Ok, so this is pretty much wrapping up the story of Abraham and all his friggin Sons (of which he only claims one legitimate son and sends all the rest away
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Well, first he knows that son number one is his. He also knows that son #1 is not going to inherit and that his slave is picking on his wife. Notice that God has not chosen people without problems. He chooses real people who don't always do what He wishes. Other books and stories make their heroes out to be great people. Abraham has his share and one of them seems to be not having the guts to deal with his problems in a good manner. By the way, all the arab nations trace their lineage back to this son. God later saves the slave and her son but promises that they will never get along with Issac and his family. They are still fighting.
God does talk to more people later but continues to also use "the voice of God" as well. Keep in mind that the first five books of the bible are all written by one man - Moses. Before this all these stories were passed down word of mouth style. Of course if you are a believer in God you place faith in the fact that he was working through the people he chose to record his word and placed the words he wanted written in them. This is considered a part of the work of the Holy Spirit.
So true, so true. These people aren't perfect though admittedly it's hard to get an accurate idea of how they lived their daily lives since we only really see them during times when God is sniffing around saying, "Hey, you're going to inherit these lands and you, over there... the small guy with the hat and striped shirt...wait... WTF is waldo doing here!? Get outta here! Yeah, you, the other small guy... you'll birth many nations..." and so on and so fourth. Abraham does seem like a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to conflict resolution. He tends to just pack up and move from place to place whenever problems become too intense. "Sacrifice my son huh? Ok! Oh, what? You don't want me to really kill him? Ok." ...Time passes... "Yeah, uh, dad... remember that time you tried to sacrifice me to god?" "Whoa, whoa, whoa kid! I get the picture. Pissed off at your old man cause God wanted you as a sacrifice. That's fine. I understand. I'm just gonna go move over here with these Cannanites. I don't like them too much, but hey... at least you'll have your space."
Now I am curious about one thing: You said, "Of course if you are a believer in God you place faith in the fact that he was working through the people he chose to record his word and placed the words he wanted written in them. This is considered a part of the work of the Holy Spirit."
But that means that in order to have faith that the Bible is accurate and true you have to have faith in God first, but the bible is God's chosen message for the people so that they would have the opportunity to know him right? So if you don't have faith in God, reading the bible is a good place to start looking for it, but then I already need faith for it to make much sense. It's circular logic that baffles me. It makes more sense to say that the Bible was written by men who may or may not have been inspired by God, but they did have faith in him. They recorded how they lived their lives in an attempt to express how they felt a godly man/woman should live. You don't have to have faith in their words, they're just anecdotes to help you understand Gods message. It doesn't matter if they're truth or fiction. All that matters is the message being conveyed. And maybe, by taking some of their lessons and applying them to your life, you'll find the faith that otherwise escapes you.
God gives his message to us. He's done that through his chosen people. The message is his; his people have chosen how to tell that message. Faith comes through hearing his message. He has given that message in His very creation but most don't seem to pay much attention to that one. He also had His message written down. True faith comes through getting to know Him. One way to do that is through the message he gave to us. It's not an easy process but even the smallest ammount can make all the difference.
Notice that God has not chosen people without problems. He chooses real people who don't always do what He wishes. Other books and stories make their heroes out to be great people. Abraham has his share and one of them seems to be not having the guts to deal with his problems in a good manner.
By the way, all the arab nations trace their lineage back to this son. God later saves the slave and her son but promises that they will never get along with Issac and his family. They are still fighting.
God does talk to more people later but continues to also use "the voice of God" as well.
Keep in mind that the first five books of the bible are all written by one man - Moses. Before this all these stories were passed down word of mouth style. Of course if you are a believer in God you place faith in the fact that he was working through the people he chose to record his word and placed the words he wanted written in them. This is considered a part of the work of the Holy Spirit.
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Now I am curious about one thing: You said, "Of course if you are a believer in God you place faith in the fact that he was working through the people he chose to record his word and placed the words he wanted written in them. This is considered a part of the work of the Holy Spirit."
But that means that in order to have faith that the Bible is accurate and true you have to have faith in God first, but the bible is God's chosen message for the people so that they would have the opportunity to know him right? So if you don't have faith in God, reading the bible is a good place to start looking for it, but then I already need faith for it to make much sense. It's circular logic that baffles me. It makes more sense to say that the Bible was written by men who may or may not have been inspired by God, but they did have faith in him. They recorded how they lived their lives in an attempt to express how they felt a godly man/woman should live. You don't have to have faith in their words, they're just anecdotes to help you understand Gods message. It doesn't matter if they're truth or fiction. All that matters is the message being conveyed. And maybe, by taking some of their lessons and applying them to your life, you'll find the faith that otherwise escapes you.
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