There are many things that I find contradictory about the Bible and I am trying to resolve them because if the Bible is the Word of God then there should not be any contradictions.  If the contradictions cannot be explained, then that poses a problem for me.  Hence my question...and perhaps my answer as well.


Again, if it were all spelled out, clear as a telephone directory, would we even consult it?

Or perhaps more importantly, would it be too strong for us.

Don't we have to have things watered down, diluted, put in any number of different ways(how many prophets, major and minor, are there in the OT, spelling out basically the same message, in any number of ways...??), in parable form, in obscurity, just so we'll try to figure them out?

A God coming down and offering Himself up for His own rebellious creation, in the name of nothing more than "love", is revolutionary, unthinkable, to say the least.  Is there any other "god", in all the pantheon of human mythology or theology, of such a nature - or story?

Could that same God be expected to spell out to his creation something only in stark clarity, or would he, or should he, do so in some degree of obscurity, veiled indirectness, etc.?

After all, His birth, the Christmas manger, was in obscurity and - no room in the inn.

Perhaps, however, on a slightly different note, who am I, to dictate to God, that His inspired Word to me, should only be to me as I think fit?  And who am I, to decide, precisely what is, or what isn't, a contradiction, in the first place?

Could the appearance of a contraction in the Old or New Testament possibly mean my own inadequacy to understand what is really being said, or is it always just God's fault?

Or, perhaps more to the point, is the burden of proof as to God's acceptability, always up to Him, to demonstrate to me?

And if that is true, then aren't I really the one who is God, and Him really just my inadequate servant, since He's failed to iiron out or remove what to me must certainly be obvious contradictions in the Bible?

Or is any of this line of reasoning unfair?

   


That's funny, Melody.

But it IS Christmasy, I think.  I like to put the cylinder of the jellied cranberry sauce on its side, in an oblong glass serving dish, for easy 1/2 inch slices.   It is kinda nice.

Tho technically I prefer ho-made, whole-berry sauce.

   

Nice kitties, Kris.  Patches is colorful!

I gave my tabby some eggnog this evening.



   


(She loved it.   ).

The Bible, doesn't always speak, plainly, like a telephone directory, or a technical manual, Melody.

In the NT, Jesus tells the disciples He speaks in parables for a specific reason.

Also, the OT is, in many places, an enigma.  Though it is the most published book in the world.

But if it were spelled out clearly, would we even read it.

And Paul in the NT acknowledges that, "Behold, I tell you a mystery..."

Which is part of the beauty.

But if it seems in the OT like you're cherry picking to support only what you want it to support, perhaps think again.

Perhaps the substance of what you are interpreting is "spiritually discerned"?

How do you know that something is right, or wrong?

Because you can see that it is.

That is what is meant, in numerous places, by "walking in the Spirit".

Do you have disobedience anywhere in your own life?

Then likely that spiritual discernment will leave you, leaving you to figure things out on your own.

(Romans 1:24)  "Therefore God gave them up..."

Obedience to God brings us back into a right relationship with Him, from which then He gives us His Spirit, which brings with it that discernment.

You know that something is wrong, then, because "you can see that it is".   Not because of some law somewhere(although that may indeed be there somewhere confirming what you already know...).

   


Is your mama living, Shylynne?

I've only heard of deep frying the turkey, bep, but not the injection part.

sounds delish.  and I like cajun anything.  (i think.   ).


   

Amen, Shylynne!

A cluttered life is no fun.

I speak from experience.  


     

No, I'm trying to get a handle on why some people use the OT as a reason for considering something sinful, but pick and choose which parts of the OT they use.  

When you are reading the Old Testament, Melody, you are looking into the mind of God.


This seems contradictory and leaves me more confused than ever.

Precisely.  "...things into which angels long to look."

The angels, Satan along with them, expected God to act according to His own Old Testament law.

You are exactly right.  Indeed, by Old Testament law, we should all be dead now, as the Flood demonstrated, and as is our desserts:  "...the soul that sins, shall surely die."

It is exactly a contradiction, because How can a "just" God let any of us then go free??

And why are we even "alive", in this body of death, today?

That's all very well said, Saved4.  very apropos.  It got twisted somewhere along the line...

I just noticed this from DW last July:

Hey BronzeSnake, here is something new.

