Fr. Barron comments on Biblical Family Values

[5355vbxjbj76rvn]

Very good exposition of Gen.22 - *but*, the ethical question remains: is a God who demands what (most people would think) is immoral, a God to be heeded ? And if a mother says "God told me to kill my children" - why is that plea not acceptable in a court of law ? Should not Abraham have dismissed the command as evil ? The argument from God's dominion over all creatures is impressive, but has too many holes: it ignores whether a command is good. & righteous.

[MrCamus1960]

Father Barron, were all the prophets real historical people?

[LVCIVSTVLLIVSATELLVS]

@MrCamus1960 The way to tell this is to look at the historical records, which is lacking in the field. The Bible is the most historical accurate document of the prophets' times. While the prophets may not have been people, they could have been schools of thought, or a literary devise. Nevertheless they are key to understanding Israel's history. I would say that Isa, Jer, Eze, Hos, Joe, Amo, Oba, Mic, Nah, Hab, Zeph, Hag, Zec, & Mal were real; Isa, Jer, Zec had schools; and Jon was a lit. device

[MQ1611]

The Lord would only called Mary "woman" and he rebuked her lie that Joseph was his father (Luke 2:48). That along with Luke 11:28 should give the Mariolaters pause.

God substituted himself for Isaac, as stated in the Authorized Version: "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." Genesis 22:8.

So the "test" wasn't an empty one, it was real, but by substitution.

[2010teg]

Father, This video was exceptionally great for touching better than I have seen the issue of family and vocation. God bless!

[filthyswit]

Mr. Barron, who are you talking to when you are making these vids?

[nymphrenic]

Your interpretation of the Abraham and Isaac story was really profound.

[wordonfirevideo]

@Water4Jeremiah We have a whole bevy of arguments for the existence of God. Take a look at my videos on this and on Christopher Hitchens.

[BartBVanBockstaele]

@wordonfirevideo "Arguments" is not what you need. Since they are based on an anthology of myths and tales, they are meaningless. What you need is evidence.

[BartBVanBockstaele]

@BartBVanBockstaele And yes, I agree the children *belong* to the god of the Bible. So do adults. My hamster *belongs* to me. I can give her a few sunflower seeds, or a few mealworms, even a chicken. She will love it.

And when she has been fatted or ceases to amuse me, I can slaughter her and throw her away, give her to the cats, or marinate her in Trappist beer and eat her.

This is what "belonging to God" means. You are nothing. Just a piece of vermin for your Master's amusement.

[BartBVanBockstaele]

@BartBVanBockstaele ... a Master for whose existence you don't even have the beginning of a shred of evidence.

[3abdulmesii7]

@Water4Jeremiah If Christianity is all false except for one thing, that one thing would be original sin. If there is no original sin, why do we need policemen?

[dumpmist]

@3abdulmesii7 "If there is no original sin, why do we need policemen?"

I don't understand this argument. If, for example, original sin was just a make belief, then we would be the way we are for some other reason, perhaps a biological one.

[3abdulmesii7]

@dumpmist Original sin, boiled down, means that we are screwed up. Water4Jeremiah said that believing original sin makes a person a misanthrope, since it entails that a person believe that humanity is somehow screwed up. My point is merely that we are somehow screwed up, since we need policemen and stuff to keep us in line.

Now original sin does involve a lack of certain preternatural gifts, which are not the sort of thing that a person can see under a microscope.

[3abdulmesii7]

@dumpmist Original sin certainly has biological reprecussions though.

[3abdulmesii7]

@Water4Jeremiah There are two arguments against Christianity that I hear:

1) Christianity is too pessimistic. Christians believe in stuff like original sin and hell.

2) Christianity is too optimistic. Christianity believes in stuff like angels and heaven.

Which one is it?

