Semmelweis Reflex
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It isn't the goal of a believer to convert an unbeliever. The goal of a believer is, to the best of their ability, supply the unbeliever with accurate knowledge so that they may make an informed choice. The choice of remaining an unbeliever is equally acceptable so long as accurate knowledge is given. The Hebrew word Israel means to contend, grapple or wrestle with God. That's what we do. (Genesis 32:22-28)
Theology is study of the divine, Biblical and non-Biblical. Simply put, my theology is what I think the Bible means, whereas Biblical studies would be concerned with what the Bible says. Theology is interpretation. For example, Psalm 139:8, depending on the translation, says God is either in hell, the depths, the world of the dead, the nether world or the grave. The original Hebrew Sheol is Biblical but the pagan influenced hell is theological. The Biblical sheol is simply the common grave of mankind, no matter the form of burial. The theological hell is a place underground where, depending on the religious belief is either cold or hot, temporary or permanent, purification or punishment. The English word hell means to cover or conceal.
Theology is study of the divine, Biblical and non-Biblical. Simply put, my theology is what I think the Bible means, whereas Biblical studies would be concerned with what the Bible says. Theology is interpretation. For example, Psalm 139:8, depending on the translation, says God is either in hell, the depths, the world of the dead, the nether world or the grave. The original Hebrew Sheol is Biblical but the pagan influenced hell is theological. The Biblical sheol is simply the common grave of mankind, no matter the form of burial. The theological hell is a place underground where, depending on the religious belief is either cold or hot, temporary or permanent, purification or punishment. The English word hell means to cover or conceal.
It's important to recognize that the Bible isn't infallible. The inspired word of God is infallible but the translation wasn't inspired. The Bible itself warns of this. Inspired expression often being translated as spirit consider 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 1 John 4:1, 6. These scriptures are talking about misleading influences inspired by, in effect, the spirit of the world. In this case, most likely from members of the early congregation, or church, who had false ideas. The Bible wasn't written to us, it was written to the people in the time in which it was given. Thus the need for divine inspiration. From our perspective it is useful as a warning. To us the Bible is an example just as earlier inspired writing was an example to early Christians (Jude 1:7). So, we don't need the translation to be inspired. The warning is against misinterpretation and mistranslation. Everyone, including, experts, scholars, you the reader and myself are subject to error. Disagreement doesn't constitute satanic influence.
Snakes don't talk. The serpent didn't talk to Eve. The Bible says it did because Eve thought it did. The narrative was from her perspective. Donkeys also don't talk. An angel spoke with the voice of a man to make it appear as if the donkey was talking. Also in the case where it appears that "Samuel's" spirit is summoned by the witch of En-dor, it was demonic deception; where the cowardly scouts sent out came back and said the Nephilim were in the land. They lied out of fear. Sometimes the Bible even gives details of earlier events using references that didn't exist at that time. For example, at Genesis 3:24 the cherubs use a flaming blade of a sword to prevent Adam and Eve from returning. No such thing existed at that time. At Genesis 2:10-14 the geographical details of Eden are given with reference to one river "to the East of Assyria" when Assyria certainly didn't exist then. But it was familiar to the reader who was reading it much later. There are also spurious verses that don't appear in earlier manuscripts. They were obviously added later. For example, Mark 16:9-20; John 7:53-8:11; 1 John 5:4, 7.
In study it is, of course, important to research and consult scholarly works, but one should be mindful of the influence of tradition. Jewish thinking was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy through Alexander the Great after 332 BCE and in Christianity through Constantine the Great after 325 CE. The immortal soul from Socrates, the trinity from Plato, the cross from Constantine, Christmas from the winter solstice celebrations and later Dickens, the rapture from Darby, Easter from the alluvial plains of Ur and the goddess of fertility Astarte. Most of these teachings, with the exception of the rapture, come from ancient Babylon and like myth and fable always do, they mingle with one another over time. They found their way into Greek philosophy and were adopted by apostacy through later sources. All of these influences are pretty well documented, there is nothing conspiratorial about them.
What's the meaning of the Bible? What's it about? It can be summed up very simply as this: the vindication of Jehovah God's name through the ransom sacrifice of Christ Jesus.
