When We Choose to Believe God's Word
Oct 6, 2021 01:41:03 #
When We Choose to Believe God's Word
"In the Beginning" - Bereshit, in Hebrew
"In the very beginning (Bereshit), God (Elohim) created…"(Genesis 1:1)
God is before anything in existence, prior to the start of anything that is.
In the Hebrew Bible, Elohim is plural in form, although it usually refers to the deity who is the God of Israel. It is used with a singular verb. At times it refers to deities in the plural. The word is the plural form of the word Eloah and related to El.
Commentaries on Genesis today range from the fanciful to the technical. The book of beginnings has been debated for centuries by thologians, linguists, and scientists.
There are pastors and teachers in the world of Christendom today who teach that it does not matter what we believe about the book of Genesis. It does not matter if there were really six 24-hour days in which God created, or if millions of years were required. It does not matter if there was death before Adam’s sin of disobedience, i.e., rebellion against God. It does not matter if Adam was actually a real person, or merely an allegory.
Over the past four generations, Christianity has precipitated from a large majority belief system among those who came of age during the first half of the 20th century to something less than 15 percent of young adults entering educational institutions and the workforce today.
Our youth is told that it does not matter whether they accept God's word, as He saw fit to inspire His prophets to write it.
Expert "church leaders" insist that they believe the Bible to be true, but, somehow, a literalist "interpretation" offends them in its simplicity – even when an interpretation of Genesis is not proffered, but the book of Genesis is simply read, believed, and accepted as the very word of God.
These same pastors and teachers do not have the same problem in looking forward to the New Heavens and the New Earth that God will one day provide. Whatever their eschatology, few notables of the Christian church expect to wait millions of years for the New Heavens and New Earth God has promised to provide to gradually "evolve." They fully expect that God will make these places appear in an instant, as He has prophesied that He will do.
They are also adamant in their belief that the idea of a world without death as presented in Genesis was a myth. Yet, they faithfully quote Revelation 21:4 - that there will be no more death. How can anyone expect a new place with literally no death to materialize if the recording that there was a deathless paradise at the beginning of time was just a myth?
In Revelation 22:3, Jesus revealed to the Apostle John that in the world to come there will be no existing curse upon His creation.There are pastors, professors, and church leaders today who profess they expect this to be literally true, yet do not believe there was initially an earthly paradise in Genesis 1 in which there was no curse until Adam sinned.
All these issues readily fall into place for those who choose, in faith, to believe the words of the Living Logos, as related to God's prophets by the Holy Spirit, in the book of Genesis, the book of Beginnings - to believe God’s word, the word of Elohim.
References
Hebrew Words, by Avital Snow
Paul F. Taylor, Writer on Creation Science for 35 years.
Dr. Henry M. Morris III, Creation Institute
Dr. Robert Jeffress
"In the Beginning" - Bereshit, in Hebrew
"In the very beginning (Bereshit), God (Elohim) created…"(Genesis 1:1)
God is before anything in existence, prior to the start of anything that is.
In the Hebrew Bible, Elohim is plural in form, although it usually refers to the deity who is the God of Israel. It is used with a singular verb. At times it refers to deities in the plural. The word is the plural form of the word Eloah and related to El.
Commentaries on Genesis today range from the fanciful to the technical. The book of beginnings has been debated for centuries by thologians, linguists, and scientists.
There are pastors and teachers in the world of Christendom today who teach that it does not matter what we believe about the book of Genesis. It does not matter if there were really six 24-hour days in which God created, or if millions of years were required. It does not matter if there was death before Adam’s sin of disobedience, i.e., rebellion against God. It does not matter if Adam was actually a real person, or merely an allegory.
Over the past four generations, Christianity has precipitated from a large majority belief system among those who came of age during the first half of the 20th century to something less than 15 percent of young adults entering educational institutions and the workforce today.
Our youth is told that it does not matter whether they accept God's word, as He saw fit to inspire His prophets to write it.
