FAITH is a word that Jesus may have used, or rather the equivalent Hebrew word in his day. But I think that most of us don't understand FAITH in the way that he meant it. If it is something that blinds us to the truth, and makes us ignore factual evidence, then it disserves God. As God is nothing less than the Eternal Guardian of Truth, the Ultimate Historian. The truth is that we believe certain things whether or not our beliefs are correct, and in some cases it's quite possible for our beliefs to be incorrect.
The evidence suggests that Moses heard the Genesis Story from someone other than God himself. We can definitivly say that the story of Adam and Eve is mythological in nature, it is NOT literal truth. One way that we can know this is by dating the days of Adam, it's possible to determine an approximate date that Adam would have been formed. The Archaeological evidence suggests that Humanity pre-exists this date that Adam was supposedly formed, and subsequently became the father of our species. It's really quite impossible for Adam and Eve to be our original progenitors if they lived at the time that the Genesis Story says that they did. Therefore the Genesis Story must be incorrect; and if it is incorrect then the Eternal Guardian of Truth and our Ultimate Historian can not be the source of the story. Adam would have lived within the range of 6000 years ago, which means that the Great Flood of Noah's time occurred less than 6000 years ago. The Archaeological evidence suggests that the Native American people lived in North America for at least 10,000 years. If Noah's flood had covered the whole world less than 6000 years ago, then the Native American people would have been wiped out, obviously.
It's well within the realm of possibilities that Moses believed he was doing the right thing, he may have believed in his own divine guidance. But I think that most of the things Moses ascribed to God, can be attributed to the character and judgement of Moses. In other words I am saying that Moses is the author of the Ten Commandments, the One-True-And-Most-High-God has no desire to give Humanity a set of Laws. Instead of giving us laws, he gives each of us a degree of personal judgement, which we must apply to our own lives and every situation. For myself it's completely unthinkable that an Angry God could be calmed down by a mere mortal Human Being, but I don't believe there really is an Angry God as Moses described. It seems quite clear that Moses himself was angry, to the extent that he was willing to perpetrate mass murder upon 1000 of his own people. And we must go by the story which Moses himself committed to writing down, Moses should have been fully aware of the commandment against Murder prior to committing it. But for some reason most believers are willing to discount this Murder as something other than Murder. Presumably if a crime has been committed then punishment is deserved, up to and including the forced loss of life, and we should not call this form of capital punishment Murder. In the long run of history up to the present day, the acts of Moses have
done much harm, it has been the cause of much division and conflict.
We must ask ourselves whether or not the author of this blog deserves any respect from us; we can in no way demand respect from others. In all humility we should never exercise our own judgement to the extent that we may view another Human Being as undeserving of dignified treatment. Basic Human Dignity is a concept which we must apply without making any exceptions, regardless of the other person's actions.
We must always view our peers and companions in life as deserving of MORE LIFE, and IMMORTAL LIFE for the purpose of getting more personal experience if for no other reason. Life and Personal Experience is the thing which is most for the good of all people equally. And even if we think that the other person is a criminal plain and clear; we must at least believe that they deserve Everlasting Accountability!
It's quite inescapable, the judgement of our peers will be applied whether or not we think it justified; but at least let us mind the final plea of Christ and let there be a pardon from all punishment. That is the meaning of the Salvation and Forgiveness which the Lord has through his own efforts and personal sacrifice, made available to every Human Being. No matter what a man, woman or child of Man has done, they have a valid excuse, and the excuse may simply be that they felt angry at the time. For most of the Evil deeds of Men, feelings of Anger provide ample justification, we can not account for the way we feel at times. Beyond our own power to control, we sometimes believe incorrectly and thus choose to act in accordance with those beliefs. No-one can truly be blamed for these circumstance, if the content of our education was partially erroneous, we are not at fault for choosing to trust someone other than ourselves.
