In my last posting, Who is Allah, Part I, I dealt mostly with the texts that comprise the Hadith, the words and deeds (also known as the traditions) of the prophet Muhammad, and gave some examples of how they showed that Muhammad was the prophet of Satan. I mean after all, who else would say that he was given inspiration while he was having sex with a 9 year old. Saying to everyone: I know this looks bad, but don't you worry, because my god says it's ok! In Part II, let’s dive straight into the Qur’an itself. The book that is suppose to be the actual words of Allah, and see what it says about who he is. But here's a hint: Qur'an Surah 113:1-2, "Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the Dawn, from the evil of what he has created." Hmm, Muhammad's god creates evil. Let's keep this in mind as we continue.
As with any person or organization, you can tell a lot about them by who endorse them and speak on their behalf. Are there any such kind of endorsements in the Qur’an that vouches for its authenticity, other than Allah and Muhammad himself? Actually there is, as we find in Qur’an Surah 72:1-2, “Say (O Muhammad): It has been revealed to me that a company of the jinn has listened (to the Qur’an) and said (to their people), Indeed we have heard an amazing recital (Qur’an) which guides to the right way, so we have believed in it, and will never associate a partner with our Lord.” So who are these jinn? Well, in Surah 15:27 and 55:15 of the Qur’an, we find that jinn are made from fire. In Surah 7:12 it says that Satan himself was created from fire and in 18:50 that Satan is also a jinn. The jinn’s true nature is talked about in Qur’an Surah 72:6 (Surah 72 by the way is entitled The Jinn) as “increasing men in sin and transgression” and in verse 8 and 9 while trying to "steal" news from heaven (a telling choice of words), they are prevented from doing so. So these are unsavory characters, to say the least.
You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say these jinn are demons! One of the writers of the Sunnah also believed that jinn were demons as we find in a Hadith that’s similar to the story found in Quran Surah 72:8-9 that’s in Bukhari V1B12N740, “At the same time, a barrier was put between the devils and the news of heaven. Fire commenced to be thrown at them. The devils went to their people, who asked them, "What is wrong with you?" They said, "A barrier has been placed between us and the news of heaven. And fire has been thrown at us." Continuing on with this Hadith about the Devils, we find another conversation that’s like the one from Qur’an Surah 72:1-2, “They went to their people and said, O our people; verily we have heard a wonderful recital (Qur'an) which shows the true path; we believed in it and would not ascribe partners to our Lord." This Hadith concludes with, “And what was revealed to him [Muhammad] was the conversation of the Jinns.” Yes ladies and gentlemen, you read right, according to Bukhari, not only have the devils just endorsed the Qur’an and Allah (calling Allah their lord), but we also know that jinn and devils are one in the same.
Now knowing all this, let’s find out what Muhammad said about jinn to his followers that’s recorded in Muslim C14B039N6757, “Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said, There is none among you with whom is not an attaché from among the jinn (devil). They (the companions) said: Allah’s Messenger, with you too? Thereupon he said: Yes, but Allah helps me against him and so I am safe from his hand and he only commands me for good.” A demon commanding someone for good, now there’s an original idea! Or perhaps he’s been so consumed by evil, he can’t tell the difference between right and wrong: I think it’s the latter. So the jinn or demons endorsement of the Qur’an, Muhammad, and Allah can only mean one thing: it’s an endorsement of the Devil’s religion!
Since I’m making a serious claim here, let’s review how we arrived at this point. When Muhammad was a child, some of his relatives were afraid he was demon possessed. The people who lived with Muhammad, the Meccans, said he was demon possessed. Muhammad himself, said he was demon possessed, and later told his followers he had a demon attached to him. And finally, the demons endorse Muhammad, Allah, and his Qur'an. If this was a chess game, I would say “Checkmate;” but since Muslims aren’t allowed to play chess (Muslim C2B028N5612), anything to prevent a Muslim from thinking, I'll continue on. While some of you may be saying, that’s a cheap shot! Why would Allah not want his followers to think? Well think about it, if you found out that you where worshiping the Devil, what would you do? Allah knew this way back in the 7th century when he revealed Qur’an Surah 5:101, “O you who believe, ask not about things which if made plain to you, may cause you trouble,” because in the very next verse we find that those who did ask questions, “became disbelievers.” Muhammad, being the Messenger of Allah, also taught this, as Bukhari records in his Sunnah V8B76N480, that Muhammad forbade, “idle talk, asking too many questions in religion…and burying your little daughters alive.” I guess Muslims have always had a thing for “honor killings”, but I digress.