God created Michael first. Then Michael, as Jehovah's master worker, created everything through Jehovah's Holy Spirit or active force. (Genesis 1:26; 3:22; Proverbs 8:22-31; Colossians 1:15-17; John 8:23; 17:5) The word Holy means sacred, or belonging to God. Spirit means an invisible active force, like wind, breath, mental inclination. Something that we can't see but that produces results that we can see. So, the holy spirit is God's active force, invisible to us. The first thing that Michael, through Jehovah's holy spirit, created was the spiritual heavens. This was followed by the spirit beings, often called angels. (Job 38:4-7) Then the physical heavens, or space as we know it, including Earth, the stars, sun and moon and finally everything on Earth eventually concluding with Adam and Eve.
The angels existed for a very long time before man was created, and they had time to mature, like children, so that they knew what was good and bad from their creator. It is important that you understand that being created perfect is much like being born a baby. Parents see their newborn children as perfect, but think about it. They can't walk, talk, feed themselves, go to the bathroom properly - they are bald, toothless, chubby, defenseless little creatures. Perfect in the sense that they have great potential and innocence.
By the time man was created the angels had already reached their potential.
On the seventh day, when the creation was complete, God "rested." This doesn't mean that God was tired or that he stopped working, it means he set aside a period of time in which we were allowed to mature, as the angels had done. When we would have accomplished this, we could, as the Bible says, enter into God's Day of rest. In other words, the seventh "day" or more accurately, period of creation, continues to this day. So, the knowledge of what is good and what is bad is the eventual possession of that maturity. The ability to decide for ourselves what was good and what was bad, predicated upon an acknowledgement of our own accord, of our creator, Jehovah's rightful sovereignty. (Psalm 95:11; Isaiah 40:28; John 5:17; Romans 8:22; Hebrews 4:1-5)
This is why, once Adam rejected that concept by deciding for himself what was good and bad before he had matured enough to best do that, Jehovah had to shorten his life from living forever to eventually dying. Because if he and his offspring, mankind, were allowed to live forever under those conditions, they would never reach that maturity and they would bring about an endless series of chaos and destruction.
So, in effect, Satan charged Jehovah with the crime of withholding some knowledge from mankind. He knew this wasn't true, but he wanted to try and seize control of the power that Jehovah's sovereignty represented even if it meant destroying all that it represented and everything else in the process. Even destroying himself. Like a jealous child breaking a toy so no one else can have it.
But to Jehovah justice is very important. You can't just wave away a crime due to the damage that has been incurred. So, he allowed the charges against him to be tried, as in a court of law. He allowed Satan's theory to be tested in a manner of speaking. With the stipulation that 1. he wasn't going to allow it to prevent his original purpose for the angels and mankind from being fulfilled beyond what was necessary to establish his defense. That they should live forever in peace, in heaven and on earth respectively. And 2. that justice would be done.
So immediately after Adam's sin Jehovah put in motion the plan for all of this to take place while Satan's theory was being tested. In a basic sense the steps were as follows.
1. Select a group of people.
2. Form a nation for those people.
3. Demonstrate to them what was going on by establishing a law which they couldn't keep due to their imperfection, or the incomplete nature of their lack of the aforementioned maturity.
4. Provide a way out through a Messiah or Christ, namely, Michael, who volunteered due to his love for mankind and his father, Jehovah's purpose. So, Michael came to earth as a man, Jesus the Christ.
One final point of consideration regarding mankind. From Jehovah's perspective the life he created, the life he gave us, is sacred. You may recall that sacred means belonging to God. According to the Bible our soul is our life, represented by our blood, so blood is sacred. To kill someone, or take their soul, requires the payment of the killer's own soul because it is taking something sacred to Jehovah. So, the blood sacrifices represented a respect for or acknowledgement of his created life granted to us. For example, if a person was found murdered and no one knew who did the killing then they had to sacrifice a bull and spill its blood on the ground as a symbolic acknowledgement of God's possession. Sacred life. A sort of gesture of justice. (Deuteronomy 21:1-9)
Since we inherited sin through Adam then the only man who could pay the price for the blood of Adam, which had been perfect and without sin from the start until he did sin - was the blood of a man who was without sin.
