The Bible Essay, Research Paper
God tiptoes and dances upon a thread as thin as fishing line, flirting with being judged in two extreme manners. On one side you have him being a cruel and malicious deity that inflicts punishments onto unsuspecting and undeserving victims. The other side he could be looked upon as a humane and fair lord, who punishes only the deserving. Critics have read, reread, studied, and analyzed the Old Testament until they were blue in the face. Many have come up with the fact that God acts in contradictory ways. He will rein terror against those who have disobeyed him in parts of Genesis, Ezekiel, Exodus and Job; nevertheless, he will display the forgiving and benevolent side in the same books of the Old Testament.
Lord Acton once said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” God had absolute power over everything in the universe. Some critics say that he did abuse his power and step over the line to an unjust and inhumane Lord. God did sometimes punish those who did not deserve it, acting callously toward his own people in parts of the Old Testament.
In the Book of Genesis there are some things that God does that makes him unjust and unfair. God created everything and when he was done, “God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.” (Genesis, 1; 30) God made everything abundant for Adam and Even in the garden, except one thing. He instructed them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. In the tree God created a serpent that tempted Adam and Eve to try some fruit from the tree. They gave into the temptation from the serpent and tried some fruit. If God created everything that was good then why would he have created temptation that ultimately got Adam and Eve in trouble? Moreover why would God have created a serpent that would go against his word and try to have Adam and Eve get into a dilemma? God acted unfairly to place a serpent and temptation into the garden if he knew would only lead to problems.
Job was one of the most faithful and loyal servants to God in all of the land. Job habitually worshiped god and avoided evil in any way that he could. God was proud of him and of the way in which he lived. God then got into an argument with Satan about the only reason that he worships you so much is that he has everything. Take everything away and he will disown you to your face was Satan’s argument. God then without hesitation put Job through some of the most painful and cruel treatment just to prove a point. He first had all of Job’s livestock either stolen or killed. Then he brutally wiped out his seven sons and three daughters. That wasn’t enough to prove his point; he then inflicted Job with severe boils all over his body. He made him suffer in numerous ways, God put Job through pain that no one could imagine. All for the simple fact that he could turn to Satan and say, “Told ya so!” Is that how God should act? Is it just for him to inflict such a cruel and undeserving punishment onto one of his most loyal servants, so he could out do Satan? He was abusing his power, acting as an unjust and unfair Lord.
In the Book of Exodus, God reined down his fury onto the people of Egypt acting in a very sadistic way. The Lord wanted Moses to lead the Hebrews away from Egyptian control. Moses had to then convince the Egyptian Pharaoh to let the people go to worship God. But, the Lord said, “I will make him obstinate, however, so that he will not let the people go.” (Exodus, 4; 21) So God then sent Egypt ten horrific plagues that wiped out almost everything in the land. Some examples were that he sent locusts to destroy all the crops, he gave all the livestock pestilence so they died, he gave man and beast festering boils. His tenth and final plague was the unkindest of the all. It was called death of the first born, “Every first-born in this land shall die, from the first-born of the Pharaoh on the throne to the first-born of the slave-girl at the handmill, as well as all the first-born of the animals.” (Exodus, 11; 5) God acted in such a dire way against the innocent people of Egypt. Why would he slaughter innocent children? It was his fault that he made the Pharaoh obstinate and wouldn’t let the Hebrews free. God inflicted punishment just because he wanted to flex his muscles and show off how powerful he really was.
“Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children,” said Martin Luther King Jr. God did punish people, but not brutally and inhumanely. There were parts in the Old Testament where people did disobey him, and were punished accordingly. God sometimes didn’t even punish those who have sinned making him not only a just lord but also a kind one.
In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God did punish. The people he punished though did something of importance to merit reprimanding. God provided Adam and Eve with everything they could possibly imagine. The Garden of Eden was plentiful and abundant. The only instruction he gave them was “?You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge?the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.” (Genesis, 2:16-17) The Lord gave them instruction as clear as day; nevertheless, they ate from the tree. Instead of killing them immediately like he had previously stated he would do, he instead banished them from the garden for eternity. Going back on his original word he acted in a more lenient way. Cain and Abel was another story in the book of Genesis. Abel flourished in all that he did, but his brother, Cain, did not. Cain grew jealous and hostile of his Abel and one day took him into a field and slaughtered his brother. The Lord seeing this punished Cain, and made him a wanderer for the remainder of his life. At this time God could have been looked at as letting Cain off the hook. If you compare his judgment of Cain to the Code of Hammurabi, Lord looks like he is letting Cain off easy. In the Code of Hammurabi Cain would have been killed no questions asked. Throughout parts of the book of Genesis the lord didn’t act in a vindictive and malicious way, he was just.