So now you know why anyone who even questions Islam, the prophet Muhammad (or names a teddy bear after him for that matter) must be immediately silenced, because the truth, if it comes out: it’s over, their religion is finished! And to make the point perfectly clear that descent will not be tolerated, and that no one even thinks about leaving Islam, Muhammad taught his followers as recorded in Bukhari V4B52N260, “if a Muslim discards his religion, kill him.” So now you know why you hear very few Muslims speak out against terrorism and violence: they can’t. Not only is it un-Islamic (as I give examples of at the bottom of my blog site under the title Terrorist Justification for Violence), they do so at great personal risk. As Muhammad told the Quraysh tribe in Mecca who criticized him, "By him who holds Muhammad's life in his hand, I will bring you slaughter" (Ishaq's The Life of Muhammad, page 131).
If you’re a Muslim and happen to get through reading all this, contrary to what you might think, I don’t hate you. If I was brought up in a Muslim society, I might think just as you do. Speaking of societies, we in the West have gotten to the point where we are afraid to make any value judgments about anyone or anything. But sooner or later, we are going to have to decide, whether we value a culture whose deity say’s, for example in Qur’an Surah 18:102, “We have prepared Hell for the unbelievers as an entertainment for them.” Or value a culture who’s God say’s in II Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Between a society that believes in Quran Surah 9:123, “Fight your disbelieving neighbors, and let them find harshness in you.” Or one who believes in Matthew 22:39, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Contrary to what the atheist think, our laws in the West are founded on the Bible; thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor, for example; just as laws in the Muslim world are based on Islamic scripture, hence 200 lashes, for the rape victim.
Also for Muslims, allow me to prove the Bible has not been corrupted as you have been taught, so that the Quran and Biblical scriptures I have contrasted will make more sense to you. In Qur’an Surah 2:41, Allah, through Muhammad, said to the Jews in Medina, “Believe in what I have sent down (this Qur’an), confirming that which is with you (the Torah and the Gospel), and be not the first to disbelieve therein.” Now, there are two problems with that statement. First, the Jews don’t believe in the Gospel. But more importantly, Allah said, the scriptures that are with you, that is with the Jews, in Medina, in the 7th Century A.D.. The Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into Greek in the 3rd century B.C.; it’s called the Septuagint, and it’s used in Biblical translations of the Old Testament today. There’s nothing in the Old Testament about Allah or Arab prophet anywhere. So if the Old Testament today, matches the Old Testament from the 3rd century B.C., where does that leave Muhammad in the 7th century A.D.?
In the New Testament, one of the most common verses used by Muslims clerics is John 14:16, which says, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.” If you read the very next verse and also verse 26, it tells who the Helper is, and it's not Muhammad. Let’s read it again, John 14:16-17, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.” And John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” You see, the Helper is the Holy Spirit. You can read any chapter or verse in the Bible for free online, in almost any language, including Arabic, at http://www.biblegateway.com/. I hope you will, and I hope these postings will be helpful to everyone who reads them.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Who Is Allah, Part I
As we see Muslim violence all around the world, seemingly senseless killings while the perpetrators shout “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is Greatest) and even issue death threats against cartoonist: I think its time we take Theo Van Gogh’s last words to heart. His last words while being murdered in the name of Islam for his production of the 11 minute movie entitled Submission Part I were, “can’t we talk about this?” I think it’s high time we have a talk and find out who is this “being” that seems to drive so many to kill and whose prophet can’t stand in the least to be ridiculed. My sources for this posting will be the Islamic scriptures themselves: beginning with Ishaq’s Sira, called Sirat Rasul Allah, which has many passages similar to the Qur’an and which you can purchase at Amazon.com under the title The Life of Muhammad, The History of al-Tabari, volumes VI - IX, Bukhari’s and Muslim’s Hadith, which are also called the Sunnah (from which Sunni Muslims get their name, because the follow the Sunnah of the prophet), and of course the Qur’an itself.
Like with anything, let’s start at the beginning and go back to the 6th century when Allah (the moon god) was just one of the many gods enshrined in the Ka’aba. In fact, there was also a moon god in ancient Mesopotamia who at one time was called “Sin”, and wouldn’t you know it: one of His symbols was a crescent moon too, but let’s stay with the topic at hand. Since Muhammad is the lone prophet of Islam, let’s begin with him. You can often find out a lot about a person by examining their parents, so let’s go to Ishaq’s Sira, The Life of Muhammad, page 69, and see what it says about Muhammad’s mother when she was pregnant with him: “A voice said to her, you are pregnant with the lord of this people and when he is born say, I put him in the care of the one from the evil of every envier; then call him Muhammad” (the same language that’s in Qur’an Surah 113:5 when it’s referring to evil). So am I missing something here or did the Islamic scriptures just say that Muhammad was to be placed in the care of Satan? Certainly this must be some mistake, and I’m sure Ishaq will straighten all this mess out for us later on.
