103 Do you get reprogrammed in Christian heaven?

Skeptic says: The New Testament teaches that God will magically change the minds of those who go to heaven. In that way, they won't care about those who go and burn in hell. 

If you go to heaven, God makes you ignorant so that you forget or never-mind old friends who go to hell. Thus the only way you can enjoy heaven is to become a different person.

102 Did people rule the earth like the Bible said to

In the Old Testament book of Genesis, God told humankind to subdue the earth  

Genesis 1:28 God blessed [the human beings] and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 

But in a later verse, Genesis makes it sound as if it says bye-bye to human dominion over the earth  

Genesis 3:17 [The Lord said to Adam,] Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow 19 you will eat your food until you return to the ground. 

Recap: Humans haven't ever ruled over all the living creatures. Sometimes we can't subdue the living creatures, such as a plague of locusts. So it hardly seems that we have dominion over the earth. In fact Adam and Eve didn't subdue the earth. And they didn't subdue all of the creatures, either; for example, they didn't subdue the talking snake.

101 Did dead saints come alive in Jerusalem

In the Gospel of Matthew, many people in the graves came to life at the time Jesus died on the cross. And when they had been awake from death for about three days, they climbed out and walked into Jerusalem. 

I ask how the "zombies" passed the time for the two or three days before Jesus was raised. The risen "saints" lay in their graves for some days, then they headed for the city

Matthew 27:50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ... 51 The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 

Scholars may suggest that they were "ghosts." But the Gospel itself fails to state clearly that they were just ghosts. Besides, other scholars claim that the Greek text definitely says that they came back to life. 

Recap: Many dead came to life in the graves when Jesus died on the cross. After his resurrection, the walking dead went into the city. I ask who saw them alive in their graves? And saw them climb out, stroll into the city and surprise many there. The question is, did the city people panic. And where did the formerly deceased go after visiting the city. Talk about a lack of detail.    

100 Would Jesus’ other deeds fill countless books

The Gospel of John declares:
That there were many other things which Jesus did, and if they were written down carefully, they would fill up the world with books 

John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

I’ll assume that John speaks of the more important things which Jesus did during a three-year career, and not of the less important things like having lunch. 

So let’s say every one of these many other things took a couple-three pages if written down. And each book 300 was pages. Okay, then, the collection comes to fifteen- or sixteen thousand books.

Let's even allow for a total of seventeen thousand books. That’s a great many books. But still the world would contain them easily.  

For the sake of argument let's pretend that the world could literally get filled up with books about the many other things which Jesus did. I find it strange, then, that the four Gospels mostly repeat the same stories. I would expect the New Testament to have more books than the Old Testament (about thirty-nine for the Old Testament). The New Testament has twenty-seven books. But John says the whole world would brim with books about “the many other things which Jesus did.” Thus it's peculiar that the New Testament is so relatively brief.

Recap: If Jesus said and did so many other important things, it's odd that the New Testament is so short.

99 Do buildings collapse as a consequence of sin

It’s Mr. Luke

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says a certain tower collapsed; it fell down on sinners who didn't deserve it more than other sinners did.   

Luke 13:1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  

All you sinners, a building could fall down on you as a result of sin. After all, you’re sinners, a class which includes virtually everybody.  

Incidentally, those who are not sinners could be destroyed by divine plan, anyway, to spare them from an evil world. In the Old Testament, Isaiah the prophet says so, says that the righteous perish because they are being taken away from evil times--  

Isaiah 57:1 The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. 

Recap: So, either way--whether you're sinful or righteous--the Bible God could snuff you out for a purpose.  

Related topic:

21 Will the righteous always thrive 

98 Is Yahweh ever unmerciful

The Old Testament Book of Jeremiah (c. 600 BC) says: 
God will make the Judeans (his people) pay big because they turned away from him

Jeremiah 19:3 Listen to what the Lord says, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, I will bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring! 4 I will do so because these people have rejected me and have defiled this place. ... 9 I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another.

In the New Testament God isn’t merciful or forgiving any more than he is in the Book of Jeremiah. For example, Matthew says God would seriously punish anyone who refused to listen to the disciples   

Matthew 10:14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

Recap: God will get you for ignoring or turning away from his disciples’ words. Now that’s "good news" (cough).

