Author Topic: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...  (Read 30824 times)

Udayana

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5478
  • βε ηερε νοω
    • The Byrds - My Back Pages
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #200 on: June 07, 2016, 03:49:23 PM »
Dear Udayana, ( forgive me for being nosey, but the source and meaning of your name, just curious )

As I have been trying to explain to Berational, the who, why, where, when, what and how.

Kipling's Six Honest Serving Men.

Where you start, who told the story, the Shaman, the Priest, the Bard, the keepers of history, you need to remember who you are dealing with, these Myths for a long time were not written down, someone had to remember these stories, pass them on to the next generation.

I caught a twenty pound Salmon yesterday ( no I don't fish ) but tomorrow that fish will have grown, why, because I am human, it's what we do.

You would be out of the Shaman business if your stories were boring.

At the time this story was doing the rounds, so I am reliably told by Karen Armstrong, various religions practiced child sacrifice, this was the story tellers way of saying, our religion does not practice child sacrifice.

Gonnagle.

My name is just an alias, after this logician:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udayana

- Does not mean that I come to the same conclusions though :)

You might be right about the way the story evolved, but then it seems to me to be more a way of recording a change from believing that human sacrifice was required to believing that it was wrong.
Ah, but I was so much older then ... I'm younger than that now

Dicky Underpants

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4365
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #201 on: June 07, 2016, 04:15:31 PM »
My name is just an alias, after this logician:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udayana

- Does not mean that I come to the same conclusions though :)

You might be right about the way the story evolved, but then it seems to me to be more a way of recording a change from believing that human sacrifice was required to believing that it was wrong.

If that is the case, then the lesson was not quickly learned, since we learn from the Book of Judges that Jephthah was prepared to sacrifice his daughter.
"Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.”

Le Bon David

Dicky Underpants

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4365
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #202 on: June 07, 2016, 04:40:08 PM »
Dicky,

Perhaps Trollboy got the 20 watt illumination but Sassy got the 40 watt version.

Or maybe vice versa.

Nice one!  ;D ;D ;D

Funny that this god whom they both claim to know never helped either of them to express themselves in clear English....
(And it's a joy to behold to see how "knowing God" has helped Sass with her French :) )
"Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.”

Le Bon David

BeRational

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8645
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #203 on: June 07, 2016, 04:43:53 PM »
If that is the case, then the lesson was not quickly learned, since we learn from the Book of Judges that Jephthah was prepared to sacrifice his daughter.

Quite!

He actually did kill his daughter, so now I am confused about the message in the book!
I see gullible people, everywhere!

Dicky Underpants

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4365
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #204 on: June 07, 2016, 04:47:46 PM »
Strange that, Gonners, because I get a totally different message from the same story, and not a very pleasant one at that. So, however it originated, the version we have in Genesis 22 suggests that the writer made a total pig's ear of the story if the original idea was simply to show that your religion did not practise child sacrifice.

There's another version in old Jewish literature, apparently, and Geza Vermes suggest that this was the one that St Paul had in mind when he attempted to explain the significance of Jesus' death on the cross. This version has Isaac rushing joyfully to accept being sacrificed when his father tells him that this is what God has just told him is 'required'.

The story still stinks, though, even given Isaac's joyful compliance. It's obvious that Abraham was still prepared to think that this sort of action was just what the deity desired.
"Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.”

Le Bon David

Enki

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3870
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #205 on: June 07, 2016, 09:36:09 PM »
Dear enki,

True, but you are reading the story through 21st century eye's, imagine yourself back to a time with no written word, no telly, no internet, sitting in a tent, the smell of burning cow dung, your only source of entertainment, the mad Shaman with his wild stories, he may be mad but he is the Holy man, the keeper of your tribes history.

Which story do you prefer, look pal we don't sacrifice children, fair enough, calm down mad Holy man, or, remember Abraham, the great Father of our tribe, God tested him, now yer talking Mad Holy man, this is why today ( today being thousands of years ago ) we don't sacrifice children.

Gonnagle.