Well, as the story of Muhammad continues on pages 71 and 72, we find as a child he is placed in the care of some relatives. One day, they suddenly rush to take him back to his mother after some strange encounter with two men “clothed in white” who threw him down to the ground and opened up his belly. And of all the things Muhammad’s relatives and his mother would talk about after something happened to him, what do you suppose it was? If you guessed demon possession, you’re correct! “When she asked if I fear a demon possessed him, I replied that I did.” Well, perhaps we’re jumping to conclusions here, because after all, it could be that Muhammad’s relatives were just a bit eccentric. Let’s continue on with our research.
As Muhammad grew, we find that others are saying a lot of things about him too. I’ll skip over a wide array of pronouncements about the prophet of Allah that are said to be made by Jews, Christians, and Soothsayers (a weird combination indeed) that are in the first 100 pages of Ishaq’s Sira and in Tabari’s VI volume, but one in particular is interesting. On page 79 of The Life of Muhammad, we find that a seer, who was also described as a fortune teller (so in other words an occultist), takes a keen interest in him. “Bring me that boy”, the occultist says, “for by Allah he has a great future.” Hey, nothing beats a good satanic endorsement! But maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves because after all, Muhammad hasn’t yet spoken for himself, or Allah hasn’t yet spoken to Muhammad: but he will, in the cave of Hira.
One of the more detailed accounts of what happened in the cave of Hira is found in Bukhari’s Hadith, Volume 1, Book 1, Number 3, which is narrated by Muhammad’s child bride Aisha, who he married when she was 6 and started having sexual relations with her when she was 9 (Bukhari V7B62N88 and Tabari IX 131). We find Aisha recounting the story told to her by her husband, that an “angel” (who would later identify himself as Gabriel) appears to him in a dream and tells the illiterate Muhammad to read. When Muhammad replies he can’t read, the angel seizes him and presses him to the point of death, while at the same time saying, among other things, “your lord is most generous:” a curious and contradictory statement indeed. This scenario is played out three times, after which Muhammad runs home frightened to his wife Khadija and covers himself in blankets (or in other words, runs home, jumps in bed, and hides under the covers); hence the title of Surah 73 and 74 of the Qur’an (the 3rd and 4th in revelation order), The One Wrapped in Garments and The One Enveloped. So indeed, it must have frightened him for some time. Now I ask you, from a supposed revelation from God, doesn’t this sound a bit odd?
Fortunately, this same event and what followed was written down by Ishaq with added detail in The Life of Muhammad on page 106. After which, Muhammad instinctively knew what he had encountered in that cave: and it wasn’t good. Muhammad said, “Woe is me, poet or possessed…I will go to the top of the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest.” Yes ladies and gentlemen, you heard right. Muhammad, the lone prophet of Islam said after his first encounter with the “angel” he was demon possessed. This is also confirmed, albeit unknowingly, in Bukhari V9B87N113, when Muhammad said, “A true good dream is from Allah and a bad dream is from Satan.” Yes, he had a very bad dream indeed. So then who was it that appeared to Muhammad in the cave of Hira? As we’ve discovered so far (that Muhammad was to be placed in the care of Satan), and what we shall soon discover, it had to be a demon or the Devil himself. For those of you who are Christians, this shouldn’t sound too far fetched, because in II Corinthians 11:14 Paul writes, “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” Still not convinced? Well, let’s continue on shall we.
Remember Aisha, Muhammad’s 9 year old wife? The cave of Hira wasn't the only place were Muhammad said he received a revelation from Allah. While talking to one of his other wives about his child bride, Muhammad said in Bukhari V5B57N119, “Don’t trouble me by harming Aisha, for by Allah, the inspiration never came to me while I was under the blanket of any woman amongst you except her.” Now just stop and think about that statement for a moment. Muhammad just said, he gets revelations from Allah while in bed with a 9 year old girl. Apparently, Allah approves of having sex with 9 year old girls and rewards Muhammad with Qur’an revelations for doing so: sounds demonic to me. However, even before that event, some of the Meccans saw Muhammad for what he really was, as we find in Bukhari V6B60N475, “A lady came and said, Muhammad! I think your Satan has forsaken you, for I have not seen him with you for two or three nights!” And what do you suppose happened next? Did Allah or Muhammad issue a repudiation of such a claim? No; but they would figure out they had better start doing that with regularity later on. Instead we find as Bukhari continues, Allah revels what would later become Qur’an Surah 93, “By the night when it darkens," Allah loves darkness, "your lord has neither forsaken you nor hates you.” Oops! I guess sometimes the truth just slips out.
