did he even bother to question god after god asked him to kill his son isaac? i mean if god came up to any one of you and asked you to prove your love to him by killing one of your children, wouldn't you at least question him by saying something like, "but i thought you said murder was wrong, or thou shalt not kill. why do you want me to kill my children of all people?" or would you willingly attempt to kill your child with the hope that god will save your child just in the nick of time? i can't really say i'd chalk the story of isaac in the category of useful lessons learned in the bible. or perhaps the real lesson is you should always be willing to question god's authority. what do you think?
2007-11-02 06:25:13 · 22 answers · asked by just curious (A.A.A.A.) 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
primoa, i'd say the answer is abraham.
2007-11-02 06:29:20 · update #1
michelle, nice... comparing cleaning my room with killing another person. just goes to show where your rationality is.
2007-11-02 06:31:33 · update #2
He at least should have asked to see Gods union card, to see if he was a real God or just one of the many judgmental punishing imposter's.
Love and blessings Don
2007-11-02 06:28:53 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 3⤋
Not only is there no good lesson to learn from this passage, there is actually a very BAD and DANGEROUS lesson to be learned from it, especially for people that happen to suffer from some form of mental illness that causes hallucinations.
These verses basically tell anyone that thinks god is talking to them that, if "god" tells them to kill their children, they should do it. If they don't, then the bible tells them that they don't have faith and they are not worthy of god's favor.
These Christians that are saying that Abraham was right to do what he did would probably run screaming for the cops if they saw their neighbor preparing to sacrifice some kid. It apparently never occurs to them that its wrong to kill your kids whether or not god tells you to. If Jehovah was actually a GOOD god, he would have stomped Abraham flat into the ground for going along with such an evil request.
The fact that so many Christians are capable of saying that Abraham's actions were righteous simply proves how horribly religion can warp people's minds. These "Christians" are able to be completely sick and perverse without even having a clue that they are that way, simply because of what some retarded book tells them. Its horribly, horribly pathetic.
2007-11-02 14:48:32 · answer #2 · answered by Azure Z 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I suppose I would have questioned, if I were there and in that situation. Still, when I read the entire passage, it is said that Abraham "believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness."
Abraham came from Ur somewhere in Iraq (today's location). He was called out of idolatory to become God's friend and he accepted that if God had a covenant with him and was his friend (as friends went then), then he could trust that his covenant friend would not truly have him kill his only son.
Also, remember God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that Isaac was the covenant son from whom this would emanate. Abraham knew God could not kill Isaac and still use him so God had to have an escape route planned. Failing this, God would have lied to Abraham! God does not lie! He had a way out - the ram in the bushes.
2007-11-02 13:35:39 · answer #3 · answered by SANCHA 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Think about the culture as it was 3000 years ago. All cultures practiced sacrifice and most of them practiced human sacrifice. We had not received Revelation at Sinai yet and Abraham was still learning what God expected of him.
Of course he followed God's instructions. They were normal -- many peoples practiced child sacrifice.
The lesson to be learned from the story is that God STOPPED the sacrifice. HUMAN sacrifice is NEVER acceptable to God. He allowed His people to have a king, and He allowed His people to continue sacrificing, but NEVER a HUMAN sacrifice.
If you'll remember, God allowed His people to have kings, but he was definitely NOT happy about it. The Israelites insisted on having a king because all the other nations had kings, but they suffered God's wrath because of their choice.
Jews continued sacrifice up until the year 70 CE when the 2nd Temple was destroyed. However, not all sacrifices were animals. Many sacrifices consisted of grains, oils, incense, etc. Of the few little critters God allowed to be sacrificed, He demanded that they be killed in the most humane method possible. No living thing is to be tortured and allowed to die a prolonged painful death. To this day, any meat eaten by a Jew must have been slaughtered in the most humane method possible.
The only part of the sacrifice meant for God was the aroma. Sacrifice was not considered to be something "gory" until after the human sacrifice of Jesus. Think about it the next time you have a backyard BBQ -- the aroma is meant for God. It is God that allows us to eat some critters, but not others. There is much to be learned from these restrictions -- moderation, self-discipline, among others.
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2007-11-02 13:36:02 · answer #4 · answered by Hatikvah 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I'm Jewish; and in Judaism we are of the opinion that the "binding of Isaac" (as we call the story) is an example of the Jew's ultimate devotion to God. You do need to remember that, according to the story and the Torah, God had revealed himself to Abraham, so Abraham was CERTAIN of God's existence. Therefore, no, I don't believe Abraham was an idiot; if God revealed himself to me, than I would not hesitate to do what he commanded.
2007-11-02 13:33:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Abraham was before the 10 commandments, and gods at that time required human sacrifices especially first born children. So he probably thought God was asking that too.
2007-11-02 13:32:40 · answer #6 · answered by Pantherempress 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The promise was to Abraham and through the lineage of Isaac his son that he would be the Father of a great nation and that through him would all the families of the earth be blessed. Abraham knew that even if he had put Isaac to death, the lord had to resurrect him to fulfill the promise. Hebrews mentions this situation and how that Abraham believed God and it (his faith, belief) was accounted unto him as righteousness!
2007-11-02 13:36:11 · answer #7 · answered by mandbturner3699 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋
It was a test of faith....not only for Abraham, but more importantly for Isaac. For Abraham, it was a test of whether he would listen to God even when the commandment seemed to go against everything else Abraham ever knew. For Isaac, it was a test of whether he had properly absorbed all that his father had taught him and whether he would be willing to sacrifice his life to sanctify God's name.
Besides, a careful reading of the command (in the original language) indicates that the command was to bring Isaac 'as a sacrifice' but there was no command to actually slaughter him.
2007-11-02 13:31:35 · answer #8 · answered by mzJakes 7 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Ditto to what Jake and Primoa said-- And did God kill Isaac? NO! He was never going to.....it was all about seeing FAITH rise up in Abraham!
2007-11-02 13:51:26 · answer #9 · answered by Mandolyn Monkey Munch 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
if you went along with the mythology then no he wasn't an idiot. Apparently he knows this god who has killed lots of people for no good reason, encouraged incest, genocide, rape, racism; he is jealous, arrogant etc. So abraham knew him all right so when he said kill your son for me, the command was consistent with who he knows him to be.
He may have been an idiot for going along with it
2007-11-02 13:29:54 · answer #10 · answered by uz 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