Chip Implanted in Mexico Judicial Workers
 
Jul 14, 5:30 PM (ET)

By WILL WEISSERT


MEXICO CITY (AP) - Security has reached the subcutaneous level for Mexico's attorney general and at least 160 people in his office - they have been implanted with microchips that get them access to secure areas of their headquarters.

It's a pioneering application of a technology that is widely used in animals but not in humans.

Mexico's top federal prosecutors and investigators began receiving chip implants in their arms in November in order to get access to restricted areas inside the attorney general's headquarters, said Antonio Aceves, general director of Solusat, the company that distributes the microchips in Mexico.

Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha and 160 of his employees were implanted at a cost to taxpayers of $150 for each rice grain-sized chip.

More are scheduled to get "tagged" in coming months, and key members of the Mexican military, the police and the office of President Vicente Fox might follow suit, Aceves said. Fox's office did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

A spokeswoman for Macedo de la Concha's office said she could not comment on Aceves' statements, citing security concerns. But Macedo himself mentioned the chip program to reporters Monday, saying he had received an implant in his arm. He said the chips were required to enter a new federal anti-crime information center.

"It's only for access, for security," he said.

The chips also could provide more certainty about who accessed sensitive data at any given time. In the past, the biggest security problem for Mexican law enforcement has been corruption by officials themselves.

Aceves said his company eventually hopes to provide Mexican officials with implantable devices that can track their physical location at any given time, but that technology is still under development.

 
(AP) Carlos Altamirano is being scanned to show the 16 digits code of the implanted VeriChip July 17,...
Full Image
 
 
The chips that have been implanted are manufactured by VeriChip Corp., a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions Inc. (ADSX) of Palm Beach, Fla.

They lie dormant under the skin until read by an electromagnetic scanner, which uses a technology known as radio frequency identification, or RFID, that's now getting hot in the inventory and supply chain businesses.

Scott Silverman, Applied Digital Solutions' chief executive, said each of his company's implantable chips has a special identification number that would foil an impostor.

"The technology is out there to duplicate (a chip)," he said. "What can't be stolen is the unique identification number and the information that is tied to that number."

Erik Michielsen, director of RFID analysis at ABI Research Inc., said that in theory the chips could be as secure as existing RFID-based access control systems such as the contactless employee badges widely used in corporate and government facilities.

However, while those systems often employ encryption, Applied Digital's implantable chips do not as yet. Silverman said his company's system is nevertheless save because its chips can only be read by the company's proprietary scanners.

In addition to the chips sold to the Mexican government, more than 1,000 Mexicans have implanted them for medical reasons, Aceves said. Hospital officials can use a scanning device to download a chip's serial number, which they then use to access a patient's blood type, name and other information on a computer.

The Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve microchips as medical devices in the United States.

Still, Silverman said that his company has sold 7,000 chips to distributors across the United States and that more than 1,000 of those had likely been inserted into U.S. customers, mostly for security or identification reasons.

In 2002, a Florida couple and their teenage son had Applied Digital Solutions chips implanted in their arms. The family hoped to someday be able to automatically relay their medical information to emergency room staffers.

The chip originally was developed to track livestock and wildlife and to let pet owners identify runaway animals. The technology was created by Digital Angel Corp. (DOC), which was acquired by Applied Digital Solutions in 1999.

Because the Applied Digital chips cannot be easily removed - and are housed in glass capsules designed to break and be unusable if taken out - they could be even more popular someday if they eventually can incorporate locator capabilities. Already, global positioning system chips have become common accouterments on jewelry or clothing in Mexico.

In fact, in March, Mexican authorities broke up a ring of used-car salesmen turned kidnappers who were known as "Los Chips" because they searched their victims to detect whether they were carrying the chips to help them be located.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040714/D83QQBP80.html

O' Brothers and Sisters, this really is a jolly good trilogy. I especially liked the Christian message contained in the 'battle of helms deep' scenes.

  pardon me, but, um....  

I prefer to call it, "Lord of the Thing"


     

thanks, P. Roger; and DW - sure hope you get to feeling better.


I like yours, Gary - a little faith healing...

Hmm, yep, DEFINITELY cheese ball (with slivered almonds ).



Hey you guys, bep and P. Roger, WHAT ABOUT CRANBERRY SAUCE??!!

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/homerealestate/default.jsp?feature=hre_instant_cranberries


     

     

You shouldn't let others bug you, DW.


   


I just treat BL as my little brother, and I "tolerate" him.  (hehe)

He's growing like the rest of us.