While you may be saying, this cannot be! How can these scriptures be called scriptures? Well, these scriptures and many others are taught in every Muslim school from Morocco to Malaysia (and also in Arabic in the West), as coming from Allah himself and Muhammad as the "par excellence" to be imitated. And as we shall see in Part II, these scriptures are only the beginning.
Like with anything, let’s start at the beginning and go back to the 6th century when Allah (the moon god) was just one of the many gods enshrined in the Ka’aba. In fact, there was also a moon god in ancient Mesopotamia who at one time was called “Sin”, and wouldn’t you know it: one of His symbols was a crescent moon too, but let’s stay with the topic at hand. Since Muhammad is the lone prophet of Islam, let’s begin with him. You can often find out a lot about a person by examining their parents, so let’s go to Ishaq’s Sira, The Life of Muhammad, page 69, and see what it says about Muhammad’s mother when she was pregnant with him: “A voice said to her, you are pregnant with the lord of this people and when he is born say, I put him in the care of the one from the evil of every envier; then call him Muhammad” (the same language that’s in Qur’an Surah 113:5 when it’s referring to evil). So am I missing something here or did the Islamic scriptures just say that Muhammad was to be placed in the care of Satan? Certainly this must be some mistake, and I’m sure Ishaq will straighten all this mess out for us later on.
Well, as the story of Muhammad continues on pages 71 and 72, we find as a child he is placed in the care of some relatives. One day, they suddenly rush to take him back to his mother after some strange encounter with two men “clothed in white” who threw him down to the ground and opened up his belly. And of all the things Muhammad’s relatives and his mother would talk about after something happened to him, what do you suppose it was? If you guessed demon possession, you’re correct! “When she asked if I fear a demon possessed him, I replied that I did.” Well, perhaps we’re jumping to conclusions here, because after all, it could be that Muhammad’s relatives were just a bit eccentric. Let’s continue on with our research.
As Muhammad grew, we find that others are saying a lot of things about him too. I’ll skip over a wide array of pronouncements about the prophet of Allah that are said to be made by Jews, Christians, and Soothsayers (a weird combination indeed) that are in the first 100 pages of Ishaq’s Sira and in Tabari’s VI volume, but one in particular is interesting. On page 79 of The Life of Muhammad, we find that a seer, who was also described as a fortune teller (so in other words an occultist), takes a keen interest in him. “Bring me that boy”, the occultist says, “for by Allah he has a great future.” Hey, nothing beats a good satanic endorsement! But maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves because after all, Muhammad hasn’t yet spoken for himself, or Allah hasn’t yet spoken to Muhammad: but he will, in the cave of Hira.
One of the more detailed accounts of what happened in the cave of Hira is found in Bukhari’s Hadith, Volume 1, Book 1, Number 3, which is narrated by Muhammad’s child bride Aisha, who he married when she was 6 and started having sexual relations with her when she was 9 (Bukhari V7B62N88 and Tabari IX 131). We find Aisha recounting the story told to her by her husband, that an “angel” (who would later identify himself as Gabriel) appears to him in a dream and tells the illiterate Muhammad to read. When Muhammad replies he can’t read, the angel seizes him and presses him to the point of death, while at the same time saying, among other things, “your lord is most generous:” a curious and contradictory statement indeed. This scenario is played out three times, after which Muhammad runs home frightened to his wife Khadija and covers himself in blankets (or in other words, runs home, jumps in bed, and hides under the covers); hence the title of Surah 73 and 74 of the Qur’an (the 3rd and 4th in revelation order), The One Wrapped in Garments and The One Enveloped. So indeed, it must have frightened him for some time. Now I ask you, from a supposed revelation from God, doesn’t this sound a bit odd?
