Supernatural experiences with guest Jesse Cowell

[mrpayne123]

He said the way to determine whether the message is from satan spirits or from God was to determine whether it was antithetical to what we know about God. Well it seems we know that God is a loving, caring Father. Why would Abraham think God told him to murder his son and not satan?

[Angela]

He said the way to determine whether the message is from satan spirits or from God was to determine whether it was antithetical to what we know about God. Well it seems we know that God is a loving, caring Father. Why would Abraham think God told him to murder his son and not satan?

Just want to say that this is an excellent question. I look forward to reading some Christians' answers to this. The only one that comes to my mind is maybe God was different back then? He did seem to order a lot of killing. So maybe "kill your son" wasn't that out of character.

Maybe he was still sore over that whole fruit debacle in Eden.

[Rian]

As I'm "some Christian", I'll share my thoughts on this subject with you. And I think a good way to do this would be to ask some questions.

1. What were some of the worship customs of the time that Abraham would probably have been familiar with? (esp. concerning sacrifice)

2. What were the thoughts of that time and place about Satan?

3. What is mentioned in the NT about this episode concerning Abraham's thoughts in this matter, and what experiences in Abraham's life led him to think these were reasonable thoughts?

4. What were the customs for making covenants at that time, and how did Abraham's covenant with God differ?

5. How did the actual event pan out, and how was that different than what Abraham was familiar with?

Anyway, just a few questions off the top of my head to start off the discussion, if you're interested.

[Angela]

Rian, I'm not sure it's fair to answer a question with 5 more questions. Sorta seems like you want someone else to do your homework for you. But you did inspire me to go back and read a bit in Genesis (I admit I was a bit rusty), which did result in some insight into this subject. Actually, I now see that maybe it isn't that great of a question after all. It struck me that Yahweh talked to Abraham a lot. As a matter of fact, Abraham had had quite a few conversations with Yahweh before the one where he said "kill your son for me." So I imagine Abraham knew what Yahweh looked and sounded like. It's like if my uncle came to visit me every couple of years or so, and if one day he comes and tells me something that sounds crazy or evil, I'm not going to ask myself, "hmmm, am I sure this is my uncle? Maybe it's that bully I used to know in highschool." No, I'll think, "uh-oh, I'm afraid my uncle may have lost a few screws since I saw him last." So I guess if Abraham was going to question anything, it might have been if this god he's been following might not have some issues, and perhaps continuing to follow him might not be the best course of action.

As I understand it, there were a lot of gods in that time and place, and Yahweh didn't claim to be the ONLY one. So maybe Abraham, if he was the imaginative type, might have considered whether some other god was playing a trick on him. Who knows.

Note (esp for Salwinder, if you're following this): No, I don't believe the stories in Genesis are historically accurate. I do think it's interesting to look at them from different perspectives. One real handicap I had as a Christian was that I tended to see the Bible stories the way I was taught to see them. It's amazing what I found in the Bible when I took off my rose colored "Sunday School glasses." So I think it's helpful to talk with Christians about specific events and ideas in the Bible.

[Rian]

Rian, I'm not sure it's fair to answer a question with 5 more questions.

Hey, I just finished Plato's Euthyphro - what do you expect?
(f I were Euthyphro, I'd have knock Socrates upside the head! )

But seriously, I've always liked the Socratic method - I think that knowledge discovered is better than knowledge handed to one.

Sorta seems like you want someone else to do your homework for you.

Don't you see that in order to ask those detailed questions, I'd have to have done my homework already?

But you did inspire me to go back and read a bit in Genesis (I admit I was a bit rusty), which did result in some insight into this subject.

Ex-ACT-ly! I love discovering knowledge, and I wanted to see what you would discover.

Actually, I now see that maybe it isn't that great of a question after all.

Sometimes the correct answer to a question is that the question wasn't really a good question.

It struck me that Yahweh talked to Abraham a lot. As a matter of fact, Abraham had had quite a few conversations with Yahweh before the one where he said "kill your son for me." So I imagine Abraham knew what Yahweh looked and sounded like. It's like if my uncle came to visit me every couple of years or so, and if one day he comes and tells me something that sounds crazy or evil, I'm not going to ask myself, "hmmm, am I sure this is my uncle? Maybe it's that bully I used to know in highschool." No, I'll think, "uh-oh, I'm afraid my uncle may have lost a few screws since I saw him last." So I guess if Abraham was going to question anything, it might have been if this god he's been following might not have some issues, and perhaps continuing to follow him might not be the best course of action.

As I understand it, there were a lot of gods in that time and place, and Yahweh didn't claim to be the ONLY one. So maybe Abraham, if he was the imaginative type, might have considered whether some other god was playing a trick on him. Who knows.

Anyway, look into it some more with regard to my other questions, if you'd like - I have to drop off some kids somewhere now. And if you just don't want to answer the questions, that's fine - I don't want to force people to answer them before I answer - I just like to offer them as a jumping-off point, and as suggestions for possible areas to look into, if you don't know the answer. I think this is an interesting topic, so I'll definitely answer your question eventually. It may not be until next week, though - we're heading off to an out-of-state wedding.

Note (esp for Salwinder, if you're following this): No, I don't believe the stories in Genesis are historically accurate. I do think it's interesting to look at them from different perspectives. One real handicap I had as a Christian was that I tended to see the Bible stories the way I was taught to see them. It's amazing what I found in the Bible when I took off my rose colored "Sunday School glasses."

I think that's a good thing to do. But just be careful to not think that "if it's opposite, it must be right" - judge each one individually.