God created Michael first. Then Michael, as Jehovah's master worker, created everything through Jehovah's Holy Spirit or active force. (Genesis 1:26; 3:22; Proverbs 8:22-31; Colossians 1:15-17; John 8:23; 17:5) The word Holy means sacred, or belonging to God. Spirit means an invisible active force, like wind, breath, mental inclination. Something that we can't see but that produces results that we can see. So, the holy spirit is God's active force, invisible to us. The first thing that Michael, through Jehovah's holy spirit, created was the spiritual heavens. This was followed by the spirit beings, often called angels. (Job 38:4-7) Then the physical heavens, or space as we know it, including Earth, the stars, sun and moon and finally everything on Earth eventually concluding with Adam and Eve.
The angels existed for a very long time before man was created, and they had time to mature, like children, so that they knew what was good and bad from their creator. It is important that you understand that being created perfect is much like being born a baby. Parents see their newborn children as perfect, but think about it. They can't walk, talk, feed themselves, go to the bathroom properly - they are bald, toothless, chubby, defenseless little creatures. Perfect in the sense that they have great potential and innocence.
By the time man was created the angels had already reached their potential.
On the seventh day, when the creation was complete, God "rested." This doesn't mean that God was tired or that he stopped working, it means he set aside a period of time in which we were allowed to mature, as the angels had done. When we would have accomplished this, we could, as the Bible says, enter into God's Day of rest. In other words, the seventh "day" or more accurately, period of creation, continues to this day. So, the knowledge of what is good and what is bad is the eventual possession of that maturity. The ability to decide for ourselves what was good and what was bad, predicated upon an acknowledgement of our own accord, of our creator, Jehovah's rightful sovereignty. (Psalm 95:11; Isaiah 40:28; John 5:17; Romans 8:22; Hebrews 4:1-5)
This is why, once Adam rejected that concept by deciding for himself what was good and bad before he had matured enough to best do that, Jehovah had to shorten his life from living forever to eventually dying. Because if he and his offspring, mankind, were allowed to live forever under those conditions, they would never reach that maturity and they would bring about an endless series of chaos and destruction.
So, in effect, Satan charged Jehovah with the crime of withholding some knowledge from mankind. He knew this wasn't true, but he wanted to try and seize control of the power that Jehovah's sovereignty represented even if it meant destroying all that it represented and everything else in the process. Even destroying himself. Like a jealous child breaking a toy so no one else can have it.
But to Jehovah justice is very important. You can't just wave away a crime due to the damage that has been incurred. So, he allowed the charges against him to be tried, as in a court of law. He allowed Satan's theory to be tested in a manner of speaking. With the stipulation that 1. he wasn't going to allow it to prevent his original purpose for the angels and mankind from being fulfilled beyond what was necessary to establish his defense. That they should live forever in peace, in heaven and on earth respectively. And 2. that justice would be done.
So immediately after Adam's sin Jehovah put in motion the plan for all of this to take place while Satan's theory was being tested. In a basic sense the steps were as follows.
1. Select a group of people.
2. Form a nation for those people.
3. Demonstrate to them what was going on by establishing a law which they couldn't keep due to their imperfection, or the incomplete nature of their lack of the aforementioned maturity.
4. Provide a way out through a Messiah or Christ, namely, Michael, who volunteered due to his love for mankind and his father, Jehovah's purpose. So, Michael came to earth as a man, Jesus the Christ.
One final point of consideration regarding mankind. From Jehovah's perspective the life he created, the life he gave us, is sacred. You may recall that sacred means belonging to God. According to the Bible our soul is our life, represented by our blood, so blood is sacred. To kill someone, or take their soul, requires the payment of the killer's own soul because it is taking something sacred to Jehovah. So, the blood sacrifices represented a respect for or acknowledgement of his created life granted to us. For example, if a person was found murdered and no one knew who did the killing then they had to sacrifice a bull and spill its blood on the ground as a symbolic acknowledgement of God's possession. Sacred life. A sort of gesture of justice. (Deuteronomy 21:1-9)
Since we inherited sin through Adam then the only man who could pay the price for the blood of Adam, which had been perfect and without sin from the start until he did sin - was the blood of a man who was without sin.