Look it up:

Jeremiah 19:9

and

Matthew 10:14-15

97 A feminist didn’t make this rule

The Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy includes a law that forbids women to hit men below the belt in a fight  

Deuteronomy 25:11 If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, 12 you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity. 

Recap: The woman will be severely punished for her infraction of this law. Something tells me women didn’t sponsor this law.  

Look it up:

Deuteronomy 25:11-12

96 Was Judas an invention

The Apostle Paul writes (c. AD 55) that there were twelve disciples after Jesus’ resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:3 [W]hat I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 

Paul says there were twelve. But he should have known that Judas hanged himself in the story of Jesus and the disciples. Thus there were just eleven disciples when the risen Jesus appeared to them. Further, the Gospels (AD 70s-80s) talk of “eleven disciples” at the time the risen Jesus reunited with his disciples. I say Paul never heard the tale of the betrayal of Jesus, so he says there were twelve. I suspect that Judas was an invention sometime after Paul. 

Related post: 
93 Which disciple did Jesus love 

95 Does the newly risen Jesus greet ten disciples

It’s Mr. John vs Mr. Luke

The Gospel of John says the newly risen Jesus appeared to the disciples, but Thomas wasn’t in the room 

John 23:19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. ... 24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

It says that Thomas saw Jesus a week later

25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!

The Gospel of Luke says the newly risen Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples in the room! 

Luke 24:33 [Two followers] got up at once and went back to Jerusalem, where they found the eleven disciples gathered together with the others and saying, 34 "The Lord is risen indeed! He has appeared to Simon!" 36 Suddenly the Lord himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 37 They were terrified, thinking that they were seeing a ghost.

Luke says “eleven disciples.” Yet Thomas was away someplace in the Gospel of John.

Recap: Luke counts eleven disciples in the room. John counts ten. I say one of them has misspoken himself.

94 Does the Angel of Death seek complainers

In the New Testament letter 1 Corinthians, written by the apostle Paul, Paul says that Christian complainers invite death

1 Corinthians 10:1 I want you to remember, my friends, what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. ... 5 God was not pleased with most of them, and so their dead bodies were scattered over the desert. ... 8 We must not be guilty of sexual immorality, as some of them were--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them fell dead. 9 We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did--and they were killed by snakes. 10 We must not complain, as some of them did--and they were destroyed by the Angel of Death. 11 All these things happened to them as examples for others, and they were written down as a warning for us.

Um, very nice. It sounds like really Good News (cough) or a reign of terror.

Related post:

05 Will God terrorize his people if they go astray

93 Which disciple did Jesus love

The Gospel of John mentions a disciple whom Jesus loved at the last supper. The disciple is unidentified 

John 13:23 One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was at the table.

The Gospel of John says Jesus loved all of the disciples

John 13:24 I give you a new commandment--to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus bestowed a kingdom on the disciples at the last supper. They were all worthy

Luke 22:29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

In the Gospel of John again, Jesus even loved Lazarus although Lazarus wasn’t one of the original twelve disciples

John 11:1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

Thus Jesus loved people who were outside the charmed circle of the disciples. He loved his main disciples and those who weren’t his main disciples. Yet there was the anomalous “disciple whom Jesus loved,” and thus a Gospel oddity.

Recap: John says Jesus was partial to a particular disciple. But Jesus showed love for all his disciples. The other Gospels failed to mention the disciple whom Jesus loved. And other New Testament books don't mention him, either. I doubt that the original tale about Jesus included the beloved disciple. It appeared just in the Gospel of John. So I say the writer of John invented the beloved disciple.

Related post on my other blog:
09 Did the Apostle John write John

92 Was there a greatest disciple

The Gospel of John says a beloved disciple sat at a place of honor at the last supper. He was seated next to Jesus

John 13:23 One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was at the table to the right of Jesus in a place of honor.  

But the Gospel of Luke says at the last supper the disciples started an argrument about who was the worthiest among them

Luke 22:24 A dispute also arose among [the disciples] as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 

I say they already had at least a year to have a picture of where they stood with respect to their savior and his plans. They should have known by then.

Recap: Luke says a dispute broke out among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Meantime John says one of them was seated at the place of honor. That should have given them a hint. Thus John vs Luke.

