Question - One But Not the Other?

Trey Smith

A lot of Christians -- though not all -- believe in the triune nature of God. According to this belief, God makes himself manifest in three ways: a) Heavenly Father, b) Holy Ghost/Spirit, and c) In human form as Jesus. Put another way, the Heavenly Father, Holy Ghost and Jesus are one in the same.

In light of this, how does the following passage from Matthew 12:31 make a lick of sense?

And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

If the three are the same, how can you insult or blasphemy one without insulting or blaspheming the others?

Let's look at this weird situation in terms of every day life. Let's say you have a friend whose surname is John. Like a lot of guys named John, his family calls him Jack. A bunch of his classmates call him Johnny Cool J. If he announced that anyone who addressed him as Jack or Johnny Cool J could insult him all they want, but if you insult him and call him John, he will kill you, wouldn't you think he was a little off his rocker?

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Why Do Christians Swear?

Trey Smith

We've all watched the dramatic courtroom scene -- both real and theatrical -- in which the witness raises their right hand and the bailiff asks, "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" Once the witness says, "I do," the examination begins.

But why do Christians swear when Jesus is purported to have told them not to? It's written very clearly in Matthew 5:33-37.

Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

It seems to me that Jesus is urging people to be honest in everything they say, so that "swearing to tell the truth" would be superfluous.

Now we all know that humans can be dishonest when it suits our purposes. So, it easily can be argued that the act of taking an oath is a strictly legal instrument that can be utilized to indict us, if it is later discovered that we were lying. While that may be true, Jesus specifically says not to swear by heaven and, by extension, of God himself. Yet, for as long as I can remember, in the US, this so-called Christian nation has added the words "so help me God" to legal oaths.

Doesn't this addition explicitly contradict the words of the savior?

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Why Do Christians Get Divorced?

Trey Smith

Divorce -- legal dissolution of a marriage -- is very prevalent in American society. The most recent data indicates that about one-half of all marriages end in divorce. Couples from all faiths or no faith regularly divorce. My question is: Why do Christians sanction divorce just as non-believers do?

I ask this in light of Matthew 5:31-32.

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

That seems very clear to me. Unless you catch your spouse screwing someone else, divorce is off the table! Since being an adulterer is a big no-no -- it's one of the 10 Commandments -- how can a Christian claim to follow Jesus IF they can't bother to abide by a very direct and straightforward prohibition?

Just as important, why do most Christian churches sanction -- or look the other way -- when it comes to the issue of divorce? There are many prominent ministers, church leaders and faith-based politicians and celebrities who have divorced (for reasons other than fornication) and even remarried. Why aren't they automatically shunned (or stoned, for that matter) as adulterers?

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Why Did It Take King Herod Two Years?

Trey Smith

So, we're up to the point in which the wise men have met with King Herod before continuing on the find the baby Jesus. Once they find him, the worship him and bestow gifts upon him. Herod wants them to report back because he feels threatened by a newborn. However, God intervenes and tells the wise men not to report back to Herod and to return to their homeland by a different route.

That's where this story sort of goes off the rails. According to the first portion of Matthew 2:16,

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Why on earth would it have taken Herod TWO YEARS to figure out the wise men had not reported back to him? I realize that transportation was slow in olden times, but it wasn't THAT slow!

We are led to believe that the birth of this child was a major concern for Herod, yet it obviously wasn't that big of a deal if he waited two whole years before taking action.

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - So, What's His Name?

Trey Smith

We all know that the baby born to the Virgin Mary was named Jesus. The child was so named because 1) It fulfilled a prophecy and 2) That's the name that God told Joseph to name the child.

This is all well and good...except for one thing: the prophecy! According to Matthew 1:23,

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

So, where did the name Jesus come from? If the prophecy says that the child will be named Emmanuel and yet God directs the child to be named Jesus, what gives?

Emmanuel and Jesus are two different names. One does not seem to be a derivative or a nickname for the other. This would be like your great aunt telling you that one of your ancestors dreamed that you would have a child named Fred and so, to honor this ancestor, you named the child Skippy!

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Why the Emphasis on Lineage?

Trey Smith

As we start into the New Testament, what's the first thing we're hit with in Matthew 1:1-18? The lineage of the baby Jesus through Joseph, his "father."

But wait a minute! According to our story, Joseph did not impregnate Mary, his betrothed. That work was done by the holy spirit. So, Mary is with child and yet she and Joseph have yet to consummate their relationship.