Expert "church leaders" insist that they believe the Bible to be true, but, somehow, a literalist "interpretation" offends them in its simplicity – even when an interpretation of Genesis is not proffered, but the book of Genesis is simply read, believed, and accepted as the very word of God.
These same pastors and teachers do not have the same problem in looking forward to the New Heavens and the New Earth that God will one day provide. Whatever their eschatology, few notables of the Christian church expect to wait millions of years for the New Heavens and New Earth God has promised to provide to gradually "evolve." They fully expect that God will make these places appear in an instant, as He has prophesied that He will do.
They are also adamant in their belief that the idea of a world without death as presented in Genesis was a myth. Yet, they faithfully quote Revelation 21:4 - that there will be no more death. How can anyone expect a new place with literally no death to materialize if the recording that there was a deathless paradise at the beginning of time was just a myth?
In Revelation 22:3, Jesus revealed to the Apostle John that in the world to come there will be no existing curse upon His creation.There are pastors, professors, and church leaders today who profess they expect this to be literally true, yet do not believe there was initially an earthly paradise in Genesis 1 in which there was no curse until Adam sinned.
All these issues readily fall into place for those who choose, in faith, to believe the words of the Living Logos, as related to God's prophets by the Holy Spirit, in the book of Genesis, the book of Beginnings - to believe God’s word, the word of Elohim.
References
Hebrew Words, by Avital Snow
Paul F. Taylor, Writer on Creation Science for 35 years.
Dr. Henry M. Morris III, Creation Institute
Dr. Robert Jeffress
Oct 6, 2021 04:33:38 #
Zemirah wrote:
When We Choose to Believe God's Word br br br &q... (show quote)
Interesting...
I've been reading a lot about Genesis and Elohim in particular lately... Fascinating some of the theories...
Oct 6, 2021 05:51:00 #
The truth is even more so, Canuckus.
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
Interesting...
I've been reading a lot about Genesis and Elohim in particular lately... Fascinating some of the theories...
I've been reading a lot about Genesis and Elohim in particular lately... Fascinating some of the theories...
Oct 6, 2021 06:24:43 #
Zemirah wrote:
The truth is even more so, Canuckus.
I imagine that's true
Oct 6, 2021 08:08:26 #
Oct 6, 2021 09:32:11 #
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
Interesting...
I've been reading a lot about Genesis and Elohim in particular lately... Fascinating some of the theories...
I've been reading a lot about Genesis and Elohim in particular lately... Fascinating some of the theories...
Why don't you read Genesis instead of about man's "fascinating theories?"
Oct 6, 2021 15:22:30 #
That is an excellent point of inquiry, Parky. 
There is a profound difference between reading recipes and consuming the end product thereof, or of studying the wherewithal of producing the cloth from which garments are sewn and wearing the garment.
There is a profound difference between reading recipes and consuming the end product thereof, or of studying the wherewithal of producing the cloth from which garments are sewn and wearing the garment.
Parky60 wrote:
Why don't you read Genesis instead of about man's "fascinating theories?"
Oct 6, 2021 15:57:17 #
The Bible is a message system: it's not simply 66 books penned by 40 authors over thousands of years, the Bible is an integrated whole which bears evidence of supernatural engineering in every detail.
The book of Genesis is the first book of the Bible, and opens with the most famous first sentence of any literary work: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
The book of Genesis consists of fifty (50) chapters (2nd longest only to Jeremiah), reads like a series of epic story episodes: a semi-tragic saga of a world of humanity that just keeps getting it wrong, despite their Creator’s love and concern, guidance and correction.
Genesis 5 is a genealogy chapter, the first chapter devoted almost entirely to the genealogy of Adam to Noah. For this reason, some would think this chapter could be skipped over, or skim-read in 2 minutes; However, this chapter must be scrutinized, if only to see the gospel message which is found within its pages.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is seen in the Book of Genesis in a variety of ways. The fullness of the Gospel is not presented, but we receive glimpses, - bits and pieces of the Gospel in the Book of Genesis.
