And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.This is a recurrent theme in the Bible. God, who is said to be perfect in all ways, can be hurt, injured or wounded by the actions of humankind. How could imperfect beings hurt that which is perfect?
~ King James version ~
The formed cannot harm the formless.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~
Tao is formless and so the formed cannot injure nor alter the Way. We certainly can go against the flow of the cosmos, but we are the ones who will end up hurt!
If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.
I commented on this, I'm sure, earlier today but I am the midst of an ISP change so perhaps my comment went missing in the ether.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a misreading..this is Jeremiah "quoting" God, who is admonishing his people to have no others and not to make idols and whatnot. If they honor the commandments and covenant, God will do them no hurt or harm. This is not about God being hurt.
I beg to differ. Why else would God want to harm or hurt anyone unless his feelings were hurt?
ReplyDeleteWhatever, but that's not what it says. God wants his people to keep the covenant; he's mad. You know, you sign a contract you have to keep up the payments. But he's cutting them a little slack, giving them yet another chance.
ReplyDeleteThe God of the OT is wrathful and demanding and has the power to make and destroy, a really really tough parent of some very difficult special needs children. There is a perfection in God and his works, but the people squander it; of course he's disappointed and pissed. The stories of the Prophets are about a developing relationship of the people to their god. It's not theology. No wonder in Christianity we get Mary...God can say, "Go ask your mother."