Fortunately, this same event and what followed was written down by Ishaq with added detail in The Life of Muhammad on page 106. After which, Muhammad instinctively knew what he had encountered in that cave: and it wasn’t good. Muhammad said, “Woe is me, poet or possessed…I will go to the top of the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest.” Yes ladies and gentlemen, you heard right. Muhammad, the lone prophet of Islam said after his first encounter with the “angel” he was demon possessed. This is also confirmed, albeit unknowingly, in Bukhari V9B87N113, when Muhammad said, “A true good dream is from Allah and a bad dream is from Satan.” Yes, he had a very bad dream indeed. So then who was it that appeared to Muhammad in the cave of Hira? As we’ve discovered so far (that Muhammad was to be placed in the care of Satan), and what we shall soon discover, it had to be a demon or the Devil himself. For those of you who are Christians, this shouldn’t sound too far fetched, because in II Corinthians 11:14 Paul writes, “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” Still not convinced? Well, let’s continue on shall we.
Remember Aisha, Muhammad’s 9 year old wife? The cave of Hira wasn't the only place were Muhammad said he received a revelation from Allah. While talking to one of his other wives about his child bride, Muhammad said in Bukhari V5B57N119, “Don’t trouble me by harming Aisha, for by Allah, the inspiration never came to me while I was under the blanket of any woman amongst you except her.” Now just stop and think about that statement for a moment. Muhammad just said, he gets revelations from Allah while in bed with a 9 year old girl. Apparently, Allah approves of having sex with 9 year old girls and rewards Muhammad with Qur’an revelations for doing so: sounds demonic to me. However, even before that event, some of the Meccans saw Muhammad for what he really was, as we find in Bukhari V6B60N475, “A lady came and said, Muhammad! I think your Satan has forsaken you, for I have not seen him with you for two or three nights!” And what do you suppose happened next? Did Allah or Muhammad issue a repudiation of such a claim? No; but they would figure out they had better start doing that with regularity later on. Instead we find as Bukhari continues, Allah revels what would later become Qur’an Surah 93, “By the night when it darkens," Allah loves darkness, "your lord has neither forsaken you nor hates you.” Oops! I guess sometimes the truth just slips out.
While you may be saying, this cannot be! How can these scriptures be called scriptures? Well, these scriptures and many others are taught in every Muslim school from Morocco to Malaysia (and also in Arabic in the West), as coming from Allah himself and Muhammad as the "par excellence" to be imitated. And as we shall see in Part II, these scriptures are only the beginning.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Conversations With An Atheist, Part II
Here's the second part of some conversations I had with an atheist that I meet on the internet. Again, I will not publish her name or her emails to me; however, I've made some minor changes so her arguments will be very plain. This will be the last one in this series I will do for a while, but check back in two to three weeks when I will show who Allah and Muhammad really are.
I agree! Plants cannot live without light. Light was created the first day. So you’re willing to accept one part of the Bible to justify your beliefs, but reject another part: that doesn’t make any sense. Again, the Bible doesn’t say the earth is six thousand years old and there are hints given in the Bible that it is not. In Genesis 2:4, it says “these are the generations of the creation of the heavens and the earth”, then it describes all of creation as, “in the day the Lord God made the earth and the heavens”, so creation was a period of time. Also, when Cain is lamenting his punishment, he says in Genesis 4:14, “and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me” and in verse 17, “Cain knew his wife”; so where did all the people come from if the Bible says the earth is only six thousand years old? Another clue is in Genesis 3:16 where God says, “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception: in pain you shall bring forth children." Therefore, we can conclude that at least Adam and Eve had children in the garden. Also, Adam laterally means “the man”, so if carbon dating is somewhat accurate, human beings could have indeed been around for a very long time and the story of the Garden of Eden could be a parable: remember, Jesus spoke in parables. The Bible is a spiritual book, not a science book.
The Bible gives only one story, not two of why there are so many languages, and that’s in Genesis chapter 11. Chapter 10 tells of the genealogy of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and where their descendants settled and what nations they would found, It even mentions Babel and the generations long after Babel. Chapter 10 tells that there are many languages, but It doesn’t tell why: the why is told in chapter 11. Have you ever read a book or watched a movie where at some point in the story it tells of what happened at an earlier time? This could be because they were written down by different authors. I know the first five books of the Bible are called “The Five Books of Moses”, but the writing in those books never make that claim; or it could just be the right flow for the story.
So let me get this straight, your basic problem with the Bible is the place or status of women in the Bible? Remember, the Bible was written in the ancient world, and if you look at the laws in the Bible, women were treated very well compared to the rest of the world at that time. Although polygamy was allowed in the Old Testament, it was never condoned. In Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5 and Mark 10:7-8, "a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." Wife is singular. So God's plan is one man and one woman. Read John chapter 4, the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. Jews would have no dealings with Samaritans, men generally didn't have conversations with women they didn't know, especially in public, and by going to draw water in the heat of the day, she was an outcast in her own village, yet Jesus talked to her. Jesus broke the norms of the day, the customs of the ancient world, and treated women and all people with respect: so should we.
