Friday, March 28, 2014
Two Creation Accounts in Genesis
Why are there two creation accounts in Genesis (Bereshit)? One of them, from Genesis 1:1-2:4, the other is Genesis 2:4b-Genesis 4. The first lays out seven days of creation:
Day 1: heavens, earth, light, day and night.
Day 2: the "dome" (sky) that separates the waters below (on earth) from the waters above the sky.
Day 3: dry land and vegetation.
Day 4: stars, moon, sun.
Day 5: water creatures and birds.
Day 6: land animals; humankind (both male and female). The number of human beings created is not specified. Also, God here gives to people "every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food" (Gen 1:29) -- no prohibitions.
Day 7: God rested, and blessed this day.
The second lays out a very different version of creation, without the seven days binding the creation and with an emphasis on agriculture:
earth and heavens; no rain yet but a spring would well up and water the ground
from dust, man was created (not woman yet)
garden of Eden -- man is put here; garden includes the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil
God tells man to till and keep the garden of Eden, but not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
God notices that Man is alone and wants to find him a helper and partner, so He first creates animals and birds and Man names them. But still there was no helper as partner.
God makes Man fall asleep, pulls out a rib, and makes Woman.
The story of original sin then ensues.
In the first story, everything is good; in the second, everything is not good and humans are prohibited from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In Mark 10:6, Jesus seems to believe the first creation account (that men and women were created together). This is all putting aside the fact that neither creation account is historically accurate. Which creation account do you believe?
Things sacrificed to idols
Here is an interesting question for all the Christians: Is it or is it not Biblically permissible to eat things sacrificed to idols? Your answer to this question will reflect whether you believe primarily in Paul or the apostles. The dissenting voices of the Bible:
Acts 15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas,two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23 With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul-- 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. 30 The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
This is the voice of the apostles: Abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. Paul, on the other hand, says there is nothing wrong with eating the meat of animals sacrificed to other gods:
1 Corinthians 8:1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God. 4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 7 But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
So, which voice speaks louder to you, oh Christian? And how do you deal with this obvious contradiction in the Bible?
Acts 15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas,two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23 With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul-- 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. 30 The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
This is the voice of the apostles: Abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. Paul, on the other hand, says there is nothing wrong with eating the meat of animals sacrificed to other gods:
1 Corinthians 8:1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God. 4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 7 But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
So, which voice speaks louder to you, oh Christian? And how do you deal with this obvious contradiction in the Bible?
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Is the trinity Biblical?
First of all, the idea of a trinity is not uniquely Christian. Many other religions, including Hinduism, Egyptian religion, Phoenician religion, classical Greek religion, Roman religion, Celtic religion, and others had trinities. The idea of the trinity is not mentioned at all in the Bible. The claim that "elohim" is a plurality, therefore refers to a plural deity, is not at all supported by the Bible or by the Hebrew language, and in fact should make Christians worship *at least* SIX gods, not three:
(Sorry, this video comes in at the middle of a thought, but it makes a good point). The idea of a trinity contradicts Deuteronomy 6:4--"Hear, o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." The idea of the trinity is also illogical. There is no Biblical support for the idea of the trinity, nor is there any support for it before the fourth century.
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