Of course, if I read this myth through 21st Century eyes then I would be concentrating on such things as child abuse and mental derangement, but I am not doing so. As I read the myth of Osiris's supposed murder I try to see certain themes which were meaningful to the people of their time coming through. In the case of Osiris and the eventual rise of Horus, it seems to reflect the importance given to the restoration of order and attitudes towards unrighteous succession, amongst other things. With the myth of Abraham and Isaac, I am reminded that what was considered meaningful for the people of that time was the idea that whatever this God desired to take place should be followed without question. In short what this bible story illustrates is a test of Abraham's total obedience to his God. Therein lies its dangerous and terrible message.
Sometimes I wish my first word was 'quote,' so that on my death bed, my last words could be 'end quote.'
Steven Wright

Gonnagle

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11106
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #206 on: June 07, 2016, 10:16:16 PM »
Dear Udayana,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udayana

Not come across this before, thanks, nine centuries of arguing, bloody hell!! better put the kettle on, old Bluehillside thinks it is all done and dusted, I think we have only begun, again :o

Gonnagle.

http://www.barnardos.org.uk/shop/shop-search.htm

http://www.twam.uk/donate-tools

Go on make a difference, have a rummage in your attic or garage.

Stranger

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8236
  • Lightly seared on the reality grill.
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #207 on: June 08, 2016, 07:50:57 AM »
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udayana

Not come across this before, thanks, nine centuries of arguing, bloody hell!! better put the kettle on, old Bluehillside thinks it is all done and dusted, I think we have only begun, again :o

Seriously, based on the "arguments" listed on that page...?          :o
x(∅ ∈ x ∧ ∀y(yxy ∪ {y} ∈ x))

bluehillside Retd.

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 19469
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #208 on: June 08, 2016, 06:36:11 PM »
I gave up on it here:

"Nothing moves without intelligence".

Like a leaf falling from a tree for example? (Mind you, my apple tree does look as though it may have a few GCSEs at least tucked under its bark....)
"Don't make me come down there."

God

Dicky Underpants

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4365
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #209 on: June 09, 2016, 05:16:41 PM »
Quite!

He actually did kill his daughter, so now I am confused about the message in the book!

Certain biblical exegetes have produced a well-spun version....
"Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.”

Le Bon David

Spud

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7133
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #210 on: June 15, 2016, 07:50:17 PM »
My name is just an alias, after this logician:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udayana

- Does not mean that I come to the same conclusions though :)

You might be right about the way the story evolved, but then it seems to me to be more a way of recording a change from believing that human sacrifice was required to believing that it was wrong.

Just a thought, from J. B. Jordan and other expositors: In Leviticus 1:5 the "young bull" offered by an Israelite is literally "the son of the herd". A son was taking the Israelite's place. This would remind him of Abraham and Isaac. However, Isaac was not good enough to be a sacrifice. That required a sinless son. So Leviticus shows how the sacrifice of unblemished animals pointed to a sinless son of Abraham who would make the atonement that Isaac was not able to make.

floo

  • Guest
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #211 on: June 16, 2016, 08:32:13 AM »
Just a thought, from J. B. Jordan and other expositors: In Leviticus 1:5 the "young bull" offered by an Israelite is literally "the son of the herd". A son was taking the Israelite's place. This would remind him of Abraham and Isaac. However, Isaac was not good enough to be a sacrifice. That required a sinless son. So Leviticus shows how the sacrifice of unblemished animals pointed to a sinless son of Abraham who would make the atonement that Isaac was not able to make.

If the sacrifice idea had any veracity it is a very SICK concept, imo.

Brownie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3858
  • Faith evolves
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #212 on: June 16, 2016, 09:40:49 AM »
Well a red heifer would be butchered and eaten afterwards, floo.  The sacrifices were not wasted.
Sacrificing to a deity is an ancient practice which predates Christianity and Judaism.  A little bit was always given in thanks or petition, be it livestock from a hunt or fruit and veg.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2016, 09:09:18 PM by Brownie »
Let us profit by what every day and hour teaches us

floo

  • Guest
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #213 on: June 16, 2016, 11:15:31 AM »
Well a red heifer would be beaten and eaten afterwards, floo.  The sacrifices were not wasted.
Sacrificing to a deity is an ancient practice which predates Christianity and Judaism.  A little bit was always given in thanks or petition, be it livestock from a hunt or fruit and veg.

There is nothing for which to thank that evil god, imo!

Brownie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3858
  • Faith evolves
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #214 on: June 16, 2016, 12:28:20 PM »
That isn't what we were talking about floo.
Let us profit by what every day and hour teaches us

Owlswing

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6945
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #215 on: June 16, 2016, 05:50:09 PM »
Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...?

Really?

My take on the quote?