Related post:
93 Which disciple did Jesus love 

91 Will Christians do greater works than Jesus’

The Gospel of John says:
Devout Christian believers will do greater deeds than Jesus did 

John 14:12 I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the deeds that I do, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father. 

But when did the apostles surpass the miraculous works of Jesus? I will say they never did.

90 Did Noah walk with God but get drunk

In the Old Testament book of Genesis, Mr. Noah walked with God

Genesis 6:9 Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

But in Genesis again, Noah got drunk

Genesis 9:20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk.

However, the Old Testament Book of Proverbs denounces drunkenness

Proverbs 23:20 Do not spend time among drunkards.

The New Testament is down on drunkeness, too 

Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery.

1 Corinthians 6:10 Thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Recap: An upright man who walked with God, Noah got himself completely drunk on wine. But the Bible teaches that getting oneself heavily intoxicated is ungodly. But Noah, a godly man, tied one on.

89 Will wisdom ever bring you sorrow

A Proverb vs Ecclesiastes

   

The Old Testament book of Proverbs says wisdom is a good thing, a very good thing

Proverbs 4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. 6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. 7 Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.

But the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes says wisdom brings sorrow  

Ecclesiastes 1:18 With much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

Recap: The Bible advises everybody to gain in wisdom. Another Bible book warns that wisdom comes at a price, because the more wisdom you have, the more sorrow you have. Uh, what? Thus Proverbs vs Ecclesiastes.

88 Should we put away childish things

It’s Psalm vs 1 Corinthians

 

An Old Testament psalm lends special credibility to what children say

Psalm 8:1 O Lord, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world! Your praise reaches up to the heavens; 2 it is sung by children and babies.

But the New Testament letter Corinthians, written by Paul, teaches that a child’s talk lacks in maturity and grown-ups should put such talk behind them

1 Corinthians 13:11  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 

Recap: Although a Psalm values praise to God sung by children, 1 Corinthians warns against childish talk, thinking, and reasoning.

87 Could an angel get misinformed

Now it’s Mr. Matthew vs Mr. Matthew

 
The Gospel of Matthew says an angel told Joseph, the husband of Mary, that it was safe to return to Israel. The angel said that nobody sought to harm the child Jesus any longer. The way was clear for the family to leave Egypt and return to Israel 

Matthew 2:19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”





Matthew says, too, that Joseph dreamed another dream. It told him to avoid Judea. He shouldn't return to there because someone was still on the lookout for the child

Matthew 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.

Recap: An angel told Joseph that his family was safe. But a follow-up dream warned him of danger. I say it appears that the angel was an misinformed one. Thus Matthew vs Matthew.

86 Do you go to hell because God is love

It’s Hebrews vs 1 John

The New Testament letter Hebrews says, better believe in the Christian doctrine or go to hell

Hebrews 10:28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

But the letter 1 John teaches that God is love  

1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Recap: It's a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, who is love. Um ... 

85 Could animal sacrifice remove your sin

Here’s Hebrews vs Leviticus

The New Testament letter to the Hebrews teaches that animal sacrifice can't take

                             away sins

Hebrews 10:4 [It] is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ... 12 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

But the Old Testament Book of Leviticus teaches that it can take away sins

Leviticus 16:27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up. ... 30 because on this day [Yom Kippur] atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. ... 34 This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites." And it was done, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Recap: The Christian writer of Hebrews denounces animal sacrifice. He says animal sacrifice can't remove sin. But before Christianity God put animal sacrifice in place for the removal of sin. It was good enough for God. Thus Hebrews vs Leviticus.

Related post on my other blog:

96 Is animal sacrifice just people’s way

84 Should Christians drink Jesus' blood

It’s Mr. Matthew vs Leviticus  

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus commanded his devotees to drink his symbolic blood

Matthew 26:27 [H]e took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” 

In the Old Testament Book of Leviticus, God gaves a commandment against consuming blood. It was well before the advent of Christianity

Leviticus 17:10 Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood--I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. ... 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood."

Recap: Jesus said to drink his blood. But Leviticus prevented it. Thus Matthew vs Leviticus.

Related post:

83 Does God ever change his mind