So, if Joseph is NOT the biological father of Jesus, what's the point in tracing the baby's lineage through Joseph's bloodline?

Even long ago, when I was a believer of this faith, this part of Matthew made no sense to me. The answers that church leaders provided didn't make any sense either. The ONLY way the listed lineage makes any sense at all is if Joseph is, in fact, the child's biological father! Then, and only then, does it makes sense to trace the bloodline back to Abraham.

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Isn't This a No-Win Situation?

Trey Smith

I've now made my way to the Book of Daniel. In Chapter 6, we come to the story of Daniel being thrown in the den of lions. This was the result of others conspiring against him. Of course, God sends angels to protect Daniel from harm and he is released unscathed.

This is where the story gets interesting. In Verse 24, we learn that,

And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.

This is the part of these types of stories that perplexes me: Why are the children punished with death along with their fathers?

It could be argued that the children -- though we are not told their ages -- did not try to stop their fathers from committing this treachery. That might be a compelling argument EXCEPT that it would then violate one of the Ten Commandments, Honor thy father and mother.

In Hebrew society, the father ruled the household. His word was the final word in all matters. So, if he told you to go jump off a cliff, you better damn well jump off that cliff or else the authorities might punish you (by stoning) for defying your father.

So, the children -- not to mention the wives -- were placed in a no-win situation. If they went along with dear old dad, they became guilty of his crime. If they didn't go along with daddy dearest, then they were guilty of defying one of the great commandments. Either way, they were sunk.

How is this fair or just?

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Was Ezekiel a Run-of-the-Mill Mass Murderer?

Trey Smith

The story told in the Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 9, is about how God instructed Ezekiel to slay all the "bad" people in Jerusalem. But isn't this a familiar rationale for people found to be serial or mass murderers? There are many well known cases in which the guilty party tells the police and/or jury that voices or mystical figures instructed them to carry out the very carnage they carried out.

When you hear or read about such cases, how often do you think to yourself, "Hmm. I bet God instructed him/her to do this. This person shouldn't be held accountable for carrying out God's work. They shouldn't be executed or sent to prison. Heck, we should make them a saint or something!"

No, when we hear of these types of heinous acts, we immediately assume the responsible party is very evil, mentally deranged or some combination of both. We demand accountability in the form of life in prison or the death penalty.

So, why on earth would anyone believe Ezekiel's account of why he committed mass murder? The rationale he supplies is no different than the run-of-the-mill excuse we hear -- and reject -- in this day and age.

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Was Ezekiel Stoned?

Trey Smith

I continue to plod my way through the Old Testament -- It's like going to see a really bad movie with a date and, for reasons inexplicable to you, he or she wants to stay until the bitter end!

Anyhow, I am now up to the Book of Ezekiel. The first chapter is a real mind-blower. Ezekiel describes seeing weird things, like angels with four faces!

Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. (Ezekiel 1:5-8)

It gets even stranger in the latter half of the chapter. Makes you wonder if the prophet was stoned or drunk at the time!

Think about this for a minute. Let's say you're sitting on your back patio some evening and your neighbor Bob drops by for a visit. After discussing the weather, Bob mentions that God spoke to him earlier in the day. He then goes on to describe creatures with wings...and 4 faces.

Do you suppose that you genuinely will believe that Bob and God had a friendly get together?

Of course not! You might think that Bob is pulling your leg because he's such a jokester. You might think he's been drinking too much or sampling too many magic mushrooms. You might also think that Bob was having some sort of "nervous breakdown" or psychosis. If he kept yammering away about his fantastical tale, you might become fearful and call the men in little white coats to come and take Bobby away.

So, why would you believe some fellow you have never met (who has been dead for centuries) if you wouldn't believe a trusted friend or relative?

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - How Are Believers to Know Good Prophets from Bad?

Trey Smith

In Jeremiah 23:25-28, we come upon this odd passage:

I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.

In essence, God seems to be saying that his message does NOT come in the form of dreams. However, in several passages in previous books in the Old Testament, how does God share his message with the prophets?

Through dreams, of course!

So, how exactly are followers of the Christian faith to know which dreams originate from the Heavenly father and which do not? If the prophet says his or her dream came directly from God, what criteria do the faithful use to ascertain whether or not this supposition is correct?

It seems to me that it boils down to a guessing game.

We know from previous stories in the Old Testament that there were times when a genuine prophet shared his dream, but the people didn't believe him. This made God very angry. Yet, here we have people accepting the dreams of so-called prophets and God is angry with them for this acceptance.