If you think of life as some man woman power thing, you’re missing the boat! I know in I Timothy 2:12 It says that in matters of the church a woman is not to have authority over a man, and that’s because in verse 14 It says, “Eve sinned first.” But also in Galatians 3:28 It says, “we are all one in Christ Jesus.” So we are all equal, it’s just when it comes to matters of the church that a woman is not to have authority over a man, but it’s not some power thing. An example of those who are in authority is given in I Peter 5:3 which says, “nor as being lords over those entrusted you, but being examples to the flock.” And Jesus said in Matthew 18:4, “whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” and in verse 6, “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he was drowned in the depth of the sea.” So again, it’s not some man woman power thing. Think about it, how great a place the world would be if all men followed Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her", and Ephesians 5:28, “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself."
I will leave you with this one verse because I think it’s a great summation of the whole Bible and how we are to treat one another: I John 4:20, “If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
I agree! Plants cannot live without light. Light was created the first day. So you’re willing to accept one part of the Bible to justify your beliefs, but reject another part: that doesn’t make any sense. Again, the Bible doesn’t say the earth is six thousand years old and there are hints given in the Bible that it is not. In Genesis 2:4, it says “these are the generations of the creation of the heavens and the earth”, then it describes all of creation as, “in the day the Lord God made the earth and the heavens”, so creation was a period of time. Also, when Cain is lamenting his punishment, he says in Genesis 4:14, “and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me” and in verse 17, “Cain knew his wife”; so where did all the people come from if the Bible says the earth is only six thousand years old? Another clue is in Genesis 3:16 where God says, “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception: in pain you shall bring forth children." Therefore, we can conclude that at least Adam and Eve had children in the garden. Also, Adam laterally means “the man”, so if carbon dating is somewhat accurate, human beings could have indeed been around for a very long time and the story of the Garden of Eden could be a parable: remember, Jesus spoke in parables. The Bible is a spiritual book, not a science book.
The Bible gives only one story, not two of why there are so many languages, and that’s in Genesis chapter 11. Chapter 10 tells of the genealogy of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and where their descendants settled and what nations they would found, It even mentions Babel and the generations long after Babel. Chapter 10 tells that there are many languages, but It doesn’t tell why: the why is told in chapter 11. Have you ever read a book or watched a movie where at some point in the story it tells of what happened at an earlier time? This could be because they were written down by different authors. I know the first five books of the Bible are called “The Five Books of Moses”, but the writing in those books never make that claim; or it could just be the right flow for the story.
So let me get this straight, your basic problem with the Bible is the place or status of women in the Bible? Remember, the Bible was written in the ancient world, and if you look at the laws in the Bible, women were treated very well compared to the rest of the world at that time. Although polygamy was allowed in the Old Testament, it was never condoned. In Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5 and Mark 10:7-8, "a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." Wife is singular. So God's plan is one man and one woman. Read John chapter 4, the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. Jews would have no dealings with Samaritans, men generally didn't have conversations with women they didn't know, especially in public, and by going to draw water in the heat of the day, she was an outcast in her own village, yet Jesus talked to her. Jesus broke the norms of the day, the customs of the ancient world, and treated women and all people with respect: so should we.
If you think of life as some man woman power thing, you’re missing the boat! I know in I Timothy 2:12 It says that in matters of the church a woman is not to have authority over a man, and that’s because in verse 14 It says, “Eve sinned first.” But also in Galatians 3:28 It says, “we are all one in Christ Jesus.” So we are all equal, it’s just when it comes to matters of the church that a woman is not to have authority over a man, but it’s not some power thing. An example of those who are in authority is given in I Peter 5:3 which says, “nor as being lords over those entrusted you, but being examples to the flock.” And Jesus said in Matthew 18:4, “whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” and in verse 6, “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he was drowned in the depth of the sea.” So again, it’s not some man woman power thing. Think about it, how great a place the world would be if all men followed Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her", and Ephesians 5:28, “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself."
I will leave you with this one verse because I think it’s a great summation of the whole Bible and how we are to treat one another: I John 4:20, “If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Conversations With An Atheist, Part I
These next few weeks I'll post a series of email conversations I had with an atheist in response to me sending her what I wrote in my "Something to Think About" post. I will not be publishing her emails to me; however, by my series of responses, the bases of her claims and questions will be obvious. I've made some minor changes to make our conversations as clear as possible.
