adamah brought up in another thread an issue i wasn't aware of, and i thought it merged well with something i've been pondering about.
it revolves around the deeper reasons why satan was successful in persuading eve to eat from the forbidden fruit.
why was eve persuaded to disobey god?.
SoP, you make a few good points, although I don't see quite how the account of the creation in Genesis can be ascribed to support the birth of the Israelite nation, as this really begins with Abraham, who appears to show up from nowhere in the account of Genesis, completely dissociated from the previous accounts.
Eden
question?.
on some threads the "post reply" box is missing the section where you can post links, photos, emotcions, etc.. is this a new thing to save band width or is it a glitch?.
i miss having the old "post reply" options....:(.
I have the same intermittent issue with Safari (Mac). My workaround is: Post away in the unedited form. Once it's posted, go back and edit your post. All the options should be available then.
Eden
villagegirl's question on another thread was probably supposed to be rhetorical but i want to respond to it.. many times people of faith express similar misapprehensions about those who don't share their views on eternity.. i want this to be a positive thread.
an opportunity for atheists to share what moves and inspires them.
what do you live for, what gives your life meaning and purpose?
Despite some mutual bickering here on this forum regarding faith vs rational thinking with Cofty, I think if we were to cross paths in the real world out there we would get along really well. Positive vibes, Cofty!
Eden
steven pinker, one of my favorite current thinkers, has given his perspective on "scientism" (or the lack thereof) in what turned out to be a short debate with leon wieseltier.
the articles contain too many points to summarize here, but pinker point out some obvious issues with the word "scientism" as it is currently used, discuss what science is (and offer a positive definition of scientism) as well as what he percieve to be an unnecesary resistance towards science from *some* parts of humanities.
the articles are quite long but easily the most interesting thing i have read on these subjects this year; they also show what happends when one as wieseltier bring rethoric to a knife-fight with a first rate intellect.
Very interesting reading - thank you.
Eden
adamah brought up in another thread an issue i wasn't aware of, and i thought it merged well with something i've been pondering about.
it revolves around the deeper reasons why satan was successful in persuading eve to eat from the forbidden fruit.
why was eve persuaded to disobey god?.
SoP,
It's most relevant that God put two trees in Eden, the tree of Wisdom and the Tree of Life. It's also relevant that God only made express mention prohibition towards the Tree of Wisdom, while no such stern warning is given towards the Tree of Life - and yet, God puts no guards around the Tree of Wisdom, while putting guards and a revolving sword to keep A & E at bay from the Tree of Life. What do you make of it?
In my opinion, the order on which the trees are presented has significance. It appears that you can only access eternal life after you have gained wisdom.
Makes no sense to reason that God has put the Tree of Wisdom in the garden as a test to Adam and Eve. That goes against the principle described in James 1:13 -"God doesn't tempt anyone [with evil]". Rather, God is described as the source of "every good and perfect gift" (James 1:17). That tree was there because at some point God would allow that couple to eat its fruit, and gain wisdom - wisdom that would prepare them step into a higher level of life, the spiritual life. After that, they would be ready to eat from the Tree of Life, marking their passage from the material world into the spiritual realm, where they would enjoy eternal life.
(Turns out that Satan told Eve a half truth - by eating from the Tree of Wisdon, they would become "like God". What he didn't mention was, in doing so in disregard of God's orders, they were severing the spiritual bond of sonship with God and their access to the spiritual realm altogether. Who knows? Maybe Satan was jealous that God had granted inferior creatures the possibility to raise to spiritual beings status, and he decided to take matters into his own hands and screw God's plans).
Without wisdom, they could eat as many times as they might from the Tree of Life - they just wouldn't live forever here on earth. God wasn't concerned with keeping them from access to the Tree of Life until the moment they ate from the Tree of Wisdom. Why would God be worried that they would take the fruit from the Tree of Life and live forever if they had already sinned and therefore were to die anyway? What do you make of that also?
Eden
adamah brought up in another thread an issue i wasn't aware of, and i thought it merged well with something i've been pondering about.
it revolves around the deeper reasons why satan was successful in persuading eve to eat from the forbidden fruit.
why was eve persuaded to disobey god?.
s & r
I didn't call anyone 'close minded', let alone everyone. I'm enjoying this, as you put it, "out of the box" discussion. I want to see how far can I stretch my speculation all the while still be within the boundaries of the Holy Book, that's all. And you know, even with much flaws, as competent people can point out, there is a possible alternative interpretation to the traditional one regarding Genesis, and I'm just entertaining thoughts about it. I'm not worried to present it in a harmonious, coherent way, I know these are random thoughts.
Why do you think this doesn't belong in a religious forum? Does "Lou Reed RIP" or "I got a problem with Sound Forge Pro" sound more fitting?
Eden
adamah brought up in another thread an issue i wasn't aware of, and i thought it merged well with something i've been pondering about.
it revolves around the deeper reasons why satan was successful in persuading eve to eat from the forbidden fruit.
why was eve persuaded to disobey god?.
And yet you point out how fraught with peril the translation process itself is, which only undermines the sheer folly of believing that a God is controlling the process of inspiration, nevermind translation.
The only assumption you can make is regarding the translation, and perhaps that written records could have been better kept. You cannot make fair assumptions regarding inspiration based solely on a problematic translation.
Eden
adamah brought up in another thread an issue i wasn't aware of, and i thought it merged well with something i've been pondering about.
it revolves around the deeper reasons why satan was successful in persuading eve to eat from the forbidden fruit.
why was eve persuaded to disobey god?.
What you are offering is a train wreck of disconnected and random ideas.
Considering that you haven't read most of what I've written, that's quite a statement to make. But, alas, it's pure speculation. I'm just toying with ideas and see if there are justifiable arguments against those ideas. I'm not "offering" anything.
Btw, I find process theology, open theism and panentheism to be quite interesting.
Eden
adamah brought up in another thread an issue i wasn't aware of, and i thought it merged well with something i've been pondering about.
it revolves around the deeper reasons why satan was successful in persuading eve to eat from the forbidden fruit.
why was eve persuaded to disobey god?.
"The LORD was with Judah and enabled them to take possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out the people who were living in the valley because those people had iron chariots." (Holman Christian Bible) "They" - the members of the tribe of Judah.
In the original Hebrew you cannot determine who is the subject "he" or "they". So it's up to the translator to decide. Clearly the context shows that it were the Jews, not God, who couldn't dislodge their enemies from the valley, so most translations favor the use of "they".
You could have picked a better example ;)
Eden
adamah brought up in another thread an issue i wasn't aware of, and i thought it merged well with something i've been pondering about.
it revolves around the deeper reasons why satan was successful in persuading eve to eat from the forbidden fruit.
why was eve persuaded to disobey god?.
Cofty, when someone departs from the traditional theology that you've gotten so used to mock and deconstruct and starts playing the game by accepting your arguments in favor of evolution, you suddenly become frustrated and leave the game? tsk...
