In a post in another thread our friend aChristian talkes about “apparent” contradictions, not bad considering the Bible is full of the most glaring contradictions all over the place, but they say that faith can move mountains. Anyway, let us take a look at one of the stories from the Bible, which demonstrate the twisted logic and completely relativistic “morals” of God and his “chosen heroes”. Take Abraham for instance.
*** Rbi8 Genesis 20:1-18 ***
20 Now Abraham moved camp from there to the land of the Neg'eb and took up dwelling between Ka'desh and Shur and residing as an alien at Ge'rar. 2 And Abraham repeated concerning Sarah his wife: “She is my sister.”
As we can see Abraham is acting like a craven wimp, lying to save his coward skin while putting his wife at risk of being sexually assaulted by Abimelech. What an outstanding act of bravery and what a wonderful sign of his trust in God Then the story gets even weirder:
*** Rbi8 Genesis 20:1-18 *** With that A·bim'e·lech king of Ge'rar sent and took Sarah. 3 Afterward God came to A·bim'e·lech in a dream by night and said to him: “Here you are as good as dead because of the woman whom you have taken, since she is owned by another owner as his wife.” 4 However, A·bim'e·lech had not gone near her. Hence he said: “Jehovah, will you kill a nation that is really righteous? 5 Did not he say to me, ‘She is my sister’? and she—did not she too say, ‘He is my brother’? In the honesty of my heart and with innocency of my hands I have done this.” 6 At that the [true] God said to him in the dream: “I too have known that in the honesty of your heart you have done this, and I was also holding you back from sinning against me. That is why I did not allow you to touch her. 7 But now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will make supplication for you. So keep living. But if you are not returning her, know that you will positively die, you and all who are yours.”8 So A·bim'e·lech got up early in the morning and proceeded to call all his servants and to speak of all these things in their ears. And the men got very much afraid.
Instead of giving Abraham, the craven liar a stern reprimand, God is leaning on the innocent Abimelech, who is the victim of Abraham and his wife’s despicable trickery. Abimelech is rightfully upset about Abrahams dishonesty and expresses it:
*** Rbi8 Genesis 20:1-18 *** Then A·bim'e·lech called Abraham and said to him: “What have you done to us, and what sin have I committed against you, in that you have brought upon me and my kingdom a great sin? Deeds that should not have been done you have done in connection with me.” 10 And A·bim'e·lech went on to say to Abraham: “What did you have in view in that you have done this thing?”
Abrahams lame excuse sounds like this:
*** Rbi8 Genesis 20:1-18 *** 11 To this Abraham said: “It was because I said to myself, ‘Doubtless there is no fear of God in this place, and they will certainly kill me because of my wife.’ 12 And, besides, she is truly my sister, the daughter of my father, only not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And it came about that, when God caused me to wander from the house of my father, then I said to her, ‘This is your loving-kindness which you may exercise toward me: At every place where we shall come say of me: “He is my brother.”’”
Not much of an excuse, eh? He seem to rationalize that she is actually his half sister, same father but different mothers, and apparently this lie was Abraham’s and Sarah’s standard procedure when they encountered strangers. Talk about a courageous and upstanding patriach?
But this story is quite inexplicable for another reason too:
*** Rbi8 Genesis 20:1-18 *** 17 And Abraham began to make supplication to the [true] God; and God proceeded to heal A·bim'e·lech and his wife and his slave girls, and they began bearing children. 18 For Jehovah had tightly shut up every womb of the house of A·bim'e·lech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
One wonders what kind of twisted and insane reasoning is behind God’s punishment of an innocent man, for being tricked by the coward and lying “Great Prophet” Abraham.
We know that Abraham had used the same stupid subterfuge before in Egypt:
*** Rbi8 Genesis 12:10-20 ***
10 Now a famine arose in the land and A'bram made his way down toward Egypt to reside there as an alien, because the famine was severe in the land. 11 And it came about that as soon as he got near to entering Egypt, then he said to Sar'ai his wife: “Please, now! I well know you are a woman beautiful in appearance. 12 So it is bound to happen that the Egyptians will see you and will say, ‘This is his wife.’ And they will certainly kill me, but you they will preserve alive. 13 Please say you are my sister, in order that it may go well with me on your account, and my soul will be certain to live due to you.”
14 So it happened that, as soon as A'bram entered Egypt, the Egyptians got to see the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15 And the princes of Phar'aoh also got to see her and they began praising her to Phar'aoh, so that the woman was taken to the house of Phar'aoh. 16 And he treated A'bram well on her account, and he came to have sheep and cattle and asses and menservants and maidservants and she-asses and camels. 17 Then Jehovah touched Phar'aoh and his household with great plagues because of Sar'ai, A'bram’s wife. 18 With that Phar'aoh called A'bram and said: “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I was about to take her as my wife? And now here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 And Phar'aoh issued commands to men concerning him, and they went escorting him and his wife and all that he had.
Of course God punished Pharaoh, which had been tricked into the whole mess. Not one word to the idiot Abraham that he should quit lying. What an example of outstanding moral discernment on behalf of God.
But this weird history doesn’t end here. Imagine, the Bible tell us that exactly the same thing happened again, this time with Abraham’s son Isaac:
*** Rbi8 Genesis 26:1-11 ***
26 Now there arose a famine in the land, besides the first famine that occurred in the days of Abraham, so that Isaac directed himself to A·bim'e·lech, king of the Phi·lis'tines, to Ge'rar. 2 Then Jehovah appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt. Tabernacle in the land that I designate to you. 3 Reside as an alien in this land, and I shall continue with you and bless you, because to you and to your seed I shall give all these lands, and I will carry out the sworn statement that I swore to Abraham your father, 4 ‘And I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and I will give to your seed all these lands; and by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves,’ 5 due to the fact that Abraham listened to my voice and continued to keep his obligations to me, my commands, my statutes, and my laws.” 6 So Isaac went on dwelling at Ge'rar.
7 Well, the men of the place kept asking with respect to his wife, and he would say: “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say “My wife” for fear that, to quote him, “the men of the place should kill me because of Re·bek'ah,” because she was attractive in appearance. 8 So it came about that as his days there extended themselves A·bim'e·lech, king of the Phi·lis'tines, was looking out of the window and taking in the sight, and there was Isaac having a good time with Re·bek'ah his wife. 9 At once A·bim'e·lech called Isaac and said: “Why, she is no other than your wife! So how is it that you said, ‘She is my sister’?” At this Isaac said to him: “I said it for fear I should die on her account.” 10 But A·bim'e·lech continued: “What is this you have done to us? A little more and certainly one of the people would have lain down with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us!” 11 Then A·bim'e·lech commanded all the people, saying: “Anybody touching this man and his wife will surely be put to death!”
As you can see Isaac apparently did just the same thing as his father with exactly the same people. One wonders what the Philistines were thinking about this family of pathological liars and cowards.
Norm.