Sod off, I'll deal my oiwn vengeance out in my own way and you want to horn in - prepare to get shoved out of the way - if I want vengeance I will have it and you can sod off!
« Last Edit: June 17, 2016, 05:59:23 AM by Owlswing »
The Holy Bible, probably the most diabolical work of fiction ever to be visited upon mankind.

An it harm none, do what you will; an it harm some, do what you must!

trippymonkey

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #216 on: June 16, 2016, 08:45:46 PM »
This particular god acts like some spiteful nasty human at his worst, eh ?!!?!?!?
If nothing can affect God in any way then why 'talk' in such a manner !!?!?

NUFF SAID !! NO god of mine - Ta very much

Nick

floo

  • Guest
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #217 on: June 17, 2016, 08:30:04 AM »
This particular god acts like some spiteful nasty human at his worst, eh ?!!?!?!?
If nothing can affect God in any way then why 'talk' in such a manner !!?!?

NUFF SAID !! NO god of mine - Ta very much

Nick

Not surprising as the Biblical god is a human creation, imo, featuring all the worst human characteristics.

Brownie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3858
  • Faith evolves
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #218 on: June 17, 2016, 09:39:44 AM »
(Just an aside, though I doubt anyone noticed, in my previous post I originally said the heifer would be ''beaten and eaten..."  :o and I meant to say, 'butchered' instead of ''beaten''.  I've changed it.)
Let us profit by what every day and hour teaches us

Spud

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7133
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #219 on: June 17, 2016, 01:32:41 PM »
This particular god acts like some spiteful nasty human at his worst, eh ?!!?!?!?
If nothing can affect God in any way then why 'talk' in such a manner !!?!?

NUFF SAID !! NO god of mine - Ta very much

Nick
In Deuteronomy 32:35, where the quote in the OP comes from, the context is quite important, as it shows that God is made jealous when people give glory that should be his (as our creator) to something else. Verse 21 says, "They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols". Further, God admits dreading being taunted by "the enemy" (the foreign peoples through whom he punished them) who would give themselves the credit for their success against his people (v.27). Isn't it a bit narrow minded to dismiss him as spiteful or nasty?

Gordon

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18265
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #220 on: June 17, 2016, 01:48:36 PM »
In Deuteronomy 32:35, where the quote in the OP comes from, the context is quite important, as it shows that God is made jealous when people give glory that should be his (as our creator) to something else. Verse 21 says, "They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols". Further, God admits dreading being taunted by "the enemy" (the foreign peoples through whom he punished them) who would give themselves the credit for their success against his people (v.27). Isn't it a bit narrow minded to dismiss him as spiteful or nasty?

Far from it, since this all-powerful god of yours can allegedly create this universe and yet still be upset at not getting all the praise and attention (in addition to doing/arranging a bit of smiting here and there), which sounds more like a self-centred immature teenager than a god.

It seems, unsurprisingly, that your god is being portrayed as behaving and reacting just like some people do!   

floo

  • Guest
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #221 on: June 17, 2016, 02:08:13 PM »
In Deuteronomy 32:35, where the quote in the OP comes from, the context is quite important, as it shows that God is made jealous when people give glory that should be his (as our creator) to something else. Verse 21 says, "They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols". Further, God admits dreading being taunted by "the enemy" (the foreign peoples through whom he punished them) who would give themselves the credit for their success against his people (v.27). Isn't it a bit narrow minded to dismiss him as spiteful or nasty?

What a pathetic little god in which you believe!

trippymonkey

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4550
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #222 on: June 17, 2016, 02:13:26 PM »
Spud
Are you bloody serious???
Jealousy is a very human failing & not one to be admired IN humans much less some ridiculous deity ?!?!!?!?  ??? ::) ::)

Spud

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7133
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #223 on: June 17, 2016, 02:20:08 PM »
Far from it, since this all-powerful god of yours can allegedly create this universe and yet still be upset at not getting all the praise and attention (in addition to doing/arranging a bit of smiting here and there), which sounds more like a self-centred immature teenager than a god.

It seems, unsurprisingly, that your god is being portrayed as behaving and reacting just like some people do!
Sometimes things are not what they seem, Gordon. God is not expecting people to behave like robots, just to acknowledge him, like by saying grace, for example.

Shaker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15639
Re: Vengeance is mine saith the LORD, and I shall pay back in full...
« Reply #224 on: June 17, 2016, 02:21:49 PM »
Needy type, by the sound of it.
Pain, or damage, don't end the world. Or despair, or fucking beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man, and give some back. - Al Swearengen, Deadwood.