[JesuitsRule]

@Water4Jeremiah -- You said, "anyone who believes in original sin is a misanthrope -- you think there's something wrong with humanity." Compared to that of the early Reformers, the Catholic view of original sin has always been more optimistic: human nature is wounded, but not totally destroyed -- "there lives the dearest freshness deep down things," as the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ wrote. Also... (see next comment)

[JesuitsRule]

@Water4Jeremiah (Continued) Also, re: original sin -- if humanity, nature, etc. are fallen, it means the evil we see in them is not normal. The world is sick – which means it can be cured. Humanity and nature are not inherently bad; they're merely clouded over, flawed. And they’re meant for more, for greatness. To say that the world as we know it involves corruption, pain, etc. is simply to acknowledge the facts. But the Catholic view refuses to accept that this is how it’s meant to be.

[JesuitsRule]

@Water4Jeremiah (continued) -- To put it another way: if humanity is not fallen, that means evil is just what we are.  But if humanity is fallen, that means evil is NOT what we really are – it’s a sickness, with the possibility of a cure. If there's nothing "wrong" with humanity, as you seem to imply, then how can we hope for a better future, if we're already as healthy as we'll ever be? But if there IS something wrong (original sin), then things can get better -- there can be redemption.

[missbellestar]

@Water4Jeremiah : Some people spend their earthly life hating God. Or blaming God, or spending all their breath to disprove the existence of God. Instead... why not direct your question to God Himself if you cannot believe even the proven History, and all His representative. Just blurt it our "GOD IF YOU ARE REAL HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND" search, study, dig deeper or else if you die next month without knowing God, your regret laterwill not be of used. I am praying for the proof you are looking for.

[Mystagogia87]

@Water4Jeremiah I think you have to expend a great amount of mental energy to avoid the conclusion that there's something wrong with human beings.

[Water4Jeremiah]

Isn't it ironic that a priest who doesn't have any firsthand experience with sex and raising children are always the first to give advice on family values, contraception, and abortion?

[morecowbell4me]

@Water4Jeremiah ...just as ironic that an athiest can comment even pretend to understand Gods existence.

[zztstenglish]

Family values have eroded in western society.

Look at all the divorces out there due to liberal values.  Now, we have another attack on the family unit with the advent of same sex marriage.

[Water4Jeremiah]

@zztstenglish That's not true. The only people attracted to the Christian faith tend to be jaded misanthropes who hate their societies. The world is doing just fine without any need of a 'redemption' - after all, all religions 'sell' you the story that you are unclean and that their 'path' is the way to be cleansed of their uncleanliness.

"Liberalism" and "homosexuality" are just labels the Catholic church uses to separate people so that their laity can feel a sense of supernatural superiority.

[wordonfirevideo]

@Water4Jeremiah "The only people attracted to the Christian faith tend to be jaded misanthropes..." Hmmm... Johann Sebastian Bach, Albert Schweitzer, John Wesley, Francis of Assisi, Dorothy Day, G.K. Chesterton, Isaac Newton,John Paul II. I mean, friend, you could say many things about those people, but "jaded misanthropes" doesn't exactly spring to mind.

[Water4Jeremiah]

@wordonfirevideo Not to be offensive or anything, but would you mind leaving Youtube? I personally don't think you, nor your church, has earned the right to have their say on the internet. Until you can prove that your god actually exists, please leave.

[dumpmist]

@Water4Jeremiah "Until you can prove that your god actually exists, please leave."

That would be an awful world if no one had the right to express or discuss new (and old) ideas, because that is the way we learn to understand each other, and how we often learn new things.

[zztstenglish]

@Water4Jeremiah - "labels the Catholic church" Really?!? Liberalism is a term I raised not the church.

"all religions 'sell' you the story that you are unclean" Oh, boy....your assertion is fatuous. I suggest u read more about world religions.

[esotericapeman]

Fr. Barron, Are you familiar with the current research on the "God particle?" If so, I would be interested to hear your take on it. God Bless.

