Fundamentalists and the Bible 03

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wistfall1
wistfall1
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17 I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies,

If by heaven it is meant the Universe, then this is an error. If it is to say that heaven is a place other than the Universe itself, there has been no mention of stars being in "heaven."

In the Universe, there are more than a trillion stars, but the writers of the Old Testament didn't know this. Therefore, no stars, or a trillion stars, either way this is an error in the Bible. *****

18 and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.'

19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham lived at Beer-sheba.

The Children of Nahor

20 Now after these things it was told Abraham, 'Milcah also has borne children, to your brother Nahor:

21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,

22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.'

23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

There is one (1) major error in chapter 22 of Genesis.

Genesis 23

Sarah's Death and Burial

1 Sarah lived for one hundred and twenty-seven years; this was the length of Sarah's life.

2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

3 Abraham rose up from beside his dead, and said to the Hittites,

4 'I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property among you for a burying-place, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.'

5 The Hittites answered Abraham,

6 'Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold from you any burial ground for burying your dead.'

7 Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land.

8 He said to them, 'If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me Ephron son of Zohar,

9 so that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as a possession for a burying-place.'

10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city,

11 'No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it; in the presence of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.'

12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.

13 He said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, 'If you only will listen to me! I will give the price of the field; accept it from me, so that I may bury my dead there.'

14 Ephron answered Abraham,

15 'My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.'

16 Abraham agreed with Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, passed

18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, in the presence of all who went in at the gate of his city.

19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

20 The field and the cave that is in it passed from the Hittites into Abraham's possession as a burying-place.

This whole chapter is very suspect. The Hittites are a people known to history mostly as from Anatolia, or modern day Turkey. They are also noted in historically in biblical times for having fought a mighty battle with Egypt's Ramses II, the greatest of the Ramses Pharaohs, and probably the second most powerful Pharaoh in Egypt's history.

As far as Hittites are known historically, they may have been in northern Canaan, but according to verse 19, this all took place near to Egypt where the Hittites were not known to exist. As a possibility, they may have been sons of a Heth as stipulated as being earlier in one of the genealogies, but calling them Hittites is suspect.

This is most likely a major error by a writer who knew of the Hittites from the time of Ramses II, but why say that these people were Hittites? As mentioned, it is possible that there could have been a few Hittites, or a people similar and thus were called Hittites.

I won't say that this is an error, major or probable, but it is very suspicious. This is just as FYI and a matter of being as objective as possible here and not being as the Fundamentalists are.

Genesis 24

There is probably much that can be picked at in this chapter, but I think it would be picking, so I will skip this chapter and its voluminous 67 verses. For any not familiar with it and wondering, it is about how Abraham's servant went to find a suitable bride for Isaac.

Genesis 25

Abraham Marries Keturah

1Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.

6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastwards to the east country.

First of all, Sarah was one hundred and twenty-seven (127) years old when she died. That made Abraham one hundred and thirty-seven (137) years old at least when he is said to have married Keturah, and probably more like one or two years older allowing for whatever grieving time was appropriate for them.

While it is true that a man's sperm is viable regardless of age (health being good otherwise, that is, and faulty though it may be), it is possible for Keturah (if she wasn't past the age of about sixty or so when her eggs were no longer in her) to have seven more children. However, if we look at Abraham and consider that he was most likely one hundred and thirty-nine, and Keturah instantly became pregnant, Abraham had to be at least one hundred and forty-five (145) years old for the last child if she bore them one a year.

Again, while it is possible, to believe that he lived that long, and that a woman would marry a man of one, it's not probable by any means. The Bible has a way of giving many of their early main men many years of life regardless of the harsh living conditions they had to endure (and pretty much the same for women). That this is all too hard to believe, I have to say that this is a probable error in the Bible at the least, and most likely a major one. **

Here, if we consider it with an objective eye, we will see an error that's easy to miss. Abraham "took another wife", not a concubine. When he died, he left everything to Isaac, and to the sons of his "concubines", he had given gifts and ran them off.

However, the "wife" he took, "Keturah", bore him seven (7) children. There is absolutely no mention of those children being given anything, not even "gifts" as were given to the children of his "concubines". This is an error of omission in the Bible that gets by the casual read. *****

The Death of Abraham

7 This is the length of Abraham's life, one hundred and seventy-five years.

8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,

10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with his wife Sarah.

11 After the death of Abraham God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

Ishmael's Descendants

12 These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's slave-girl, bore to Abraham.

13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.

17 (This is the length of the life of Ishmael, one hundred and thirty-seven years; he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.)

18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria; he settled down alongside all his people.

Who were Ishmael's people? His mother was an Egyptian; and his father was Semitic; were the Egyptians considered "his people"? How can you be "gathered" to your people when you are the people or are split between two peoples, the Semitic one not as yet a people? Just wondering.

I take it that verse 18 means Ishmael's children. The larger question is what does this have to do with the real supposed story of the Bible since so little information is given?

The Birth and Youth of Esau and Jacob

19 These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham was the father of Isaac,

20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan_aram, sister of Laban the Aramean.

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.

22 The children struggled together within her; and she said, 'If it is to be this way, why do I live?'* So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 And the Lord said to her,

'Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples born of you shall be divided;

one shall be stronger than the other,

the elder shall serve the younger.'