In Genesis three, when Satan successfully tempts Eve, and Eve then tempts Adam to rebel against their creator, God comes in judgment and speaks to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, I will put enmity between your offspring and the offspring of woman. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel."
Add to that, Genesis isn’t a stand-alone book. It’s the first installment in the five-part Torah (or Pentateuch), the five books of the Law of Moses, which lays the foundation of the Old Testament. The Torah is Israel’s story of origin by God: how He chose Abraham who would father many nations, but only one, specifically, the history of how God nurtured the population of the future nation of Israel within Egypt, hardened Pharoah's heart after 400 years, to achieve their exiting the land, then guided them to their own promised land of Canaan, and established their Jewish religion, based on the blood atonement of animals, to teach them the utter futility of attempting to achieve their own salvation through perfect obedience to the Law.
There is so much within the Biblical pages of Genesis, years can and have been consumed in its study.
Those who neglect Genesis permanently lose any hope of definitively mooring their understanding of God's historical interactions with mankind, whom He created for a purpose.
The book of Genesis is the first book of the Bible, and opens with the most famous first sentence of any literary work: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
The book of Genesis consists of fifty (50) chapters (2nd longest only to Jeremiah), reads like a series of epic story episodes: a semi-tragic saga of a world of humanity that just keeps getting it wrong, despite their Creator’s love and concern, guidance and correction.
Genesis 5 is a genealogy chapter, the first chapter devoted almost entirely to the genealogy of Adam to Noah. For this reason, some would think this chapter could be skipped over, or skim-read in 2 minutes; However, this chapter must be scrutinized, if only to see the gospel message which is found within its pages.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is seen in the Book of Genesis in a variety of ways. The fullness of the Gospel is not presented, but we receive glimpses, - bits and pieces of the Gospel in the Book of Genesis.
In Genesis three, when Satan successfully tempts Eve, and Eve then tempts Adam to rebel against their creator, God comes in judgment and speaks to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, I will put enmity between your offspring and the offspring of woman. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel."
Add to that, Genesis isn’t a stand-alone book. It’s the first installment in the five-part Torah (or Pentateuch), the five books of the Law of Moses, which lays the foundation of the Old Testament. The Torah is Israel’s story of origin by God: how He chose Abraham who would father many nations, but only one, specifically, the history of how God nurtured the population of the future nation of Israel within Egypt, hardened Pharoah's heart after 400 years, to achieve their exiting the land, then guided them to their own promised land of Canaan, and established their Jewish religion, based on the blood atonement of animals, to teach them the utter futility of attempting to achieve their own salvation through perfect obedience to the Law.
There is so much within the Biblical pages of Genesis, years can and have been consumed in its study.
Those who neglect Genesis permanently lose any hope of definitively mooring their understanding of God's historical interactions with mankind, whom He created for a purpose.
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
I imagine that's true
Oct 6, 2021 20:41:47 #
Parky60 wrote:
Why don't you read Genesis instead of about man's "fascinating theories?"
Poor fella...
A book as old as the Torah has so much to say...
But you just read your translated version over and over...
Questions are for losers (or something like that that I'm sure you picked up at Sunday School)
Oct 7, 2021 03:48:46 #
Canuckus, are you studying the Torah (the five biblical books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) in Hebrew?
Are you studying the remainder of the Tanakh (Old Testament) in Hebrew?
Are you studying the B'rit Hadashah (New Testament) in Greek?
Is there something wrong with attending "Sunday School?"
Are you studying the remainder of the Tanakh (Old Testament) in Hebrew?
Are you studying the B'rit Hadashah (New Testament) in Greek?
Is there something wrong with attending "Sunday School?"
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
Poor fella...
A book as old as the Torah has so much to say...
But you just read your translated version over and over...
Questions are for losers (or something like that that I'm sure you picked up at Sunday School)
A book as old as the Torah has so much to say...