[dumpmist]

@esotericapeman The standard model of quantum physics predicts a specific number a particles with different qualities. So far we have found all but one, the god particle. Internally they called it the goddamn particle, in a jokingly way, because it was so goddamn hard to find. Then some editor didn't like the "damn" part, so the public got to known it as the god particle, although that didn't make it any easier to find. There is no special connection between the particle and god.

[itslifeisall]

@3rosesred Though "sacrifice" may in fact mean "to set aside", it does not change the fact that this is a story about a man who has a knife to his son's throat.

[wordonfirevideo]

@itslifeisall I might suggest that you approach the story with a little more interpretive finesse. It's about the spirituality of sacrifice: what, precisely, are you willing to give back to God? I wouldn't press it in a literalistic direction.

[itslifeisall]

@wordonfirevideo So, you don't think God really asked Abraham to kill his son, and at the last minute sent an angel to halt the action? It's just a tale meant to illustrate a higher spiritual principle?

[wordonfirevideo]

@itslifeisall I don't think it should be read naively or literalistically. It's a theological story, designed to communicate a profound truth.

[itslifeisall]

@wordonfirevideo I agree, it's a theological story. But by pressing it in a more literalistic direction, you see the degree of patriarchal brutality attributed to God in early texts, from using God ordering one to kill their son to communicate a profound truth, to people being smitten and besieged with plagues by God for their transgressions. As God changes in the texts through the ages, and from old testament to new, we see that these are not depictions of God, but rather man's images of God.

[wordonfirevideo]

@itslifeisall That's why these stories should be read within the interpretive community of the church. Luther's call for all people to interpret the Bible according to their own lights has been a disaster.

[itslifeisall]

@wordonfirevideo I'm afraid I'm on to you. You tipped your hand in a recent video. I now see that like Herod, with outlandish statements, you lure in (rather than imprison) and listen to those who enjoy a freedom to explore their spiritual life without the shackles of theological dogma and boundaries of accepted belief, thus vicariously enjoying a life free from the threat of censure or excommunication. It's OK, we understand. But on to your response to my post. Cont'd. ~

[3abdulmesii7]

@itslifeisall You shouldn't say things like this if you want people to take you seriously.

[itslifeisall]

@wordonfirevideo For you to imply that the translation of the Bible into the common language of the people was not only a negative event, but disastrous, is simply ridiculous. Further, a predefined spiritual life with boundaries set forth by a dogmatic hierarchy is not only limiting, but also in direct opposition to the Midrashic tradition from which Christianity was born. Despite claims to the contrary, the Kingdom of Heaven is within you, and me, and all, independent of interpretation.

[wordonfirevideo]

@itslifeisall Did you actually read what I said?! I didn't say a thing about translations. I complained about what Luther called "private interpretation." Translations of the Bible are great; private interpretation, which is to say, interpretation apart from the church, has been a disaster.

[3abdulmesii7]

@itslifeisall The Catholic Church provided numerous common-language translations of the Bible; that she didn't is just not true. St. Thomas More was asked about Wycliffe's translation of the Bible into English, and he cited a large number of previous translations. The trouble, he said, was that Wycliffe's translation was bad.

[itslifeisall]

@3abdulmesii7 Wycliffe's translation must of been really bad for Pope Martin V to order his bones to be dug up, burned and scattered, 44 years after his death. To deny that the church opposed early translations of the bible is simply not true. in 1229 Pope Gregory IX even declared that "We prohibit laymen possessing copies of the Old and New Testament. . . . We forbid them most severely to have the above books in the popular vernacular"

[3abdulmesii7]

@itslifeisall Clearly you haven't read the Wikipedia article on this. I quote:

"...a commonly held misconception that the medieval church universally opposed translation and lay access to the Bible. In fact, the church's position on the matter was much more nuanced and case-dependent, responding to the motives of those producing and using a given translation and taking into account the perceived threat of heretical and anticlerical movements in a given region or language group."

[3abdulmesii7]

@itslifeisall Yes, but what if you and another Protestant disagree on interpretation of scripture? Does one of you not have the Kingdom of God within you properly? Does someone not love Jesus enough? What is it?

