Religion III

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

What was I supposed to respond to? Your complete lack of defense/response to the presentation of grotesque contradictions in the NT?

Color me guilty I guess.

Since you say "complete lack of defense", I can safely conclude you are guilty of not reading the webpage I linked you to.

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

The Rabbi asks:

"What license did the writer of Hebrews have, to change the word of God?"

What specifically did the writer of Hebrews change?

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

Oh, and one more thing...this is what Jeremiah actually says:

"If these laws depart from before Me, says the Lord, so will the seed of Israel cease being a nation before Me for all time."

What I highlight above is quite different from your quotation (which is an inaccurate translation):

Score one for the rabbi. It appears he finally got something right, proving that even a blind squirrel will occasionally find a chestnut.

The NIV appears to be the only translation that renders the passage that way. I checked several others, including the YLT, NASB, ESV, KJB, NKJV, ASV, etc. and they essentially render the text the way you quote. For example:

Jer 31:35-36

35 Thus says the Lord,

who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name:
36 "If this fixed order departs
from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
from being a nation before me forever."
ESV

Now all the rabbi has to do is solve the problem in Jeremiah 33.

[boxcar]

Also, the rabbi needs to explain how Jews today can be forgiven of their sins since there is no temple and no priesthood to make blood atonement for sin. As the writer of Hebrews correctly wrote:

Heb 9:22
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
ESV

How are Jews today supposed to escape the fires of hell when they do not offer the atoning blood sacrifices prescribed in the Law of Moses? See also Lev 4:20, 26, 35; 5:10, 12, 18; 6:7; 17:11. I will quote this last passage:

Lev 17:11
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
ESV

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by Actor

So name one thing that I can do something about ... and exactly what it is that I can do about it.

Are you saying that you can't do anything about anything?

Well, when a doctor says "let is do this or you'll be dead within a year" he kinda has the upper hand at the bargaining table does he not?

Depends on what you decide about what your quality of life will be or what kind of burden you'll be on our loved ones, etc.

And just how did you measure that? By the way a light year is a measure of distance, not time, and the universe is not that big.

I know. The Word of God is eternal -- God and his Word much larger than his created universe.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by boxcar

I know. The Word of God is eternal --

According to the Christian Bible, it isn't. They alter it to suit their needs.

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

According to the Christian Bible, it isn't. They alter it to suit their needs.

Yeah, right.

Get busy and inquire of your rabbi friend solutions to the two problems I have presented.

[PaceAdvantage]

As if I take orders from you...

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

As if I take orders from you...

Could be far worse. You could wind up taking orders from Flip-Flopping Fascist Fear Fuhrer Fauci.

[PaceAdvantage]

That's a lot of Fs. Appropriate.

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

That's a lot of Fs. Appropriate.

And that ain't even half of it.

[Actor]

Originally Posted by boxcar

Are you saying that you can't do anything about anything?

Why am I on trial here? What about you? Can you do anything about anything? And I mean something meaningful. Something other than fixing the toilet (assuming you can fix a toilet). The lead story on the news every night is the shooting of the day. Every day some nut case somewhere in this country kills a bunch of people, or else the police kill someone who didn't do anything. (13 and 17 years old.) What can you so about that?

There are over 20,000 nuclear weapons on this planet. Sooner or later there is going to be a nuclear exchange. What can I do about that?

The number one thing that I can't do anything about is religion. I would love to go down in history as the one who got rid of religion, which does way more harm than good. How do I go about doing that? Nothing comes to mind.

Originally Posted by boxcar

Depends on what you decide about what your quality of life will be ...

"You have penile cancer. We need to amputate or you'll be dead within a year." There is such a thing. Google it.

Originally Posted by boxcar

... or what kind of burden you'll be on our loved ones, etc.

Taking care of a loved one is never a burden.

Originally Posted by boxcar

I know. The Word of God is eternal -- God and his Word much larger than his created universe.

Evasion. Does not answer the question. How did you measure it?

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by Actor

Why am I on trial here? What about you? Can you do anything about anything? And I mean something meaningful. Something other than fixing the toilet (assuming you can fix a toilet). The lead story on the news every night is the shooting of the day. Every day some nut case somewhere in this country kills a bunch of people, or else the police kill someone who didn't do anything. (13 and 17 years old.) What can you so about that?

Yeah, I can do plenty that is within my purview. I just don't worry myself much about things that I can't do, such as reduce violence in the world.

There are over 20,000 nuclear weapons on this planet. Sooner or later there is going to be a nuclear exchange. What can I do about that?

That's well within God's purview. So there is prayer.

The number one thing that I can't do anything about is religion. I would love to go down in history as the one who got rid of religion, which does way more harm than good. How do I go about doing that? Nothing comes to mind.

So, why worry about it? Concern yourself with things you can do to try to make a difference. You can do many "little" things in life to help make someone else's life just a little bit better. A warm smile. A kind word. A helping hand. A charitable donation.

"You have penile cancer. We need to amputate or you'll be dead within a year." There is such a thing. Google it.

What makes you think everyone would want the procedure?

Taking care of a loved one is never a burden.

But there's a flip side to that: Not everyone wants to be a burden to someone else.

Evasion. Does not answer the question. How did you measure it?

The infinite cannot be measured.

[Actor]

Originally Posted by boxcar

That's well within God's purview. So there is prayer.

Prayer has not worked in all of human history. Both sides pray. Both sides think God's on their side. Both sides are wrong.

[Actor]

Originally Posted by boxcar

I just don't worry myself much about things that I can't do, ...

Isn't that what you accused me of doing? Why is that OK for you but not for me?