The Book of Exodus offers some more proof that God wasn’t brutal leader. Moses the one who he had chosen to be his leader was a murderer. Moses had recently, “?slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” (Exodus, 2:12) The Lord did punish Moses in any way possible, instead he chose him to be the leader of the Israelites. Again comparing this to the Code of Hammurabi, God would have look very merciful and kind. After doing this, the Lord turned to the Hebrews who were being brutally enslaved by the Egyptians. The Egyptians feared that the Hebrews were becoming “so numerous and powerful” (Exodus, 1:9) that they would overtake them, so they enslaved the Hebrews. The Hebrews were being poorly paid and being worked to the bone. Seeing no way out the Hebrews turned their hopes to God. God answered their cries for help and sent plagues to the Egyptians. He sent a total of ten plagues to the Egyptians, which may seem excessive but the Egyptian Pharaoh was obstinate. After many of the plagues the Pharaoh would lie to Moses and tell them that he would let his people be freed. Finally after the tenth and final plague were the Hebrew people freed. God, then with the aid of Moses, lead the Hebrews from Egypt to Sinai. The Lord chose a path through the desert for the Hebrews. When the Hebrews were in the desert they complained that they should have been left in slavery, that it was better than starving in the desert. God had just released them from many years in bondage and they still weren’t satisfied. Instead of punishing them for basically spitting in his face, he gave them what they asked for. If they needed bread he gave them bread, if they need water he provided it. The Lord was truly kind to the Hebrew people in numerous ways. He was generous, kind and very humane in aiding the Hebrews in their time of need.
Throughout the Old Testament people disobey, doubted, and disrespected the Lord. God could only take so much without inflicting punishment and justice onto those. The Lord did punish many people, but those who he did punish he had reasons for doing so. In some instances he acted kindly and very generous. God in many parts of the Old Testament proved that he was a kind fair ruler.
Looking at God in a whole it is very difficult to draw the line. Is he a vindictive Lord who punishes those who are undeserving or is he a kind just deity that is generous and understanding? There is not a right or a wrong answer. Studying the Old Testament there is ample amounts of proof for either side. It is very hard to label him permanently with being one over the other. All that is known is that belief in some deity is not transitory, and the deity that the people will continue to worship will most likely be the kind generous Lord who is understanding and compassionate. Universally people will worship the humane Lord because it gives them hope and a sense of goodness in their lives. It makes them feel important in an aspect, and that is something that everybody needs.
Другие работы по теме:
Beowulf And Irony Essay Research Paper OConnor
Beowulf And Irony Essay, Research Paper O?Connor uses irony in ?Good Country People? to give the reader a better sense of what she is trying to communicate to the reader, and show the meaning
Catholicism Vs Fundamentalism Essay Research Paper Conversations
Catholicism Vs Fundamentalism Essay, Research Paper Conversations about the differences and similarities between Fundamentalist and Catholic beliefs usually end up being more like heated debates than conversations. A major difference between the Catholic and the Fundamentalist is how they see the Bible.
Ecclesiates 318 Essay Research Paper Interpretation of
Ecclesiates 3:1-8 Essay, Research Paper Interpretation of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 The Bible verses Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 are Solomon?s words as he is telling of the relationship that we may have with God and of His master plan. We are to understand God?s impeccable timing, absolute control, magnificent grace, and eternal glory.
William Tyndale Essay Research Paper How has
William Tyndale Essay, Research Paper ?How has William Tyndale?s translation influenced all the following English translations of the Bible?? In 1525, William Tyndale began to write his famous version of the scriptures. Printing had already been achieved, so Tyndale had the desire to give the people a Bible of their own, in their own language.
