A little help

God loved and blessed Ishmael and his descendants. Don't forget Esau and Jacob . Jacob stole his brothers birthright.

God's will be done.
 
Faithfulservant said:
God loved and blessed Ishmael and his descendants. Don't forget Esau and Jacob . Jacob stole his brothers birthright.

God's will be done.
Click to expand...
That's the second time I've read this in the last couple of days...does anybody remember that Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew? Jacob didn't steal a darn thing, he made his brother keep his side of the bargain.
 
TheLightWithin said:
What I meant was, how were they able to determine which texts were inspired and which weren't? Are there criteria?
Click to expand...
Quoting myself here:
This only obliquely answers my question, but I love what they can go into in an hour long video.
I'm looking to see if they have more that talks more directly about criteria for how we would determine something is supernaturally inspired.
The presence of fulfilled prophecy seems to be the criteria they are working with. I'd like to know more about how prophecy in non-Abrahamic cultures such as ancient Chinese prophecies might stand up to this.
Still looking for more information... as a for instance, imagine if someone from Chinese culture without any background in Abrahamic teachings read the bible - cold, no preparation. What should they look for to help them see it was supernaturally revealed? Fulfilled prophecy, what else?
 
TheLightWithin said:
Still looking for more information... as a for instance, imagine if someone from Chinese culture without any background in Abrahamic teachings read the bible - cold, no preparation. What should they look for to help them see it was supernaturally revealed? Fulfilled prophecy, what else?
Click to expand...

Without preparation, reading the Bible cold, the case for fulfilled prophecy is actually not that good. It's the interpretations, the oral tradition, the literature around the bible which, after a proper build-up, give certain passages their significance, in my opinion.

Something came to my mind just now - one of the early translators of the Dao De Jing, I think it was Wilhelm, really seized on a passage where he thought he saw the Tetragrammaton in Chinese spelling. He was primed to see it (primed in the psychological sense).

Another example of "cold reading" of foreign scripture in China occurred to me: When Buddhism first entered China via the silk road during the first millennium, it was understood as a kind of "foreign Daoism", and many Daoist terms were used during the first translation efforts of Buddhist sutras from Sanskrit and Pali into Chinese. Zen Buddhism, which first arose in China, has a noticeable Daoist influence.
 
Faithfulservant said:
From what I understand the apocrypha were written in the 400 silent years between Malachi and the birth of John the Baptist. It is believed no divinely inspired prophetic utterance was made in this time.
Click to expand...
I am always amazed at the ebb and flow of prophetic utterances...

We're there no prophetic utterances or was nobody listening?

Was nobody listening or were those talking deemed lunatics?
 
Cino said:
Without preparation, reading the Bible cold, the case for fulfilled prophecy is actually not that good. It's the interpretations, the oral tradition, the literature around the bible which, after a proper build-up, give certain passages their significance, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
I don't care who it is that reads the Bible through, no matter where they come from, I will seem overwhelming, I remember my first time and I had soo many questions. About the 10th time through, everything started falling into place. I don't retain well so that is why I have to read it so much. Now when I read one passage, my mind just goes to all the other passages that help explain that passage. This is like most situations, the 2nd or 3rd time I watch a movie I start seeing other things that I missed the first time because of what I was focusing on. Like I have been saying, their is no hidden messages in the Bible other than end time Scripture. I guess if a person doesn't know how a seed grow into whatever the seed grows into, then they could struggle with a few of the parables. The parables were designed for the farmers, but even they missed the meaning of a couple of them. i.e. the 4 seeds and the Wheat and the Tares. Jesus even had to explain the 4 seeds parable to his disciples. So therefore the explanation of the parable is explained by Jesus in the text, just like the parable of the Wheal and Tares is explained in the text. I the Bible was too complicated, it would not translate easy enough for someone of different speaking languages could understand it. This is what is said about the Quran, you have to read it in the Arabic to fully understand it.
 
wil said:
We're there no prophetic utterances or was nobody listening?
Click to expand...
we can have a little insight here from the time God was forming His nation of Israel in Egypt. God was silent for 400 years then. God does not work on our time tables, He works as He see fit.
 
TheLightWithin said:
I'm looking to see if they have more that talks more directly about criteria for how we would determine something is supernaturally inspired.
Click to expand...
This kid currently doesn't believe in supernaturally inspired as in "from G!d" as others might.

As I believe G!d to be not a physical entity but a formula of sorts, the principle that allows all that is.

So for me supernatural is natural. Much like I can dance, but not l Iike Ginger Roger's, I can sing but not like an opera diva. They have skills superior to mine.

As the Bible and finding the text inspired...I do...as I find it applicable today in my life.

But I believe those that wrote it connected.with superior thought...not your G!d, but a collective G!d mind...that we all have access to (some say thru Jesus) thru Christ mind.

So sometimes each and.every one of us has connected and come up with an inspired thought or solution to a problem...some attribute it egotistically to their brain, others to answered prayer... I sit in the middle there.
 
Cino said:
Without preparation, reading the Bible cold, the case for fulfilled prophecy is actually not that good. It's the interpretations, the oral tradition, the literature around the bible which, after a proper build-up, give certain passages their significance, in my opinion.

Something came to my mind just now - one of the early translators of the Dao De Jing, I think it was Wilhelm, really seized on a passage where he thought he saw the Tetragrammaton in Chinese spelling. He was primed to see it (primed in the psychological sense).

Another example of "cold reading" of foreign scripture in China occurred to me: When Buddhism first entered China via the silk road during the first millennium, it was understood as a kind of "foreign Daoism", and many Daoist terms were used during the first translation efforts of Buddhist sutras from Sanskrit and Pali into Chinese. Zen Buddhism, which first arose in China, has a noticeable Daoist influence.
Click to expand...
Wow, that is really interesting!😍
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top