What gives?

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Is It Possible for God to Repent?

Trey Smith

In last night's post for the Tao Bible series, we took a look at Jeremiah 15:6. The last clause of the verse has God saying, "I am weary with repenting." I don't know about you, but I find these words astounding.

According to the dictionary, repent means:

1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: repented of intemperate behavior.
3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.
v.tr.
1. To feel regret or self-reproach for: repent one's sins.
2. To cause to feel remorse or regret.

Here's my question. How can a perfect being feel contriteness for a past action? If said being subsequently comes to believe or know that a past action was wrong or sinful, wouldn't that mean that said being was NOT perfect?

I'm just asking.

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Does God Suffer from Chronic Constipation?

Constipation can be a real problem. I know this firsthand as I have struggled with Irritable Bowel Syndrome my entire life!

When things aren't flowing as they should, your entire system feels clogged up. A person known to be constipated can sometimes get a wee bit cranky as you just feel a bit out of sorts. It can also lead to some mild depression, particularly if as soon as you get over one bout of constipation, you start a new one.

I bring up this uncomfortable topic because of what I recently read in Jeremiah 4:19:

My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

To be honest, I never realized that God had bowels. Now that I know, I think it could go along way toward explaining WHY God spends a good deal of his time throughout the Old Testament being cranky and cross.

Maybe, his bowels were impacted! It would be hard to show your loving side if his insides were filled with non-moving crap.

Of course, this DOES raise other important questions. What does God eat? How often does he eat it? Shouldn't an omniscient being KNOW what sorts of foods lead to constipation? Does he lack willpower and self-control?

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Which Is Worse Than the Other?

Let's say that you befriend a homeless man. You see him on the street corner frequently and, when you do see him, you often give him money and/or food. Not only that, but you hire him to do odd jobs for you. From time to time, you take him to church with you and you drive him to various agencies as he applies for services to help him get back on his feet again.

A few months later, you are the victim of two muggings. The first mugging is at the hands of a stranger, but the second attacker is the homeless man you had befriended. Which mugging do you think will upset you more?

I think there is no question that you will be upset with both perpetrators. Few people enjoy being physically molested and robbed! That said, I think most people would be more upset with the second attacker because this attack is fused with a sense of betrayal. Here you had befriended this man and given him much, yet he turned around to bite the hand that fed him.

In a nutshell, this is the part of the Christian story that doesn't compute in my head. God continually pours himself out to his Chosen People, yet they betray him again and again and again. While he certainly does become angry with them, his greatest wrath is expelled on people who don't know him at all.

We see this same theme all throughout the Old Testament. A nation that worships Baal or some other god[s] and possesses no prophets to bring the message of Jehovah is subject to a "one strike and you're out" policy. They do something to spur God's wrath and he wipes them off the face of the earth or "allows" the Chosen People to defeat them in battle and then to destroy their property and rape their women.

Israel, on the other hand, is afforded a "100 strikes and you're never really out" policy. Even though they are given prophets to spread the message of Jehovah, they betray God again and again. Yet, as you can read in sections like Jeremiah 3, God gives them chance upon chance to come back into the fold. The Israelites can commit the worst transgressions, yet God never wipes them out.

This whole scheme seems bass ackwards to me.

There is a saying that to those who are given much, much is expected [in return]. Conversely, less is expected of those who have not been given much of anything. Yet, in the worldview of the Christian story, this meme is turned upside down.

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Why the Preoccupation with Harlots?

Trey Smith

If you haven't noticed, the Christian God doesn't seem to think too highly of one his creations: women. It is not uncommon at all in the verses of the Old Testament for this God to compare the wayward Chosen People to a harlot (i.e., prostitute). To offer just one example, take a look at Jeremiah 3:6:

The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

There are a multitude of other verses in which God likens the downfallen to a whore. What I find interesting about these references is that there is almost no mention of the people that make prostitution possible -- men seeking sex with women for money!

I don't remember a verse -- though there may be a few -- in which God chastises his followers for being johns. In the so-called illicit sex trade, it takes two to tango, but God appears to place the onus of sin solely on those individuals on the receiving end. Why is it that men who go outside of marriage for sexual gratification don't seem to incur the same amount of godly wrath?

Of course, the answer to this question is that -- at least in terms of the OT -- women typically aren't viewed as human beings; they are property! Selling your body for sex despoils the value of the property. Some poor schlep -- whomever it is that holds "title" to the particular woman -- will lose out on the all important dowry somewhere down the road.

