Things I don't understand

by Chia 9 Replies latest social current

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  Chia

  There were always some accounts in the Bible that really puzzled me. Two of the ones that stand out in my mind most:

  1) Lot and his daughters. Lot's daughters got him drunk and then had sex with him. Maybe I'm crazy, I admit, I don't know as much about the Bible as I once claimed to know, but wasn't that prohibited in the Mosaic Law? Couldn't God have found another way to continue their lineage? I never got it, and it grossed me out.

  2) I believe it was Judah and Tamar. Two of Judah's sons were killed by God(one for disobedience I think, the other for "spilling his seed" and not producing a child). Judah did not want this third son to be killed,so he wouldn't let him marry Tamar. She dressed up as a temple prostitute and Judah visited her and impregnated her. What I didn't get was, he was angry and saying she should be stoned because of her harlotry, and yet HE visited a prostitute. Was that not wrong? I never quite understood. Did anyone else have any confusion, and did they ever get an answer about it?

  I was always told to "wait" if something wasn't quite clear now, it would become clear later and I would be blessed for my faithfulness.
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  tijkmo

  very simple answers chia

  1...mosaic law was not set up ....so thats ok then

  2...judah was a man ...and as we all know men can run around...and still have the right to be upset when their wives do the same

  see...like taking candy from a baby

  and now you are blessed for waiting
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  GetBusyLiving

  Hey Chia, you'll probably find there are TONS of crazy contradictions like that in the Bible. The Watchtower just made up lame excuses for all of it.. the more you study the actual writings of the books and how they were compiled, the political environment that those people lived in, mythological parallels, ect.. it becomes plain to see that it couldn't be inspired.

  GBL
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  under74

  Well I understand your confusion...I think a lot of the confusion has to do with us being in a dofferent time and culture than the ones spoken about in the Bible.
  
  I don't know a whole lot about the Bible and don't ever claim to but I'll give what you're talking about a shot--
  
  As for Lot's daughters. Yeah, it was a wrong and gross but I think the story was that the duaghtrs didn't know they weren't the only survivors. In the end though the two sons born out of the incest were Benammi and Moab who ended up being fathers of the Ammonites and Moabites that fought with each other. While the bible never said the war between the two had to do with incest I think it's somewhat infered.
  
  Judah is a weird story but what I've gotten from it is that first, prostitution as far as men soliciting it wasn't against the law AND that it was supposed to be Tamar's right to have a child in her dead husband's family line but Judah made it hard. In the end she had to trick Judah and ended up with twins. One of which (Perez) was a direct line to King David.
  
  I'm not saying it all makes sense now days but there are morals to the stories and they usually have to do with an ancient tribal law.
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  Chia

  Thanks for the blessings.

  That always bothered me. Women always seem to get the short end of the stick. And the only answer I would get is, "But that isn't how God felt. He still doesn't feel that way. It was imperfect man." OK, yeah, but, he couldn't have stepped in?

  I don't know if I'll ever be able to believe in God.
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  GetBusyLiving

  I find that not believing in God isnt so bad anyway. It doesn't change anything whatsoever if you have goals and believe in yourself. If a God exists and he wanted something from us then he would give us some proof that he's actually around.

  GBL
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  Chia

  Thanks for that. I figure, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I'm definitely staying away from any organized religion. It could've been much worse. Right now, I feel if God exists, he definitely isn't too concerned with me. So I don't feel any strong spiritual urges right now. And that's OK.
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  tijkmo

  yup chia...im feelin ya
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  under74

  I understand chia. I'm not a believer in god at all...haven't been for some time but I think because of that I look at the Bible now as a book with maybe some historical value rather than something to live by or be ruled by.
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  EvilForce

  When I point things like this out to Fundy's they say...well that was the era they were in. When I then say that we are in a new enlightened era regarding women being ministers, gay marriage, etc....they say the bible is absolute. So just like the Dub's some things are absolute and other things negotiable. How to tell the difference between the two? They will tell you...no need to think for yourself.