Are you an A.I.?
If no, do you know or have you met any A.I.s?
The New Testament and Matthew are typically thought to have been written in Koine Greek (as was its potential foundation document Q) not Hebrew.
You’re a remarkably sheltered and unaware intellectual - as intellectuals go.
Curtis, I thought I would repost my question in hopes of getting into the next round of your answers. Thanks. Here’s the question:
Curtis, as an intellectual Christian, why do you think God chose to create people, then create a place of eternal torment for people, then create a rule that everyone goes to that place after death, then send his son (that is also himself) to earth, then provide an exception to the eternal torment rule for those who believe that his son is the messiah and died for their sins? Is there anything in the above that is intellectually troubling to you?
The Gospel of Matthew, like the rest of the New Testament, was written in Greek, not Hebrew. The original Greek in Matthew 16:28 is as follows:
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι εἰσίν τινες τῶν ὧδε ἑστώτων οἵτινες οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσιν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ.
The most literal translation of this (which might sound a little weird in English) is as follows:
“Truly, I say to you, here [are] standing certain ones who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in the reign of his.”
Cleaning up the syntax a little:
“Truly, I say to you, certain ones are standing here no who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his reign.”
This saying attributed to Jesus is known to have been seen as problematic even in the first century. Mark 13:30 also records Jesus as saying, “This generation shall not pass until all things things are done” (i.e. the Son of man appearing in the clouds). Mark is also the original source of the “shall not taste death” saying, and both that and the “this generation” saying were copied by Matthew and Luke.
It is well known that the earliest Christian movement (including Paul himself) believed that Jesus would come back during that first generation. There was a popular belief amng the faithful for a while that Jesus would return before he last apostle died. Obviously, he did not. Those sayings had to be reinterpreted in the 2nd century (usually pap about how it should be taken as a symbolic, or spirtual advent, not a literal one). I’m not too interested in how you want to resolve the problem, but I just wanted to let you know that it’s not a problem of translation. The translation is accurate.
God’s sense of justice demands that all sinners be punished but He has provided an exception by sending His Son. Originally humans were planned to be sinless but they fell away.
You’re saying that in Denmark even the poorest spend 40% of their income on taxes? That sounds suspiciously high.
The point I was trying to make with my question was this; when I hear American conservatives talk about crazy high taxes in other countries I wonder if they or their audience actually knows how much the of the average person income goes towards paying taxes in those other countries as compared to in the US. In most cases calling the differences ‘massive’ makes me go :dubious:
This is why the Tyrannosaurus Rex is God’s most perfect creation.
Are you saying that European countries only produce specialty items? In Germany a VW is a domestic car. I’m not convinced you understand what you’re saying when you say ‘economic sloth’. If their economies are ‘slothful’, why does Boeing worry about Airbus? Please define ‘economic sloth’.
Cites for happiest citizens:
BBC
MS-NBC
CBS News
Forbes
Der Spiegel
Official Website of Denmark
What constitutes “sin,” and what constitutes fair punishment?
Sending his son to do what? Why couldn’t God just skip sending his son and forgive people as they are?
Curtis, thank you for the answer. I’d appreciate you also thinking about and answering this follow-up question–
If God is omicient, wouldn’t he know that humans would fall away?
Ahem.
Dio asked a question, I requested an answer to Dio’s question, and it was never answered. So again, why is it wrong to be horny? Also, you said alcohol consumption is okay, as long as you’re not drunk. What is wrong with being drunk?
If you’ve answered, and I missed it, please be Christian and forgive me.
I had no idea you were of Korean American heritage. That’s kinda cool.
So what’s your fav. fictional book?
What’s your fav. TV show?
Fav. Movie?
Fav. Food?
If you could be any two other Doper (and live their life- not post under their account) for a day, who would you switch places with?
What do you mean by “fell away”?
Sending his Son to Israel. Sucked if you lived in the Americas from year 33 to year 1492 - not that the ‘missionaries’ were much fun after 1492. Again, God seems to have little regard for the unlucky.
Dio - Thank you for the Greek, I really appreciate it.
Given that you are home schooled, and I presume in a religious household, I’m curious what exposure you’ve had to competing points of view. Have you read any books that contain views that are opposed to what you’ve been brought up to believe? If so, could you list the titles and authors?
Do you disagree with your parents on any major issues?
But HOW do you help out in your community? Volunteer, at say, soup kitchens or homeless shelters? Organize protests? Donate and/or support local charities? Curtis, no offense, but you’re very vague. You speak mainly in platitudes.
Curtis, in a few years you will probably look back on this thread and think to yourself “man, what was I thinking!”
Alcohol is fine but cannabis is too addictive for you? It’s actually the other way around - alcohol is a dangerous and addictive drug that in terms of deaths caused is beaten only by heroine.
Masturbation is bad because it’s not good to “burn in lust”? Where do you find these ridiculous opinions, the dark ages? Masturbation has known health benefits, such as improving depression and helping to prevent prostate cancer. As an adolescent male, masturbation is not only an essential part of your good physical and mental health but it is also useful to let you practice different techniques and self-control.
If you don’t plan to “burn in lust” with a sexual partner someday then you will not be needing to practice techniques and control (but trust me, you should, because you may eventually come to your senses). It’s not a sin, there’s nothing wrong with it, and it’s actually good for you (if you don’t overdo it).
No matter how smart you are, it is evident from your responses that you have not yet acquired the beginning of a clue about many of these issues. That’s not to say you won’t get there, but you have to give it a few more years and plenty of honest research. As the saying goes, even the mighty oak was once a little nut. Unfortunately you can’t skip the nut stage.
and here’s a visual to go with that.
In all seriousness, Abe, and other posters are correct. I’m glad to see you on the Dope, Curtis, and I hope that these discussions are convincing you to revisit some of your assumptions.
Why have you twice avoided a question about who/when/how your Asberger’s was diagnosed?
Poor planning on God’s part and we take the hit?