But you just read your translated version over and over...
Questions are for losers (or something like that that I'm sure you picked up at Sunday School)
Oct 7, 2021 03:51:09 #
Thank you, Rose.
It blesses me to see those words.
For anyone who considers the Old Testament less important than the New Testament...
Prophetic clues pointing to Jesus are sprinkled throughout the Bible, in both the New Testament and the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament alone, there are 300 general prophecies foretelling Jesus’ First Coming, all of which came true, and 500 general prophecies predicting His Second Coming, which will each also come true.
It blesses me to see those words.
For anyone who considers the Old Testament less important than the New Testament...
Prophetic clues pointing to Jesus are sprinkled throughout the Bible, in both the New Testament and the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament alone, there are 300 general prophecies foretelling Jesus’ First Coming, all of which came true, and 500 general prophecies predicting His Second Coming, which will each also come true.
Rose42 wrote:
Amen and amen
Oct 7, 2021 05:54:39 #
Zemirah wrote:
Canuckus, are you studying the Torah (the five biblical books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) in Hebrew?
Are you studying the remainder of the Tanakh (Old Testament) in Hebrew?
Are you studying the B'rit Hadashah (New Testament) in Greek?
Is there something wrong with attending "Sunday School?"
Are you studying the remainder of the Tanakh (Old Testament) in Hebrew?
Are you studying the B'rit Hadashah (New Testament) in Greek?
Is there something wrong with attending "Sunday School?"
I'm focusing on Genesis right now...
And although I don't speak Hebrew, I am learning some interesting information that stems from Hebrew...
Nothing wrong with attending Sunday School... Just a little anecdote I picked up from my own experience at Sunday School... First Baptist Sunday School to be exact... Several of the other churches actually encourage questions..
Oct 7, 2021 07:58:37 #
TexaCan
Loc: Homeward Bound!
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
I'm focusing on Genesis right now...
And although I don't speak Hebrew, I am learning some interesting information that stems from Hebrew...
Nothing wrong with attending Sunday School... Just a little anecdote I picked up from my own experience at Sunday School... First Baptist Sunday School to be exact... Several of the other churches actually encourage questions..
And although I don't speak Hebrew, I am learning some interesting information that stems from Hebrew...
Nothing wrong with attending Sunday School... Just a little anecdote I picked up from my own experience at Sunday School... First Baptist Sunday School to be exact... Several of the other churches actually encourage questions..
Perhaps that one Baptist Sunday School teacher had a reason for not “encouraging” questions……perhaps he/she had a student/students that was a constant interruption in the class. This seems to be another one of your sweeping judgmental statements that is based on one occurrence. What was the denomination of the “several” churches in your statement. It isn’t clear if you are judging just the Baptist in your two comments about Sunday School teachers to Parky and Zemirah! You of all people, should know that the teaching style of any teacher is on the teacher not the school/church!
I’m curious, yesterday you remarked that “the revelations” was nothing more than psychotic ramblings that “appeals” to some. How can you consider the first book of the Bible as authentic and desirable to understand and study but completely ignore the last book of the Bible, Revelation. Is not the end as important as the beginning? Of course, if you read Revelation you will understand that it is far from the end of the story! Jesus Christ returns!
Oct 7, 2021 09:33:32 #
Oct 7, 2021 14:27:39 #
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
Poor fella...
A book as old as the Torah has so much to say...
But you just read your translated version over and over...
Questions are for losers (or something like that that I'm sure you picked up at Sunday School)
A book as old as the Torah has so much to say...
But you just read your translated version over and over...
Questions are for losers (or something like that that I'm sure you picked up at Sunday School)
So books like Isaiah have nothing to say? Why don't you read it...chapter 5 verse 21 in particular. I'll even throw you a bone and provide a translation that someone of your mental caliber might understand. And just so you know I'm being perfectly clear, this verse is describing you!
What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever. Isaiah 5:21 (NLT)
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