First off, where is the scientific evidence for life starting with some unknown bacteria, somehow as the result of the Big Bang? There is none, it’s just a theory. Just like the Big Bang itself, there is no proof: it's just a theory. It's true the moon reflects light from the sun, but it still is a light to the earth by night. Carbon dating assumes (and you know what happens when you assume) that carbon is lost at the same rate over time. If for some reason carbon is not lost at the same rate over time, there goes the dating process. However, the Bible doesn't say the earth is six thousand years old: again that's someone's theory. In the first chapter of Genesis it describes each period of creation as a day, but in the second chapter it says "these are the generations of the creation of the heavens and the earth, in the day God made the earth and the heavens." So clearly creation is a period of time not literal days. When we die, don't our bodies turn to dust?
If your cat had so much pain and discomfort during her pregnancy and giving birth, I suggest you call a veterinarian. Compared to humans, animals have minimal discomfort during their pregnancy. Why don't you ask some biologists? Or better yet, ask your mother about morning sickness and other women about their pregnancy and especially their delivery. And you still haven't answered all my questions, so I'll ask this one again. If an object at the quantum level can be in multiple locations at the same time, and matter at the quantum level behaves differently whether its being observed, isn’t it possible that an All Powerful Force said “Let the seas be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear.” the Bible's version of creation, if you're going to be honest about it, according to the recent discoveries in quantum physics has to be examined, of course unless you already have your mind made up.
The bottom line however, is that the Bible is not a scientific or archaeological book. It's a spiritual book, that summed up, tells of the redemption of mankind, although every archaeological find has confirmed what the Bible has said as being accurate. As far as human history goes, the recent scientific evidence that the universe is continually expanding and the earth being round, which was referred to in Isaiah 40:22 around 700 B.C., which again you haven't answered as to how a human during that time could have known that, unless God told him. Like many of the other points I've made, I see you already have your mind made up.
But a couple of other facts before I go; speaking of Ishmael, the father of the Arabs, God said in Genesis 16:12, "He will be a wild man; his hand will be against all men and all men's hand will be against him." Ishmael's descendants, one of whom was the founder of Islam said in Ishaq:204 "Do you realize what you are committing yourselves to in pledging your support to this man (Muhammad)? It is to wage war against all mankind." Research Islamic history from the 7th century to today, or go talk to the Africans in Sudan who are being slaughtered by Muslim militia, or the people in East Timor who last decade, 1/3 where killed by Indonesian Muslims, or the Thai's or Hindu. I'm sure you didn't hear about the Hindu holocaust or the Armenian genocide when you was in school or any of the Muslim violence during the 1400 year history of Islam. Then, there is the prophecy in Daniel 9:24 - 26, which was around 540 B.C.. 69 times 7 equals 483 years, but that's in Jewish years and that comes out to approximately 476 years as we know them today. 476 years from when the order for Jerusalem to be rebuilt by King Artaxerxes in 444 B.C., Nehemiah 2:3 - 8, gets you to 33 A.D. (there's no year 0 in the Gregorian calendar): so again, the Bible is accurate.
As I conclude, I don't mean to come off in a negative way. I just hope you will look at these facts which are proven, except the findings in quantum physics which are still being examined, and examine them with an open mind and find out for yourself if they are true. You will soon discover there is so much evidence on It's side, that the Bible has to be the word of God; just the mere fact of all these authors over more than a thousand year period tell such a consistent story should perk your curiosity. I wish you a good day and happy investigating.
First off, where is the scientific evidence for life starting with some unknown bacteria, somehow as the result of the Big Bang? There is none, it’s just a theory. Just like the Big Bang itself, there is no proof: it's just a theory. It's true the moon reflects light from the sun, but it still is a light to the earth by night. Carbon dating assumes (and you know what happens when you assume) that carbon is lost at the same rate over time. If for some reason carbon is not lost at the same rate over time, there goes the dating process. However, the Bible doesn't say the earth is six thousand years old: again that's someone's theory. In the first chapter of Genesis it describes each period of creation as a day, but in the second chapter it says "these are the generations of the creation of the heavens and the earth, in the day God made the earth and the heavens." So clearly creation is a period of time not literal days. When we die, don't our bodies turn to dust?
