Friday, January 16, 2015

Pondering a Couple of Things in the Bible

One thing that I have never understood when reading the New Testament is that in some places we are told that our sins are forgiven and forgotten, yet in other places we are told that we will be judged according to our actions. We are told throughout the Bible that God is a God of love. Would a loving God keep record of all of the deeds of every person? That does not seem like the actions of a healthy God. If we kept track of a loved ones misdeeds wrongdoings it harms us more than it does the person whose wrongdoings we are remembering. It is healthier to let these things go. I do not know if I would want to worship a God who is that obsessed with these things. I would prefer to worship a God who forgives and forgets.

There are stories in the Old Testament that seem to be more like parables than stories that could have actually happened. The story of Samson is an example of these stories. It reminds me of the stories of Roman and Greek mythologies. It seems to be more of a story of types than a story of real people. Throughout the Bible there are stories of this type where there are conditions for living in a certain place or having strength or other things. Why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden and Evil? The serpent tempted Eve in the garden, but God put the cause of the temptation there. Did God want them to fall and thus for humanity to have need for redemption? It would seem simpler just not to put the tree there. What is the purpose of having such a tree anyway? This does not seem like a story of fact but a parable. In the case of Samson, the conditions of his keeping his strength seem silly. He could not cut his hair. How long would his hair have been? How could someone fight with very long hair that would get in his way? This is all right for entertainment or education, but if we hold it up to scrutiny it falls apart.

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