Beowolf Essay Research Paper 5 Paragraph EssayBeowulf
Beowolf Essay, Research Paper 5 Paragraph Essay Beowulf, the first piece of Angelo Saxon literature, truly a masterpiece in itself. Beowulf unfortunately has no author, but was translated and re-written by Vinerable Bede. Beowulf was a hero much like the hero’s we have here today. Grendel on the other hand was an evil villain, like the ones in the movies.
Adultry Essay Research Paper Adultery is stated
Adultry Essay, Research Paper Adultery is stated 69 times in the bible. It is also the seventh commandment. “Thou shalt not commit adultery”. In every case stated in the bible, the answer
God Existence Essay Research Paper I do
God Existence Essay, Research Paper I do not believe God exists. I have many reasons why I think that there is no God. One of my many reasons is that there is no way that one man could have
Myths Meaning Essay Research Paper Kuka Teran111899Mr
Myths Meaning Essay, Research Paper Kuka Teran 11/18/99 Mr. Coughlin Myths Meaning “A myth is a story that is not true on the outside, but true on the inside.” In the story of the creation of all living things as well as the sky, sun, moon and stars there is a meaning that most people, when reading the bible, seem to just read over and not stop and take time to understand this somewhat subliminal message within Genesis.
Genesis Essay Research Paper In reading the
Genesis Essay, Research Paper In reading the book Genesis, it is hard to discern what to believe. Since there are two stories of creation, I do not know which one is correct or if either is
Christians Essay Research Paper I agree with
Christians Essay, Research Paper I agree with the Uncle that the Bible should be analyzed and interpret like any other book. Just because you are a Christian does not mean you can interpret it correctly. I come from a Christian family and we all have read the Bible. But I know that I have interpret parts of the Bible in a different matter then other members of my family, they have as well.
Margery Kempe
– Holy Roller Or Evil Doer Essay, Research Paper Margery Kempe: Holy roller or Evil doer Upon reading, and re-reading, Margery Kempe, I realized just how much this text refers to the Bible. The first thing that I noticed was on pg.299, “she was laboured with great accesses, till the child was born”. I think that it is safe to say that this passage was written with the Bible in mind.
Galileo Essay Research Paper After reading this
Galileo Essay, Research Paper After reading this letter I feel that Galileo had a very opinionated outlook on life and was heavily involved in a struggle for freedom of inquiry. Galileo was a person who had many strong beliefs and would not let people or a document have a say in what he believes.
Proving The Bible Right Essay Research Paper
Proving the Bible Right Now a days it s hard to trust anything. With so many things going wrong in today s society there is one thing that you can trust. That s the Holy Bible. There are many reasons to trust the Bible, the most common is that it s Gods word but for some people that just isn t enough. But if you do your research you learn many more reasons why to trust the Bible.
Writing Styles Of Good Earth Compared To
Chinese Sagas Essay, Research Paper Every author has his or her own style of writing. The way authors use words to create ideas give them different styles. One interesting writing style is that of Pearl S Buck, the author of The Good Earth. Peter Doyle criticizes Buck’s writing style as “almost biblical”. Pearl Buck’s writing is also compared to Chinese sagas.
Angels Essay Research Paper There are many
Angels Essay, Research Paper There are many good interesting things about angels. Many people in the world believe in angels , others do not. Whether you believe in them ornot , they are
Medieval Drama Essay Research Paper Medieval Drama
Medieval Drama Essay, Research Paper Medieval Drama was an era of religious beliefs. In this time the mysteries of god were studied and presented to the communities in a play form to instill the knowledge in a pleasurable way with morals and themes. Abraham and Isaac blends with this in many ways, by which cultures formed in medieval times.
Moses Essay Research Paper In Genesis and
Moses Essay, Research Paper In Genesis and Exodus society, women could not be in positions of power or be as equals to men. Patriarchy was being recognized as an acceptable idea. Patriarchy, a form of social organization in which the male is recognized as the head of the society or tribe. Genesis and Exodus are biased in favor of men.
Critical Essay Essay Research Paper Critical View
Critical Essay Essay, Research Paper Critical View Essay As Mr. Darrow explains in this essay an agnostic is simply one who doubts, one who questions things and possesses a quality of skepticism. Darrow explains that the fear of God is not the beginning of wisdom. He says “The fear of god is the death of wisdom.
