Blasphemous Question

[wuapinmon]

So perhaps it's not likely that all these seminal events involved exactly forty days, or exactly forty years. But it's still interesting that the Hebrews such an odd number (to us) as their benchmark.

"These ambiguities, redundancies, and deficiencies recall those attributed by Dr. Franz Kuhn to a certain Chinese encyclopedia called the Heavenly Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge. In its distant pages it is written that animals are divided into (a) those that belong to the emperor; (b) embalmed ones; (c) those that are trained; (d) suckling pigs; (e) mermaids; (f) fabulous ones; (g) stray dogs; (h) those that are included in this classification; (i) those that tremble as if they were mad; (j) innumerable ones; (k) those drawn with a very fine camel's-hair brush; (l) etcetera; (m) those that have just broken the flower vase; (n) those that at a distance resemble flies.

JLB, "The Analytical Language of John Wilkins"

[clackamascoug]

Another thought came to me. We forget two things about the COI in this period of the bible. First of all they had been slaves for a long long time (six hundred years?) As suck they developed their own culture and way of doing things. They were not used to having to think independently and solve problems. Even the most basic needs (food, water) were provided for them.

Second, and this is related to the first, just because they were the COI doesn't mean that they had been practicing Jehovah worship or actively following the teachings of any prior prophets. I suspect that they knew basic things, but I doubt that they were highly versed in the traditions of the House of Israel, much less important doctrines or commandments.

As a side note, I think it's significant that as we study this period of wandering in the desert we understand the symbolic value of the number 40. The number itself is never mentioned in reference to a quantity, but always as a period of time. Noah- it rained 40 days and 40 nights - Moses went up to Sinai and was there 40 days Christ fasted 40 days before beginning his ministry. This is all in conjunction with the most basic period of time related to 40; the number of weeks for a normal pregnancy. This is a gestational period for the House of Israel, after having been baptized through the miracle of the Red Sea, they were being prepared to be reborn as a new and holy nation.

When did this turn into a LOST numbers thread?

J/K That's good info I hadn't processed before. I'll be sure to bring that up in GD so everyone can see how deep I am.

[RobinFinderson]

One thing I've thought of, is that perhaps Jesus Christ is learning how to be rejected, learning patience with a recalcitrant people, learning to genuinely care for people who don't appreciate Him and don't believe in Him and His gospel, learning to have the infinite capacity to love that will be required for his upcoming sacrifice for all mankind. Thoughts?

Jesus is just like me on CUF.

[DU Ute]

Jesus is just like me on CUF.

Ask a blasphemous question, get a blasphemous answer.

[wuapinmon]

Here is a question that I feel blasphemous even asking. I've been wondering about them lately, and I don't think that Gospel Doc class is the appropriate forum for bringing them up.

If you accept Jesus Christ as the God of the Old Testament, and you've been following the travails of getting the Children of Israel out of Egypt, and trying to get the Egypt out of the Children of Israel, you might be struck by how... unsuccessful The Lord is in achieving His purposes. When physical problems come up, he innovates solutions (pillar of fire, quail, Brass Serpent) that seem to work okay. But he can never teach the people about his Gospel, not really. He tries to teach them the higher law and gets rejected, He can never get them to understand that He is the bread of life and not the manna that rains down on them, he cannot get them to stop complaining, He cannot get them to trust Him and take courage from being under His wing to fight for their promised land, He loses His temper. It presents a picture of a God who understands the physical forces of nature but not the psychological forces of a people.

One thing I've thought of, is that perhaps Jesus Christ is learning how to be rejected, learning patience with a recalcitrant people, learning to genuinely care for people who don't appreciate Him and don't believe in Him and His gospel, learning to have the infinite capacity to love that will be required for his upcoming sacrifice for all mankind. Thoughts?

I've often thought about this too.....and things like, why does it take a divine person to come down and show us mortals how to do it, even though we're commanded to be like God. We don't have the constant ministering of angels. We haven't been groomed for perfection from day one. We're not the first copy of the Father. So much about why we need a Savior due to God's theopneustianly-hinted at, but philosophically improbable (with a nod to Gersonides), omniscience and our free will, doesn't add up.

I agree with Solon, there's so much we don't know, and he does a lousy job of explaining himself.

[Jarid in Cedar]

I agree with Solon, there's so much we don't know, and he does a lousy job of explaining himself.

Who says he needs to explain himself?

[RobinFinderson]

Ask a blasphemous question, get a blasphemous answer.

Forgive DU Ute, for he knows not what he does.

[Babs]

Who says he needs to explain himself?

No kidding. I like the enigma that is Solon.

[Solon]

No kidding. I like the enigma that is Solon.

[Surfah]

Jesus is just like me on CUF.

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

[Rosebud]

Jesus is just like me on CUF.

LOL!

[RobinFinderson]

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

Thou hast said.

[Babs]

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

I always hated that song. Blasphemy, bad grammar, and a whiny lead singer...does it get any worse?

[Portland Ute]

I always hated that song. Blasphemy, bad grammar, and a whiny lead singer...does it get any worse?

Blasphemy? I suppose if you are a really uptight person.

Otherwise, as a laid back Mormon missionary in Europe, you might actually hear that on a bus, be the only one that understand the lyrics and thinks, 'Hey, somebody else believes in that 'man is as God once way' stuff."

As for the bad grammar and the winy lead singer, I have no comment.

[Moliere]

This is closer to what I have read - that forty was a sort of default number in the culture. Kind of like we would use a hundred or a million, I guess. It isn't meant to be precise; it's meant to evoke a sense of scale. When you wanted to give the sense that a king or judge reigned a really long time, you would say, "And he reigned for forty years."

So perhaps it's not likely that all these seminal events involved exactly forty days, or exactly forty years. But it's still interesting that the Hebrews such an odd number (to us) as their benchmark.

In French the equivalent is to say "36" or "trente-six" to denote a really long time or a lot of something.