Sniff!

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Why Does God Want to Hurt Some Beings?

One aspect of Christianity I have never understood is: WHY does God want to hurt certain people and life forms? Every time he calls upon the people to sacrifice animals so they can burn the flesh to please him, he is commanding his adherents to hurt animals. What does he have against sheep and other hooved creatures? What did they ever do to him?

There have been quite a few people he has hurt himself or directed others to hurt. In most cases, so the argument goes, the folks he singled out were b-a-d people and they deserved his rightful wrath. But what about the person mentioned in Isaiah 53:10?

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Many Christians believe this verse is a foreshadowing of Jesus, while others don't see it that way. For my purposes, I don't really care who is being reference. It just blows me away that a so-called perfect entity would a) have the desire to hurt anyone and b) be pleased that they indeed were hurt!

To my mind's eye, that is completely illogical. Even worse, how can anyone turnaround to claim that this being that finds pleasure in hurting others is loving and merciful. Sounds like a monster to me!

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Why All These Ornate Churches?

As I slowly work my way through the Old Testament, I've come on many a verse in which God tries to dissuade his followers from making graven images and idols. For example, in Isaiah 44:9-10, it states:

They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?

So, God seems really set against 1) making images of other gods (which he acknowledges the existence of early on, but later claims they do not exist) and 2) he's not too keen on graven images of himself either.

Yet, if we look at Christendom today, it appears that his followers aren't paying attention. Many of today's churches look like the Taj Mahal! Some are decked out in gold and silver. The finest wood and stone is used. Giant crosses -- a graven image? -- adorn the sanctuary. Some even have paintings or reprints that feature pictures of Jesus (who is also God).

Some folks have gone even farther than that by erecting gigantic Jesus statues or monuments that can be seen for miles. Shouldn't all this ornateness be sacrilegious? Doesn't it fly in the face of the prohibition of idols and graven images?

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Can Humans Spoil Life for Everything Else?

There are several passages in the Bible which would seem to indicate that humankind's sinful intransigence ultimately will serve as the elemental impetus for the destruction of the planet. For example, in Isaiah 24:3-6, it reads

The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

So, here's my question: What about all the other life forms that call Planet Earth home? If humankind screws up royally and God decides that we deserve to be punished, how can he be viewed as just and loving IF he destroys all other life forms WITH us?

The butterflies didn't sin, yet they would be consumed. The Saguaro Cacti didn't transgress any laws, but they stand to be destroyed. The coral reefs broke no covenant, but they likely would succumb as well.

Why is it that the "sinful nature" of humanity dooms everything else?

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - How Can One Hate Evil?

Throughout the Bible, Christians are admonished to hate evil. To offer one example from Proverbs 8:13,

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

I have always had a problem with understanding this directive because both are negative and would seem to create a greater negative.

Since hate is the opposite of love and goodness is the opposite of evil, how can a person be good and loving if they spend their time hating something?

It goes back to the message on one of my favorite bumper stickers: Your Hate Becomes YOU.

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - Can God Be Lobbied?

On the one hand, Christians tell us that God is perfect. He is all knowing and all powerful. On the other hand, there are certain passages in the Bible in which we're told that God planned to do one thing, but someone lobbied him and he changed his mind.

For example, there is this passage from Psalm 106:23:

Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.

The inference here is the God was determined to do one thing, but Moses convinced him to take another course.

How exactly would an imperfect being -- humankind -- convince the epitome of perfection -- God -- that a proposed action was wrong? If God is all knowing and perfect, he would have a) known the action was wrong at the outset and b) never would have considered the incorrect action in the first place.

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.

Question - How Many Gods Are There?

One aspect of Christianity that I have always found to be at odds with their own holy book is the belief that there is no other God but Jehovah. In the Book of Genesis, there is more than one passage in which God supposedly uses the pronoun, we. As I hope all of us remember from our earliest classes of English composition, we denotes two or more.

This same issue raises its head again in Psalm 82. The very first verse reads as follows:

God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

The noun congregation -- just like the pronoun, we -- indicates more than one entity. More to the point, the second clause above EXPLICITLY states that there are, in fact, other gods.

For those who interpret the Bible literally, I don't see another way to interpret this line other than what it states in a straightforward manner. This passage does not say among the people or among the angels; it says AMONG the gods. So, how can a fundamentalist Christian say there is only one god?

To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.