Calling Out Alang1216: The God of Abraham is a myth

[alang1216]

Let’s hear your pagan success stories because making animal sacrifices doesn’t lead to success. Being virtuous does. And part of being virtuous requires sacrifices to be made for others.

Didn't God command the Israelites to make animal sacrifices? It didn't work for the Jews since the land of Israel was repeatedly conquered by pagans.

 

[ding]

Henotheism implies a primary devotion to one god without denying the existence of others. Judaism began when the Hebrews made their covenant with Yahweh, making them henotheism. I'm not sure when the transition from henotheism to monotheism occurred but it could even have been after Jesus' time.

Again… it’s your inability to comprehend that Judaism in its monotheistic form did not begin at the time of Abraham. The transition from polytheism to monotheism began at the time of Abraham which at that time polytheism was the dominant belief.

 

[alang1216]

But these accounts aren’t myths. These were oral accounts of historical events and other important knowledge that were told in an allegorical fashion to make them more memorable so they would be easier to pass down because that’s how knowledge was passed down.

You are so hung up on the embellishments that you miss the point of the accounts.

The Trojan War was historical, the Iliad is mostly myth.

 

[ding]

How do you judge their success?

The 3000 year continued existence of a people in the face of adversity that outlasted all of the contemporary societies and made significant contributions to mankind that were vastly disproportionate to their numbers.

 

[ding]

AI Overview

Theology is the systematic study of God, religious faith, and religious beliefs. It encompasses the study of religious texts, traditions, and practices, aiming to understand the nature of the divine and its relationship to humanity.


If you believe your success will come from God, it is theology, if you believe it comes from society, it is not theology.

First of all I don’t accept that my success comes from God. My success comes from the practical application of how I worship God. Secondly, theology concerns the nature of God. Things like the Trinity. The practical application of faith is not theology. Being thankful, forgiving, self reflecting, objective, etc. are not theology. They are the practical application of faith which lead to success.

 

[ding]

The Trojan War was historical, the Iliad is mostly myth.

And your point is?

 

[ding]

Didn't God command the Israelites to make animal sacrifices? It didn't work for the Jews since the land of Israel was repeatedly conquered by pagans.

A carryover from polytheism. But as for the Jews being repeatedly conquered. Read the the texts. Because in each instance they recognized they had forgotten God. The OT is an account of a people who cycled between remembering and forgetting God.

 

[alang1216]

The 3000 year continued existence of a people in the face of adversity that outlasted all of the contemporary societies and made significant contributions to mankind that were vastly disproportionate to their numbers.

Were the 10 lost tribes of Israel failures?

 

[alang1216]

First of all I don’t accept that my success comes from God. My success comes from the practical application of how I worship God. Secondly, theology concerns the nature of God. Things like the Trinity. The practical application of faith is not theology. Being thankful, forgiving, self reflecting, objective, etc. are not theology. They are the practical application of faith which lead to success.

So it doesn't matter to your success if God exists or not. I agree.

 

[ding]

Were the 10 lost tribes of Israel failures?

I think you are really reaching here. Fringe arguments don’t offset the widely recognized fact that the Jews have been successful.

 

[alang1216]

And your point is?

Myths descend from the telling and retelling of historical events IF that history has a message society wants to hear.

 

[ding]

So it doesn't matter to your success if God exists or not. I agree.

Not exactly. While God does not pull levers and flip switches, his prevailing goodness has been imbued into his creation such that good comes from bad. You have some weird notion that success can’t happen if there were failures along the way. All I can tell you is that failures are the best teachers. With that said, divine providence is real but so subtle that jackssses can’t see it. I guess wisdom isn’t just given to any jackanape.

 

[alang1216]

A carryover from polytheism. But as for the Jews being repeatedly conquered. Read the the texts. Because in each instance they recognized they had forgotten God. The OT is an account of a people who cycled between remembering and forgetting God.

So when they remembered God they did well, when they didn't they suffered. Odd that God doesn't reward or punish people today.

 

[ding]

So when they remembered God they did well, when they didn't they suffered. Odd that God doesn't reward or punish people today.

That all depends upon how you define remembering and forgetting.

Monotheism isn’t polytheism. You seem to be arguing against polytheism and not monotheism. God isn’t pushing buttons and controlling outcomes.

Your understanding of faith is very poor. Like I said before… My success comes from the practical application of how I worship God. Being thankful, forgiving, self reflecting, being objective, etc. lead to success.

You must be one of those people who think all behaviors have equal outcomes. They don’t.

 

[alang1216]

Not exactly. While God does not pull levers and flip switches, his prevailing goodness has been imbued into his creation such that good comes from bad. You have some weird notion that success can’t happen if there were failures along the way. All I can tell you is that failures are the best teachers. With that said, divine providence is real but so subtle that jackssses can’t see it. I guess wisdom isn’t just given to any jackanape.

Jackasses, jackanapes, jackalopes. Makes it hard to tell reality from fantasy or wisdom from foolishness.

 

[alang1216]

Monotheism isn’t polytheism. You seem to be arguing against polytheism and not monotheism. God isn’t pushing buttons and controlling outcomes.

Sometimes he did though, didn't he? Or were all his actions and miracles just embellishments?

Your understanding of faith is very poor. Like I said before… My success comes from the practical application of how I worship God. Being thankful, forgiving, self reflecting, being objective, etc. lead to success.

Shouldn't my being thankful, forgiving, self reflecting, objective, etc. lead to my success?

You must be one of those people who think all behaviors have equal outcomes. They don’t.

Nope, I'm not 3 years old, but then again I'm not the one claiming being thankful, forgiving, self reflecting, objective, etc. will lead to success.

 

[ding]

Jackasses, jackanapes, jackalopes. Makes it hard to tell reality from fantasy or wisdom from foolishness.

Not if you die to self. Then reality is quite easy to see. It’s dying to self that’s hard.

Foolishness is not learning lessons from failures. Wisdom is acquired when one does learn from the outcomes of choices.

 

[ding]

Sometimes he did though, didn't he? Or were all his actions and miracles just embellishments?

You need to work through them one at a time to answer that question. Context is important in understanding the author’s descriptive portrayal of reality. Reading these ancient accounts as you have been doing isn’t going to cut it.

 

[ding]

Shouldn't my being thankful, forgiving, self reflecting, objective, etc. lead to my success?

Absolutely. But your worldview that there is no purpose will make that difficult.

 

[ding]

Nope, I'm not 3 years old, but then again I'm not the one claiming being thankful, forgiving, self reflecting, objective, etc. will lead to success.

You seem to be contradicting yourself. Do you not believe there is a right way to exist and a wrong way to exist? And that the differences can be understood through reason and experience?

And as for you belief that these are just my claims, I suggest you do some research on the happiness advantage. There’s lots of science on this subject that bear out these claims.