Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 01:35:55 +0100 From: George Reid <george.reid1@ntlworld.com> To: "Neal E. Westfall" <nwestfal@directvinternet.com> Cc: Joshua Lee <yid@softhome.net>, dave@jetcafe.org, tlambert2@mindspring.com, chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Why did evolution fail? Message-ID: <20020906013554.A42842@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <20020904205814.U38687-100000@Tolstoy.home.lan>; from nwestfal@directvinternet.com on Thu, Sep 05, 2002 at 09:05:38AM -0700 References: <20020904232446.0b55b1d5.yid@softhome.net> <20020904205814.U38687-100000@Tolstoy.home.lan>
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On Thu, Sep 05, 2002 at 09:05:38AM -0700, Neal E. Westfall wrote:
[...]
> Since you mention Isaiah chapter 1, who is being referred to in verse
> 4? Who is the "Holy One" of Israel that the people of Israel have
> despised? Why does God say in verse 11, "I have had enough of burnt
> offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in
> the blood of bulls, lambs or goats"? What then *was* the purpose of
> the temple sacrifices back in Leviticus?
[...]
To plagiarise a great work:
a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a
pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors.
They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in
Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair
price for her?
c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in
her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem
is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A
friend of mine claims that this applies to the Welsh, but not
the Scottish. Can you clarify? Why can't I own a Welsh person?
e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus
35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated
to kill him myself?
f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than
homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?
g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have
a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses.
Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev
19:27. How should they die?
i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes
me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two
different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing
garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester
blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really
necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town
together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to
death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep
with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
> So why are you attacking what my religion teaches? Aren't you just
> being a little bit hypocritical? Do you think that Christians just
> made up the doctrine of hell? Where do you think it came from?
[...]
The concept of "hell" is a very convenient mind-control tool. The early
leaders of the Church were extremely wise to bring the doctrine onboard.
However, the word "hell" occurs 53 times in the King James Bible (31 of
these are in the Old Testament). These are a series of mistranslations
which happened to suit the doctrine that the early Church wished to teach
for its own purposes (indeed, as the above suited my own purposes) of
"saving souls" (which, one would assume, is synonymous with "making
money"). This was achieved by simply bludgeoning the ignorant population
into acceptance based on the works of many educated but ultimately corrupt
scholars. The myth of 'hell' is perpetuated through the ignorance of
modern Christians (very few of whom read Greek and/or Hebrew) who are
unwilling to accept the plain fact that it simply does not exist in the
Bible.
If you'd like to argue this point further please feel free to do so,
citing passages in the 'original' (insofar as is possible) Greek or
Hebrew, as appropriate. Bear in mind that I read both languages so your
arguments had better be both logically watertight and correct within a
historical context. Please note that I will not accept any passages
from either the Latin Vulgate or a Bible written in any modern language as
proof of any claims you may choose to make due to the errancy of
translation. Also, please forgive me for any delay in response: I don't
have a great deal of free time at the moment but I will attempt to reply
as soon as is possible for me.
--
George C A Reid
WWW: http://people.FreeBSD.org/~greid/ Mob: (07740) 197460
FreeBSD Committer/Developer greid@FreeBSD.org
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