Re: OT: the following is censorship

On Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:33:00 -0500, "Jr@Ease"
<do.not.send.spam@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Here's the quote from the Bible. AGAIN.

24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse
on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of
the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

Now where did a mere human get the power to tell bears what to do? Can
you do it? Is that a gift God gave you? Or anyone else in the history
of the world? He "called down a curse"? From where? From the LORD.

In the name of the LORD, not from the LORD.

Elisha was given a miracle working faith just like Elijah. Elijah
also called down fire to consume men who were sent to bring him to the
King and Queen. Elijah prayed for no rain and later for rain, and it
happened according to his word (And Elijah the Tishbite ... said unto
Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there
shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word, 1
Kings 17:1). Elijah called down fire to consume an altar. Elisha
tossed wood in a river and caused an axe head to float. Elisha
brought a dead boy back to life. These are miracles that worked
because of a supernatural faith - faith these prophets were given by
God. Elisha put a curse on the children in the name of the LORD, but
it was Elisha who put the curse on them - not God.

(and I won't even get into the question of whther there is such a
thing as "curses" that can be used to hurt people. That's a fun thing
to make-believe in at Halloween, but c'mon, Howard, get real.)

Oh yes there are curses. Ask a satanist.

And even, as you say, it's a gift he got that he misused, it's a gift
from GOD. So god gave Elisha a gift to call bears to maul children for
no good reason (well, because he was teased for being bald - same
thing). At the very least, God sent those bears ("In the name of the
LORD") to maul those children. It was he who was called upon to send
the bears, and send them he did.

Again no, God did not send the bears. Elisha's faith brought a curse
on the children. And it came in the form of bears.

To interpose Elisha in the process and heap all responsibility on him
is disingenuous, Howard, and mere rationalization, which is why I
don't read Christian apologetics to understand your supposed theology.
It's pure rationalization with no substance behind it.

Not to understand is pure ignorance.

You want to believe that Elisha is the sadist for using "the LORD" to
maul children, and "the LORD" is thereby absolved of his clear sadism,
then go ahead and believe it. You have not convinced me, however.

And you still haven't answered the question about stoning someone for
picking up sticks on the Sabbath, or killing an entire population, man
woman and child for simply being in the way, except the virgin girls.
Your LORD commanded both of those.

John P

Stoning for picking up sticks on the Sabbath: OK, God gives you a
command of something not to do; He further warns you that a death
penalty goes with disobedience to the command; you say, what the heck,
I'm going to do it anyway. What do you expect to happen?

Did the Midianites try to bring a curse on the Israelites? If you
read the story you know they did. A plague broke out among the
Israelites as a result of their disobedience in giving place to sexual
lust because of the Midianite women sent to seduce them. THEN and
only then did the Israelites go to war with the Midianites, and they
did kill men, women and children except the virgin girls. But this
was pay back, not sadism.

I have given you an explanation. What you think about it is your own
business - not mine.
--
Howard
.

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