The Importance Of The Bibles Many Interpretations
Essay, Research Paper Having several different translations of the Bible is very important. Each translation highlights different aspects of the book. Providing familiar language to special groups, some interpretations make it easier to understand. Having one translation of the Bible would not make sense , but, several different versions make the Bible able to be read by almost everyone.
Divine Command Essay Research Paper Divine CommandIn
Divine Command Essay, Research Paper Divine Command In my opinion, trying to differentiate between the Divine Command and the acts of God that impinge on one’s consciousness is one in the same. Divine command to me would basically be the entire Holy Bible. An act of God to me is just waking up in the morning and being able to breathe new air and live another day.
Comparison Essay Essay Research Paper Comparison EssayThere
Comparison Essay Essay, Research Paper Comparison Essay There are many different ways to explain the beginning and creation. Genesis and Edith Hamilton?s ?Mythology,? are two of many literary works you can find. Both show how characters were created and formed. They give detailed understanding and examples of creation.
Method Of Election Essay Research Paper 4
Method Of Election Essay, Research Paper 4. Should the method of electing a president be further amended? If so, how? The constitution was like the bible to most politicians back then. They went by it like the Ten Commandments. So of course that is where they would turn to when they were in a sticky situation.
Abortion Essay Research Paper wwwpottersschoolcomabortionIs it right
Abortion Essay, Research Paper www.pottersschool/abortion/ Is it right or is it wrong? Is it murder or is it a woman’s choice. There are so many conflicting views, but who is right? The debate over abortion will probably never be settled in my life time. As with many computer literate people, the author of this site gives us an objective view on abortion.
Bible Art Essay Research Paper Art in
Bible: Art Essay, Research Paper Art in the Bible An abstract look at a renaissance perception of the Bible Table of Contents Part 1 The Painting Part 2 A compalation of abstract ideas
Slingblade Essay Research Paper There are heroes
Slingblade Essay, Research Paper There are heroes that save the world and some that save people; there are some that are known across the world and some that only certain people consider heroes. Superman is someone who is known across the world and who saved different people every episode. Karl Childers is a man who is a hero to a little boy named Frank; he saved his life.
Johan Guttenberg Essay Research Paper Johann GutenbergChoosing
Johan Guttenberg Essay, Research Paper Johann Gutenberg Choosing the man of the millennium is a big job. There are so many candidates to be evaluated, for instance, Martin Luther King Jr., Christopher Columbus, and Charlemagne are among the few people to be considered. One other candidate to be considered was Johann Gutenberg.
Reputation Essay Research Paper TIMOTHY
Reputation Essay, Research Paper TIMOTHY – A CHRISTIAN REPUTATION Scripture: Acts !6 vs. 1-3, Galatians 5 vs. 16 Timothy had grown up knowing the bible his mother Eunice, and
Refutation To A Bias Suggestion Essay Research
Paper Refutation to a Bias Suggestion “Some people suggest that the Bible, being a collection of texts written long ago by persons much different from ourselves, does not have much (or any)
Archetypal Criticism Essay Research Paper Archetypal Criticism
Archetypal Criticism Essay, Research Paper Archetypal Criticism: Joshua In the many stories of the Bible, one of the most acclaimed heroes is Joshua. To most he is known for his heroic actions at the battle of Jericho. But in reality, Joshua displays many archetypes of a hero like many other in the Bible. Archetype is the idea that recurring patterns in different assemblies exist universally and instinctively in the collective unconscious of man.
Hope Essay Research Paper Hope What do
Hope Essay, Research Paper Hope: What do you guys hope for? I hope that the Dodgers win. I hope I do okay on the finals. I hope the teacher doesn^?t catch me. You
Literature Of The Sacred Essay Research Paper
Christopher Marlowe “Literature of the Sacred” A translation of the New Testament by an English Lutheran named William Tyndale was printed and smuggled into England in 1525. Many copies of these were seized and destroyed, as was Tyndale. In the passage selected 1 Corinthians 13, Tyndale’s use of the word ‘love’, echoed by the Geneva bible is set against Catholic ‘charity’.
Inherit The Wind Essay Research Paper In
Inherit The Wind Essay, Research Paper In our Consititution, citizens have many righhts, but do we have the right to think? In the play Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence adn Robert Lee, a man is on trial for teaching his students about the theory of evolution. Drummond, the lawyer for this man, said “With all respect to the bench, I hold that the right to think is very much on trial.”