Despite the complete lack of General Authorities, it's still possible for us to know some true things. But we must always be careful to distinguish between the things we know, and the things that we assume. A really good Fantasy can be a very attractive thing; but we must temper our imagination with the understanding that all the possibilities of Universe or Heaven are not well defined. What the future has in store for us, we can't really say. And to have certain expectations in FAITH may very well find us disappointed in the actual outcome, especially if they are not expectations in LOVE.
The evidence suggests that Moses heard the Genesis Story from someone other than God himself. We can definitivly say that the story of Adam and Eve is mythological in nature, it is NOT literal truth. One way that we can know this is by dating the days of Adam, it's possible to determine an approximate date that Adam would have been formed. The Archaeological evidence suggests that Humanity pre-exists this date that Adam was supposedly formed, and subsequently became the father of our species. It's really quite impossible for Adam and Eve to be our original progenitors if they lived at the time that the Genesis Story says that they did. Therefore the Genesis Story must be incorrect; and if it is incorrect then the Eternal Guardian of Truth and our Ultimate Historian can not be the source of the story. Adam would have lived within the range of 6000 years ago, which means that the Great Flood of Noah's time occurred less than 6000 years ago. The Archaeological evidence suggests that the Native American people lived in North America for at least 10,000 years. If Noah's flood had covered the whole world less than 6000 years ago, then the Native American people would have been wiped out, obviously.
It's well within the realm of possibilities that Moses believed he was doing the right thing, he may have believed in his own divine guidance. But I think that most of the things Moses ascribed to God, can be attributed to the character and judgement of Moses. In other words I am saying that Moses is the author of the Ten Commandments, the One-True-And-Most-High-God has no desire to give Humanity a set of Laws. Instead of giving us laws, he gives each of us a degree of personal judgement, which we must apply to our own lives and every situation. For myself it's completely unthinkable that an Angry God could be calmed down by a mere mortal Human Being, but I don't believe there really is an Angry God as Moses described. It seems quite clear that Moses himself was angry, to the extent that he was willing to perpetrate mass murder upon 1000 of his own people. And we must go by the story which Moses himself committed to writing down, Moses should have been fully aware of the commandment against Murder prior to committing it. But for some reason most believers are willing to discount this Murder as something other than Murder. Presumably if a crime has been committed then punishment is deserved, up to and including the forced loss of life, and we should not call this form of capital punishment Murder. In the long run of history up to the present day, the acts of Moses have
done much harm, it has been the cause of much division and conflict.
We must ask ourselves whether or not the author of this blog deserves any respect from us; we can in no way demand respect from others. In all humility we should never exercise our own judgement to the extent that we may view another Human Being as undeserving of dignified treatment. Basic Human Dignity is a concept which we must apply without making any exceptions, regardless of the other person's actions.
We must always view our peers and companions in life as deserving of MORE LIFE, and IMMORTAL LIFE for the purpose of getting more personal experience if for no other reason. Life and Personal Experience is the thing which is most for the good of all people equally. And even if we think that the other person is a criminal plain and clear; we must at least believe that they deserve Everlasting Accountability!
It's quite inescapable, the judgement of our peers will be applied whether or not we think it justified; but at least let us mind the final plea of Christ and let there be a pardon from all punishment. That is the meaning of the Salvation and Forgiveness which the Lord has through his own efforts and personal sacrifice, made available to every Human Being. No matter what a man, woman or child of Man has done, they have a valid excuse, and the excuse may simply be that they felt angry at the time. For most of the Evil deeds of Men, feelings of Anger provide ample justification, we can not account for the way we feel at times. Beyond our own power to control, we sometimes believe incorrectly and thus choose to act in accordance with those beliefs. No-one can truly be blamed for these circumstance, if the content of our education was partially erroneous, we are not at fault for choosing to trust someone other than ourselves.
Despite the complete lack of General Authorities, it's still possible for us to know some true things. But we must always be careful to distinguish between the things we know, and the things that we assume. A really good Fantasy can be a very attractive thing; but we must temper our imagination with the understanding that all the possibilities of Universe or Heaven are not well defined. What the future has in store for us, we can't really say. And to have certain expectations in FAITH may very well find us disappointed in the actual outcome, especially if they are not expectations in LOVE.
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