by palmtree67 66 Replies latest watchtower bible
Two things:
1. The bible presents itself unapologetically as history
2. Nothing in the account suggests that Jehovah in any way recommended this sort of action (however he obviously allowed it)
3. The last pasage in Judges is a disclaimer..."In those days there was no king in Israel. What was right in his own eyes was what each one was accustomed to do."
In any case, the God represented in the bible is a demiurge evolving.
No, it doesn't specifically say god agreed with it, but I didn't see any condemnation either. Like usual, god was too busy to save this woman when she really needed his help.
I wonder if she prayed while she was being abused? Maybe her faith wasn't strong enough for god to bother with her. Or maybe the whole thing is fiction, just like the big exodus out of Egypt. Seems strange that 600,000 men plus their wives (if they didn't chop them up first) and children (if they didn't vow them to god and kill them first) wouldn't leave evidence after 40 years of wandering in the desert.
As for how men read these accounts, I would say that any delusional person who hangs on every word of it probably will rationalize it into something good. The rest of us with actual thinking ability find it repulsive.
Stan
Stan.
Embrace your revulsion. I find it offensive as well. On the other hand this demiurge may in fact be who and what is represented in these texts. If this is the case then I'd say that it is a bit of an idiot savant in that its power exceeds its morality.
But hey, the wipe doesn't fall far from the ass, now, does it?
Isn't that 3 things?
Your third point is interesting. These were god's chosen people, yet they seemed to lack a basic intrinsic conscience. Without a king, they didn't know throwing your wife and daughter out to the perverts was not a good idea? They couldn't think for themselves and do the right thing without being told what to think and how to act? Wait a second, something seems familiar about that...
What is a demiurge, please?
I didn't know either.
'Without a king, they didn't know throwing your wife and daughter out to the perverts was not a good idea?'
Once they got kings, the kings did that. And, they kept the people too busy fighting wars to be fighting over wimmens.
S
this incident caused a huge war with the Benjaminites. The account wasn't about the emotions or the family situation, it was to explain the war and why the division with the tribe of Benjamin happened. The cut up woman was part of the message sent out to Israel of the atrocity that had been committed. Unfortunately, I think the atrocity was perceived as an attack on the man, rather than the woman who died after being violently raped by a gang of men!
'Without a king, they didn't know throwing your wife and daughter out to the perverts was not a good idea?'
Good point, Stan. Do we really need a demiurge to tell us this is wrong?
(I just wanted to use my new word in a sentence....)
Seriously, tho, the only way I can wrap my brain around this passage is to think of it as fluff. Not soft, sweet smelling dryer lint fluff, but fluff that you find behind your couch that has dead flies in it and spider webs and dog hair and cheesie crumbs, when you can't even remember when was the last time you had cheesies..... THAT kind of fluff.
What if the Old Testament is just a collection of quasi-historical stories of the Jewish people acting like barbarians while the judges attempt to lay down some sort of law and order? People really need to give up the notion that the Old Testament is something other than what it is.
The Jews are very honest about their past. They are a race of people that have been here for over 5000 years. They started out as nomads in the desert and went on from there... Life was tough and the people not so nice. If you ever have a deep, meaningful conversation with a Jew about their history, you might hear stories that will curl your hair because sometimes the truth isn't inspired, it isn't sweet, and it sure aint purty.