24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb.

25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau.

26 Afterwards his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skilful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.

28 Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished.

30 Esau said to Jacob, 'Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!' (Therefore he was called Edom.*)

31 Jacob said, 'First sell me your birthright.'

32 Esau said, 'I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?'

33 Jacob said, 'Swear to me first.'* So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

There is one (1) major, and one (1) probable error in chapter 25 of Genesis.

Genesis 26

Isaac and Abimelech

1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines.

Here is another error for Philistines are yet hundreds of years away from being. This is an error in the Bible. *****

2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, 'Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you.

3 Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfil the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

4 I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and will give to your offspring all these lands; and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring,

Another "stars" error in the Bible. There are more than a trillion stars in the sky, and no where near that many Jews even if you count all that lived. *****

5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.'

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, 'She is my sister'; for he was afraid to say, 'My wife,' thinking, 'or else the men of the place might kill me for the sake of Rebekah, because she is attractive in appearance.'

8 When Isaac had been there a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw him fondling his wife Rebekah.

This is another Philistine error in the Bible. *****

9 So Abimelech called for Isaac, and said, 'So she is your wife! Why then did you say, "She is my sister"?' Isaac said to him, 'Because I thought I might die because of her.'

10 Abimelech said, 'What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.'

11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, 'Whoever touches this man or his wife shall be put to death.'

12 Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in the same year reaped a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him,

13 and the man became rich; he prospered more and more until he became very wealthy.

14 He had possessions of flocks and herds, and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.

Again, there were no Philistines here at this time. *****

15 (Now the Philistines had stopped up and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.)

Another mention of Philistines is another error in the Bible. *****

16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, 'Go away from us; you have become too powerful for us.'

17 So Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar and settled there.

18 Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham; for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the names that his father had given them.

Once more there is a Philistine reference. *****

19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water,

20 the herders of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac's herders, saying, 'The water is ours.' So he called the well Esek, because they contended with him.

21 Then they dug another well, and they quarrelled over that one also; so he called it Sitnah.

22 He moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying, 'Now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.'

23 From there he went up to Beer-sheba.

24 And that very night the Lord appeared to him and said, 'I am the God of your father Abraham; do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you and make your offspring numerous for my servant Abraham's sake.'

25 So he built an altar there, called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.

27 Isaac said to them, 'Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?'

28 They said, 'We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; so we say, let there be an oath between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you

29 so that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.'

30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths; and Isaac set them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.

32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug, and said to him, 'We have found water!'

33 He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.

Esau's Hittite Wives

34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite;

35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

We've been told that Isaac loved Esau best, yet we all know that he also wanted to give his "blessing" to Esau, and not to Jacob. We know full well that we'll soon see where Jacob's mother, Rebekah, fixed it so that Jacob would be seen as Esau when it was time to give the blessing, and all that went with it.

The question here is how can Esau, with two Hittite wives that made life bitter for both Isaac and Rebekah, be the one most loved. How does one justify being the best loved with his making their lives bitter? It says that "they", not just the wives, made their lives bitter.

This is such a sad piece of story telling, and thus an error in the Bible. *****

There are seven (7) major errors in chapter 26 of Genesis.

The Founding Fathers and fundamentalists

Leaving the Bible now, I take you to one of the real Founding Fathers of America, and some of his words. Why?

[All the words in bold here are at my instance in order to highlight some of the important things that are said.]

Fundamentalists proclaim that America is a nation special to God, and that all here should be subject to God's law as in Leviticus (and elsewhere in the Old Testament). This, they say, is how our Founding Fathers set up our country.

Oh, really?

Who are these Founding Fathers whom the fundamentalists proclaim to have started our country? They don't say, but maybe they don't have to.

Though they normally don't mention them, what present day fundamentalists have in common with early European settlers in America—namely the Puritans—is a belief by some of these "Founding Fathers" in the Old Testament laws. Certainly many of today's fundamentalists, like the Puritans, have professed that we should be under God's laws as in the Old Testament.

Should we be subject to those laws? Do you wish to be? More, do you wish to be under the rule of Inquisitors as in the Roman Catholic Church of days gone by?

Thomas Jefferson, whom many consider one of our most Founding Fathers for his writing of some of our dearest papers on government, had this to say in some of his writings:

("Notes on the State of Virginia" (easily found on the Internet):

"The first settlers in this country were emigrants from England, of the English church ... Possessed, as they became, of the powers of making, administering, and executing the laws,they shewed equal intolerance in this country with their Presbyterian brethren, who had emigrated to the northern government.The poor Quakers were flying from persecution in England. They cast their eyes on these new countries as asylums of civil and religious freedom; but they found them free only for the reigning sect.

"Several acts of the Virginia assembly of 1659, 1662, and 1693, hadmade it penal in parents to refuse to have their children baptized; had prohibited the unlawful assembling of Quakers; had made it penal for any master of a vessel to bring a Quaker into the state; had ordered those already here, and such as should come thereafter,to be imprisoned till they should abjure the country provided a milder punishment for their first and second return, butdeath for their third..."

wistfall1
wistfall1
135 Followers