Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde.

by scout575 3 Replies latest jw friends

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  scout575

  "And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. For how great is his goodness and how great is his beauty! Corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids." ( Zechariah 9:16,17 )

  "And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth." ( Zechariah 14:12 )
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  Gadget

  Thats one of the reasons why although the bible does have some good points, I think its wrong to take it literally.

  Someone posted a good response to this a while back that really made me think. It was the concept that an all good, all powerful god was impossible. If god was all powerful then he/she would be able to fix the problems in the earth but chooses not to and therefore cannot be all good. If god was all good then he/she would have the desire to solve the problems on the earth, but have not done so must not have the means to do so and therefore not all powerful.

  He claimed that there was 2 gods in the bible, one all good as mentioned in Zechariah 9:16,17, and an all powerful god as mentioned in Zechariah 14:12.

  Paul
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  the sage

  Gadget, on your comment to scout575!

  Just had to post this response. A scripture came to mind that helps me to clarify Jehovah's actions in regard to death and destruction. Don't get me wrong I'm rather impatient and anxious for something to happen real soon to help us understand more fully. 2Pet. 2:12. says some of humankind in the evolutionary chain are: "like unreasoning animals naturally to be caught and destroyed." Our view as to when things should happen as to correcting matters apparently are different than Jehovah's. 2Pet. 3:8-10. says: "one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years. (However) 9. Jehovah is not slow respecting his promise as some people consider slowness, but is patient with you because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance. 10. Yet Jehovah's day will come." Encouragement to myself and others who left a religious organization that claims to be the voice of God can come only through reminders in scripture. Gal.6:9. "So let us not give up in doing what is fine , for in due season we shall reap if we do not tire out.

  the sage
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  Qcmbr

  I think we just are reading it through the wrong filters. Israelite scribes used the poetic language of their people and culture to describe the scenario when God will reward all people with the fruits of their desires, I doubt they were creating a shizophrenic god. We can't impose out cultural interpretation upon another cultures' text and come up with a true representation of reality.