I don't understand this

by embeth2525 64 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Gill

  I thought the reason for dispersing the people by confusing their languages was to divide the people so that they would not work together. Didn't God find out what a bloody clever bunch these humans that he's made were and that if they carried on the way they were, nothing would be impossible for them. so like a good parent does when the kids get too clever he divided to conquer.

  Humans are incredibly clever and sadly incredibly stupid as well. If it wasn't for countries, languages and religions, perhaps we would have hunted God down and found him by now. And maybe even given him a piece of our minds. Just my opinion!
• 

  upside/down

  Excellent point. I read somewhere that in theory if the languages had't been confused knowledge and technology would have reached where humanity is now at about the time of Christ.

  Could also explain why so many (almost all) ancient cultures were so advanced instead of primitive as logic would suggest. We still don't know how they did some of the stuff they did.

  Either way God meant to slow us down one way or another. Can you imagine the Roman Empire (or the Hunns) with nuclear weapons? It's bad enough now.

  Still wonderin...

  u/d
• 

  bikerchic

  Interesting points Leolaia makes. I believe it's all a myth passed onto the Isrealites and written in the Bible as a story period. It's meaning changes with the times if you choose to believe it applies to today.

  u/d:

  I can't type DIE should have been FOR, duh

  u/d

  I edited your post for you. FYI you can edit your own post by putting your curser over the title of the thread on your post and you will see a drop down menu with edit being one of the choices. Hope that helps if not PM me and I'll see if I can help you further.

  Kate
• 

  what_Truth?

  About languages, if Nimrod had been hunting you and your for sport wouldn't you have developed a unique way of talking so that he couldn't overhear your plans? Once your way of talking were cracked wouldn't you keep revising it? Once it couldn't be revised any further wouldn't you move away so that you wouldn't be harmed? Forming into seperate groups is human nature.
• 

  City Fan

  u/d

  We still don't know how they did some of the stuff they did

  Like what, for instance???

  Either way God meant to slow us down one way or another

  But he didn't did he. For instance didn't Nimrod also build Ninevah and several other cities according to the bible. Confusing languages didn't exactly slow humans down. And I'd love to see a reference that says the Romans would have had nuclear weapons if Babel hadn't happened. Was it an apologist website?

  Only asking!

  CF.
• 

  Narkissos

  I agree with the initial poster that a threat against the prerogatives of the gods is the narrative trigger to divine action which originally implied the assembly of gods (whence the plurals):

  Yhwh came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And Yhwh said, "Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech."

  Actually the appeal to the assembly of gods echoes the collective action of men:

  And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

  The reaction of the gods is similar to what happens in Genesis 3 in the face of another threat (knowledge has been robbed from the gods, immortality must not be robbed):

  Then Yhwh God said, "See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever."

  Polytheism, once again, is the only conceptual frame for understanding those texts.
• 

  City Fan

  Exactly Narkissos,

  knowledge has been robbed from the gods, immortality must not be robbed

  Babel was not the first time the gods had been threatened.
• 

  Greenpalmtreestillmine

  Narkissos,

  Polytheism, once again, is the only conceptual frame for understanding those texts.

  I think the scriptures you quoted can also be viewed in the light of the OT itself. In the OT the heavens where God resides is also the place of residence of many spirit creatures. God does not himself come down to the earth but he sends angels and the Bible presents a picture of co-operation between God and the angels. I think it is very reasonable to conclude that when YHWH uses the pronoun "us" he is speaking to either his Son and/or the angelic host in his presence. When a human King or Queen says "We....are going to do this or that," the rest of us understand very well that they are likely speaking in the royal "we" mode and they do not actually mean they themselves are going into battle or building that canal. I believe when God says, "us" he is speaking to other spirit creations in the royal "We" mode.

  But I know I'm coming from a Biblical view and so we are seeing things differently.

  Sabrina
• 

  upside/down

  CF- Highly complex languages that many linguists say surpassed modern language in it's ability to convey thought and feeling much more precisely, for one. The pyramids, hanging gardens of Babylon, sailing around the globe, evidence of machines and possibly engines (Greece & Egypt), Underwater caves in Cozumel, Astronomical observations, philosophy that we still are amazed at. Most advance math had it's origins with ancient thinkers. Ancient American Civ's, Etc. Etc.

  How can you say "God" didn't slow us down? The logistics of a language change would definitely hinder if not stop the accumulation of knowledge at least for awhile. As far as cities in Nimrod's day, they weren't cities like a modern American city. Probably just big camps. Reference to ancients with nukes, is merely hypothetical ( a "what if" if you will), what I read acutally ref'd having computers or nukes. It's not important. Just do the math time line in reverse (remembering that humanity and technology grows exponentially) but technology really booms once there is a common medium (English / Internet etc.) for it to be stored in. For example a Chinaman could have invented penicillin long before Pasteur, yet being remote and "un-published", didn't get credit and wasn't able to influence most of mankind with his discovery, it couldn't be put to use and built upon- understand?

  If there are no mysteries of the ancients than why a field of archaeology and anthropology? National Geographic writes about half of it's articles on "mysterious" stuff from the past. Unexplainable many times.

  Maybe I'm not expressing myself properly- sometimes writing brief (deep) responses is difficult for me.

  u/d
• 

  BrendaCloutier

  I was watching that program last night. These people were holdiing on to their land despite being offered huge sums of money. One of the best displays of holding onto one's integrity I've ever seen.

  Yeah, then they get taxed to death....