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Here is a thread dedicated to my questions about the Bible and its God . I have started reading the Bible in its dead-tree form in the past few days , and I want to ask questions to Christians regarding the interpretation they give to certain passages which , to me , seem a bit strange or otherwise inappropriate .
Query 001 :
I'll begin with a query I have around the part I am now reading . In Exodus 6.3 to 6.5 , God appears to be telling Moses that he will deliberately harden the heart of the Pharoah so that Egypt will suffer plagues in order that Egypt may know that the LORD is the LORD . This seems incompatible with the Christian ideal of a loving and kind god . Could a Christian please clarify ( this is a request I will be making a number of times in this thread ) ?
Status : Answered
Query 002 :
My next query is :
Exodus 34.12 to 34.16 :
12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. [a] 14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
15 "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.
This passage seems to me incredibly intolerant of polytheist idol-worshippers , such as the Hindus . Does this mean that no understanding is possible between Hindus and Christians ? Does it mean that the Christian God does not accept Hinduism as a true religion ? It tells Christians to "break the altars" of others , to "smash their sacred stones" . Is such behaviour acceptable by any standard of decency ?
Also - I find it repulsive that other people's worship of their God(s) is called "prostituting" . Can someone explain this ?
I ask - why does God say this ?
Status : Answered
Query 003 :
In Genesis ( I'm going back a bit , I know ) 25.29-34 :
Was it right of Jacob , a man of God , to deny his brother food when he was starving ? Has Jacob no familial love for his brother that he has to use such tactics to gain Esau's birthright ?
Status : Currently Under Discussion
Query 001 :
I'll begin with a query I have around the part I am now reading . In Exodus 6.3 to 6.5 , God appears to be telling Moses that he will deliberately harden the heart of the Pharoah so that Egypt will suffer plagues in order that Egypt may know that the LORD is the LORD . This seems incompatible with the Christian ideal of a loving and kind god . Could a Christian please clarify ( this is a request I will be making a number of times in this thread ) ?
Status : Answered
My next query is :
Exodus 34.12 to 34.16 :
12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. [a] 14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
15 "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.
Also - I find it repulsive that other people's worship of their God(s) is called "prostituting" . Can someone explain this ?
I ask - why does God say this ?
Status : Answered
In Genesis ( I'm going back a bit , I know ) 25.29-34 :
Was it right of Jacob , a man of God , to deny his brother food when he was starving ? Has Jacob no familial love for his brother that he has to use such tactics to gain Esau's birthright ?
Status : Currently Under Discussion
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