If your cat had so much pain and discomfort during her pregnancy and giving birth, I suggest you call a veterinarian. Compared to humans, animals have minimal discomfort during their pregnancy. Why don't you ask some biologists? Or better yet, ask your mother about morning sickness and other women about their pregnancy and especially their delivery. And you still haven't answered all my questions, so I'll ask this one again. If an object at the quantum level can be in multiple locations at the same time, and matter at the quantum level behaves differently whether its being observed, isn’t it possible that an All Powerful Force said “Let the seas be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear.” the Bible's version of creation, if you're going to be honest about it, according to the recent discoveries in quantum physics has to be examined, of course unless you already have your mind made up.
The bottom line however, is that the Bible is not a scientific or archaeological book. It's a spiritual book, that summed up, tells of the redemption of mankind, although every archaeological find has confirmed what the Bible has said as being accurate. As far as human history goes, the recent scientific evidence that the universe is continually expanding and the earth being round, which was referred to in Isaiah 40:22 around 700 B.C., which again you haven't answered as to how a human during that time could have known that, unless God told him. Like many of the other points I've made, I see you already have your mind made up.
But a couple of other facts before I go; speaking of Ishmael, the father of the Arabs, God said in Genesis 16:12, "He will be a wild man; his hand will be against all men and all men's hand will be against him." Ishmael's descendants, one of whom was the founder of Islam said in Ishaq:204 "Do you realize what you are committing yourselves to in pledging your support to this man (Muhammad)? It is to wage war against all mankind." Research Islamic history from the 7th century to today, or go talk to the Africans in Sudan who are being slaughtered by Muslim militia, or the people in East Timor who last decade, 1/3 where killed by Indonesian Muslims, or the Thai's or Hindu. I'm sure you didn't hear about the Hindu holocaust or the Armenian genocide when you was in school or any of the Muslim violence during the 1400 year history of Islam. Then, there is the prophecy in Daniel 9:24 - 26, which was around 540 B.C.. 69 times 7 equals 483 years, but that's in Jewish years and that comes out to approximately 476 years as we know them today. 476 years from when the order for Jerusalem to be rebuilt by King Artaxerxes in 444 B.C., Nehemiah 2:3 - 8, gets you to 33 A.D. (there's no year 0 in the Gregorian calendar): so again, the Bible is accurate.
As I conclude, I don't mean to come off in a negative way. I just hope you will look at these facts which are proven, except the findings in quantum physics which are still being examined, and examine them with an open mind and find out for yourself if they are true. You will soon discover there is so much evidence on It's side, that the Bible has to be the word of God; just the mere fact of all these authors over more than a thousand year period tell such a consistent story should perk your curiosity. I wish you a good day and happy investigating.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Something To Think About
The scientific consensus is life began on earth in the oceans and then it came on land. In Genesis, where does it say God created life first? The answer: in the oceans. Although that may stump you for a minute, I’m sure you atheist will be able to think of some “scientific” reason why the rib is the only bone in the human body that grows back and why we are the only species on the planet to have intense pain in child birth.
Wait, I know what you’re thinking, somewhere in the Bible it says, “the sun stood still” and we all know it’s the earth that revolves around the sun. Well, if you were to follow that logic, no one would ever say sunrise or sunset. But anyway, for your information in Isaiah 40:22 it says, “God sits above the circle of the earth and stretches out the heavens.” Of course today we all know the earth is a circle, and would you believe it, scientists are now saying the universe is continually expanding: fascinating. Oh, and one more thing that will surprise you, the word religion is never used in the Old Testament, and the few times it is used in the New Testament it’s not used in a positive way.
So to sum it all up, since the Bible and science are more in agreement than you’ve realized and since It has also been found to be archaeologically accurate, don’t you think it may be time to re-examine your position; or to put it another way, if the physical things the Bible says are true, doesn’t it make sense that the spiritual things It says are also true?
Wait, I know what you’re thinking, somewhere in the Bible it says, “the sun stood still” and we all know it’s the earth that revolves around the sun. Well, if you were to follow that logic, no one would ever say sunrise or sunset. But anyway, for your information in Isaiah 40:22 it says, “God sits above the circle of the earth and stretches out the heavens.” Of course today we all know the earth is a circle, and would you believe it, scientists are now saying the universe is continually expanding: fascinating. Oh, and one more thing that will surprise you, the word religion is never used in the Old Testament, and the few times it is used in the New Testament it’s not used in a positive way.
So to sum it all up, since the Bible and science are more in agreement than you’ve realized and since It has also been found to be archaeologically accurate, don’t you think it may be time to re-examine your position; or to put it another way, if the physical things the Bible says are true, doesn’t it make sense that the spiritual things It says are also true?
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