Useful Q & A

[Dant01]

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46» Isn't Christianity's Human Sacrifice Against The Laws Of God?

God's codified law per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy is very
narrow, viz: any human sacrifice-- whether underage children or consenting adults
--is illegal because none are specified.

• Deut 4:2 …You shall not add anything to what I command you or take anything
away from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin upon
you.

• Deut 5:29-30 …Be careful, then, to do as the Lord your God has commanded you.
Do not turn aside to the right or to the left: follow only the path that the Lord your
God has enjoined upon you.

However: the codified law isn't retroactive (Deut 5:2-4, Rom 4:15, Rom 5:13, Gal
3:17) This is extremely important because Jesus was designated, and scheduled, to
give his life a sacrifice for the sins of the world not only prior to God's codified law,
but also prior to God creating even a single atom for the current cosmos. (1Pet
1:18-21 & Rev 13:8)

The past-tense grammar of the passage below reflects that ancient pre cosmos
determination.

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way;
and Jehovah has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isa 53:6)

That passage isn't a prediction, rather, it's a statement of facts, i.e. a telling of
things reckoned already gone by prior to Isaiah writing them down more than 700
years before Christ was born.
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[Dant01]

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47» What Is Meant By Proverbs 27:17?

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

The Hebrew word translated "countenance" has to do with one's face rather than
their mind.

A friendly face is usually soft and mellow; whereas a hostile face is usually accented
with tight lips and glaring narrow eyes; and sometimes even bared teeth. We call
that kind of look "daggers" --and if those kinds of looks could kill; they would.

No sharpening of two metals rubbing together can take place without them wearing
on each other. However, in Prov 27:17 only one of the metals experiences wear
while the other is the cause of it.

In my judicious estimation, that proverb is not speaking of building your friend up
but instead speaks of tearing him down by means of chafing, i.e. relentless fault
finding, mockery, and/or carping criticism; none of which are acceptable social skills
for making friends and influencing people.

• Job 16:9 . . He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me
with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.

The eyes of Job's enemy were knives, and reveals that causing somebody's
countenance to sharpen should not be construed a good thing. In point of fact some
of Webster's definitions related to "sharp" in include:

severe and/or harsh: such as

a : inclined to or marked by irritability or anger a sharp temper

b : causing intense mental or physical distress a sharp pain

c : cutting in language or import

NOTE: The Hebrew word for "friend" in Prov 27:17 doesn't necessarily indicate a
buddy; but includes a variety of others, i.e. companions, associates, fellows,
husbands, lovers, neighbors, etc. --just about anybody with whom we come into
personal contact whether temporary or extended, e.g. waitresses, taxi drivers,
retail clerks, fast food workers, gas station attendants, dog walkers, flight
attendants, druggists, coffee barristers, food cart vendors, doctors, dentists,
nurses, et al.

I think everyone, Christians especially, ought to avoid rubbing people the wrong
way lest we become known as a toxic influence that the world would be a better
place without.
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[Chalcedon]

What does it mean that Everything is meaningless?



The book of Ecclesiastes starts out with a startling exclamation:

“‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’
says the Teacher.
‘Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless’” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).

Other translations have the word vanity or futility in place of meaningless. The point is the same: Solomon in his old age has found everything in this world to be empty and void of meaning. This lament becomes the theme of the whole book.

Saying that everything is meaningless sounds depressing, but we must keep Solomon’s point of view in mind. This is found in Ecclesiastes 1:14: “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” The key phrase is under the sun, which is repeated throughout the book. Solomon is sharing an earth-bound perspective. He is only considering life “under the sun”; that is, a human life lived to the exclusion of any consideration of God. From that godless perspective, everything is indeed “meaningless.”

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon discusses ten vanities—ten things that are “meaningless” when considered from the limited point of view of “under the sun.” Without God, human wisdom is meaningless (2:14–16); labor (2:18–23); amassing things (2:26); life itself (3:18–22); competition (4:4); selfish overwork (4:7–8); power and authority (4:16); greed (5:10); wealth and accolades (6:1–2); and perfunctory religion (8:10–14).

When Solomon says, “Everything is meaningless,” he did not mean that everything in the world is of zero value. Rather, his point is that all human efforts apart from God’s will are meaningless. Solomon had it all, and he had tried everything, but when he left God out of the equation, nothing satisfied him. There is purpose in life, and it is found in knowing God and keeping His commands. That’s why Solomon ends his book this way:

“Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).got?

hope this helps !!!

 

[Dant01]

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48» Did Jesus Wed And Have Children?

According to Isa 53:8, Jesus left behind no one to carry on his name.
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[Dant01]

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49» Is 2Macc 12:48-46 A Useful Example?

The story tells of a Jewish military commander's attempt to atone for his dead
soldiers' pagan amulets which he believed is a crime against God for Jews to wear.
So Judas Maccabeus passed the hat among his surviving men and collected about
2,000 silver drachmas which were sent to Jerusalem intended for a sacrifice to
expiate his dead men's sin so that it wouldn't jeopardize their resurrection.

The covenant that Mose's people agreed upon with God as per Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy is very narrow. There are no sacrifices stipulated in it
for expiating the unforgiven sins that people take with them over to the afterlife;
ergo: the very Law that Judas sought to appease makes it a crime to either amend,
embellish, add to, revise, edit, upgrade, update, or subtract from the covenant.

• Deut 4:2 . .You shall not add anything to what I command you or take anything
away from it, but keep the commandments of The Lord your God that I enjoin upon
you.

• Deut 5:32-33 . . Be careful, therefore, to do as The Lord, your God, has
commanded you, not turning aside to the right or to the left, but following exactly
the way prescribed for you by The Lord, your God,

• Deut 26:16 . . This day The Lord, your God, commands you to observe these
statutes and decrees. Be careful, then, to observe them with all your heart and with
all your soul.

Bottom line: What Judas did was just as pagan as the amulets that his men were
wearing when they died.

NOTE: Just because somebody's personal beliefs are recorded in the Bible does not
make their personal beliefs eo ipso truth. Judas believed it was possible for living
Jews to offer sacrifices for the unforgiven sins of deceased Jews. Is it? No;
absolutely not! Were it possible, then a procedure for that purpose would be
stipulated in the covenant.

Atonements for the dead fall into the category of sins of presumption; viz:
unauthorized behavior.

If 2Mcc 12:38-46 teaches anything at all it’s that the Israel of Judas Maccabeus’
day was spiritually decadent-- just as decadent as it was in the days of the Judges
when every man did that which was right in his own eyes rather than the eyes of
The Lord their God.
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[rakovsky]

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1» Was Jesus a Christian?

Jesus was a Jew thru and thru who believed and practiced the Old Testament in
compliance with the Prophets and the various covenants; most especially the one
that Moses' people agreed upon with God per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy. (Gal 4:4)
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Jesus was both Jewish and Christian. A Christian is someone who believes that Jesus was and is the Christ. Jesus believed Himself to be Christ, and He also followed His own teachings.