"The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."
EXODUS 34:6,7
So Christians think it is ok for children of the father to take the blame? Where is the logic in that? How come my father's sin becomes my sin?? Is that a God of love to come up with such a principle?? Fair??
If we are sinful by default then why are we not unsinful by default since God is our "father"??
2007-08-02 17:24:17 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
This is the second person I have had to say this to. I feel extremely sorry that you have so much hate in you that you spend every waking moment trying to discredit a certain group of people. Wouldn't getting a hobby be so much more productive of your free time, or do you consider this your hobby? If it is your hobby I would encourage you to read more and maybe you will find understanding instead of hate.
2007-08-02 17:36:48 · answer #1 · answered by christina h 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You need to read a little further in the Bible. God clarified the issue when He spoke through Ezekiel, as will be shown below.
Children have a tendancy to follow after the works of their fathers, which is why God made that commandment. Look at places like Gaza today, where entire families are heavily involved in criminal activities and have been for generations.
Also, God made that law to get the fathers to consider their actions, knowing that if they sinned, as the head of their household the entire family could suffer for their wickedness.
For example, if a father is involved in smuggling drugs, and is busted, he goes to jail, and his family is left to fend for themselves. Therefore they suffer for his sins.
In 70 A.D the sins of the Jews of Judea caused God to destroy the entire nation, and unknown thousands of men, women and children perished at the hands of the Roman legions. The descendants of these rebellious Jews then were forced to wander the Earth without a homeland for 1,878 years.
But God clarified the issue when he said through Ezekiel;
Ezekiel 18:20
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
While God;'s punishments may affect several generations, the actual sins of the sinner who caused the punishment will be accounted to the sinner alone, not to the children.
But by the same token, the children will see what happened to cause the punishment and will avoid sinning in like fashion, having seen the punishment that came on their fathers.
As for being God's children, just as our children have a free will to choose to do good or evil, the same with all people that God has created. Some will choose to do good, and follow His commandments, some will not.
Adam sinned when he disobeyed God, and doomed us all to Satan's punishment, but God provided a way for us to escape that punishment through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I hope this clarifies things a bit?
2007-08-02 18:45:08 · answer #2 · answered by Foxfire 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look at it this way: First of all, God is gracious to those who love him. That's a good thing.
Second of all, when a father sins continually - is violent and abusive or even crude and hateful- statistics show that the children will be too. In this way, it is a punishment but the children do not deserve it. Is it fair? No. But it's true. The father's sins do pass to the children on average and they repeat his sins and cause a vicious cycle. God is still merciful and some children are able to be freed from that cycle.
2007-08-02 17:33:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
God is Father to those who choose Him to be father. Christ talked with some people who He said their father was the "Devil." It's all about choice. That means a lot!!! Now if your choice is to be a part of the 'evil' here, your choice dictates where you go after death. Your choice only. God cannot take that choice back away from you once He gave it to you. You have many years (God willing) to make that choice final. He gives you until the very last second of life. After that, you have no more choice. You have made your decision. His love covers only IF you choose it to. The Christ is love made "flesh" or tangible. The only way you'll get it in it's entirety. I can't show it to you fully enough, neither can your parents, or friend. It seems like all you have is a 2000+ year old book to read about it, but, it is said, if you really seek and keep seeking, you will find the answer. You have to be very sincere. The answer will come from within YOU. You will know when you get it. It will be as tangible as anything you see and hear and taste or touch. If you take 1 step toward Him, He will take 10 steps toward you.
The old testiment was for the Jews back when, and not for us now, as we have evolved from 3-5000 years ago, (that makes sense doesn't it?) After Christ, things changed for the better, as there is no way anyone can be 'saved' by those old rules. Those old rules were to develop people physically and mentally, (Genes.) Now, we are to develop spiritually. Christ said it's like "Being born into air," (Spirit.)
2007-08-02 18:20:35 · answer #4 · answered by Blank 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When a child continues the sin of the father, the child will be punished just like the father and it will continue with every generation until the sin ceases. GOD does NOT punish anyone unjustly.
You may want to back-track a few chapters to Exodus 20:5. This verse states it correctly. It helps to read the whole Bible to get the complete picture.
Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
GOD bless
2007-08-02 17:40:33 · answer #5 · answered by Exodus 20:1-17 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
So many people keep asking this...It is called a generational curse...
If you think about it , it does make sense...If your parents are alcoholics, chances are you will be more predisposed to become one as well... If your parents are in and out of jail all of your life...chances are you will follow that path...If your one of your parents has an affair..chances are you will...It is not that we are taking the blame..it is that we are more predisposed to follow in our families footsteps- whether or not you want to...God is our father in heaven, we still have fathers here on earth...those are where we get our sin nature from (mothers too)...or in some cases things skip a generation..I know that I am the first out of 3 generations who was not a victim of sexual abuse...because my mom realized it had been going on and really drove it home..and I was very careful and my mom kept her eyes open so that I would not fall victim ...it was not a sin on my families fault, but it was a sin from the abusers, and sometimes you have to break the binds and only prayer can do that. I hope this made sense to you.
2007-08-02 17:31:50 · answer #6 · answered by Nicole B 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Well done - you have quoted one of the few Bibles that translate the Hebrew phrase as 'punished for'. Most Bibles translate it by another well known alternative phrase
' visits upon'. Of course the children are not punished for their parent's sins - everyone is responsible for their own sins as is made clear in Ezekiel 18:1-4. But children, can and do, suffer the consequences of their parent's sins.
2007-08-02 17:38:58 · answer #7 · answered by cheir 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Funny, I don't feel cornered.Jeremiah31:30 says everyone will die for their own sin. And you forgot the first part of Ex.34:7-"forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.". You don't receive forgiveness of sin until you turn away from it. Keep reading the Bible.Your answers are there.
2007-08-02 17:40:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
no one is without sin, for being born into the flesh is sin in and of its self. and yes we do inherit the sins of our forefathers. understand this, god is not responsible for peoples sin, people are. satan is the ultimate blame, but he is just an opportunist, and he will take full advantage of anyone who will listen to him. sinfulness and rightousness both are passed down just like dna, thats why we still to this day have good people and bad people. and it doesn't always hit every offspring, just concern yourself with your own short comings and deal with Jesus on a personal level, maybe you can break that chain.
2007-08-02 17:39:04 · answer #9 · answered by samuraijsp 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well...He probably meant that the results of the sins of the fathers would affect their children for many generations.
Take global warming, for example...that "sin" will be upon the heads of our children to many many generations.
2007-08-02 17:47:21 · answer #10 · answered by Chris B 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