul is executed by the Romans, Nero persecutes the Christians from 64-68AD, and in 70AD the Jerusalem Church is completely destroyed (along with the rest of Jerusalem) as far as anyone can tell. As far as anyone knows, every significant first century church leader was either executed directly or killed in the Great Revolt - including Barnabas and Luke.
Matt 10:23 is yet another broken promise, but this time it's Jesus not Yahweh who makes it:
- "When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes."
So what does the Abrahamic God actually do, if anything?
And why did Christians start fleeing to cities outside of Israel? Jesus said the 'Son of Man' would have come by then.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke