An intelligent Rebuttal
August 01, 2002 12:30 a.m.
Ok, I wasn't going to add another entry tonight, but in response to some guestbook entries, I now feel like it.I dislike flamers. Very much so. Flaming is immature, innapropriate, and rude. If you have a negative comment about my diary, or disagree with something I say, fine, leave it in the guestbook, but please, leave your email address or your url. Posting anonymous comments will earn you no respect in my book.
To Tre and E (whoever you are)- The second commandment in my bible (I use the New Living Translation for your reference), Exodus 20:3 says "Do not worship any other gods beside me." This does not say 'do not create gods', 'do not worship other gods', 'do not acknowledge the existence of other god', or anything else along that lines. Taken literally, it means "do not worship any deity at the same level you worship me".
Let's compare some other translations:
NASB - "You shall have no other gods before me."
KJV - "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
AMP - "You shall have no other gods before me or beside me."
YTL - "Thou hast no other gods before me"
Taken in context, the word beside means 'equal to' or 'at the same level'.
I can't check the original source since they disappeared several thousand years ago. I also have not created any gods, only referenced to historically documented gods and goddesses of other religions. The goddess Bast was an ancient Egyptian goddess who predates the Israelite god. The ancient cultures all had their own pantheon of Gods and/or Godesses. The most well known these days are the Greek, Roman, Norse, and Egyptian deities, but there were many others. I could try to list them ALL, but it would take me until next year to research enough and I would still probably miss some.
As to my comment about God being conceited, I look to other biblical texts to support that hypothesis. In Exodus 20:20, Moses instructed the Israelites to "let fear of Him keep you from sinning." Is any healthy or loving relationship built on fear? In any psychology class, they will tell you no. It is unhealthy for both parties in the long run and only fosters doubts and mistrusts. Later in the bible, God calls himself "a jealous god" when referring to worship. Also, another point which annoys me out about the modern church is, the third commandment states to not make idols of ANY kind. What are the catholic saints? Why do they believe that you should pray to a saint instead of God? Doesn't this go against biblical word? Also, we do not observe the sabbath. The sabbath is Friday at Sundown until Saturday at Sundown. Why do we feel free to break those two commandments and not others? The same chapter says to only make altars of earthen materials. If they are made of stone, they must be of uncut stone, it they are shaped with a tool, they will be made unfit for holy use. Does your church have a altar made of rough stones? Or is it a beautiful piece of workmanship like I see in every church I go to (and i have been to many)?
So please, remember, as Christians, your word should bring people to Christ, not anger them, nor insult them, If you want to witness to people, learn the truth about the bible so that you can argue your point without sure knowledge and not just blind faith. Confront people head on instead of leaving anonymous messages. Insults like calling another Christian a "sick person" will win you no converts, only drive away those who see division within the church.
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