There are THOUSANDS of Protestant denominations. They all preach different things. That means that the majority of them must be preaching heresy. If they are all the Church, that must mean that preaching heresy does not separate a person from the Church.

[itslifeisall]

@3abdulmesii7 I am not Protestant and doubt the "Kingdom of Heaven" within will ever be found in scripture that is outside of you, or in the perfect interpretation of it. Isn't the "Kingdom of Heaven" an experience? Scriptures point the direction, but doesn't the individual have to surrender to the experience? The belief that one scripture or one interpretation of scripture is the key to Kingdom has led to much violence and blood shed in the name of God. Isn't that Hell, rather than Heaven?

[3abdulmesii7]

@itslifeisall You sound rather like a Buddhist, sir.

We Christians understand, that while we have an inner light, that inner light of Christ must be nourished and fed by extrinsic sources. People who get too caught up in themselves end up crazy.

Do you believe in divine revelation, sir? Doesn't that come from outside of us? If the inner light is all that we need, why has God spoken?

[3abdulmesii7]

@itslifeisall Dude. The truth sets us free. If I interpret scripture the wrong way, I am still not free. What guarantee have you that your interpretation of scripture is the right one?

[itslifeisall]

@3abdulmesii7 Is it one's interpretation, or one's experience that leads to freedom? Are there not people from diverse faiths and teachings, Christian and non-Christian, that lead the selfless loving life of surrender to which Christ pointed, and also those from these same faiths and teachings that are bickering, self-serving, selfish and prone to violence? Is it not the experience of selfless love that leads to the Freedom to which Christ pointed, rather than teaching or interpretation?

[3abdulmesii7]

@itslifeisall Truth leads to freedom, not experience. The bickering is good; it means that we're all trying to find out what the truth is. We can never surrender or submit to anyone who suggests that we ought not seek Truth in its fullness.

Truth is extrinsic to us. It exists outside of us. We can, by the natural light of reason, arrive at certain truths, but God has revealed mysteries to us that can only be known by the supernatural light of faith.

[3abdulmesii7]

@itslifeisall Christ himself taught and interpreted the scriptures. He asserted that he was right about the resurrection, and the Saducees were wrong. The Pharisees argued with him quite a bit on many topics. Where does Christ teach that we reach freedom by experience? Doesn't he say that we must pursue the truth? I fear, sir, that you are asserting that certain ideas and concepts of yours come from Him.

True selfless love makes us desire that all people may know the truth.

[itslifeisall]

@3abdulmesii7 Hey, congratulations! Sounds like you've got everything pretty well figured out. Myself, I'm enjoying the mystery of it all, the continual challenge of opening my heart a bit more and the wonder of the diversity of Divine expression in the world. All the best to you.

[3abdulmesii7]

@itslifeisall I'm sure that if you always make truth your first concern, you will end up in the right place.

[itslifeisall]

@3abdulmesii7 On that, we could not be in greater agreement.

[filthyswit]

@itslifeisall Even if it was mean in the literal sense, did Abraham REALLY have a choice? God telling you to do anything is like the Mafia giving you an offer you can't refuse.

[itslifeisall]

@filthyswit You do have a choice as to how you depict God in stories that are not literal accounts, and it is a reflection not of God, but of the image people have of God at a given point in time.

[ekc1473878]

JaneAlex09, The story of Abraham sacrificing his son has many meanings, but I think one problem readers have is that they examine the story with purely 21 century thought. In our time the ritualized sacrifice of humans is very uncommon even by the worst religious zealots. However In Abraham's time this was an extremely common practice. In fact, this story is surprising not because God asks for the sacrifice, but because God stops the sacrifice.

[JaneAlex09]

Father, yes Abraham, son and everyone else belongs to a higher purpose but I don't understand how that changes God's demand of wanting Abraham's son to be sacrificed. It doesn't matter whether or not God stopped him because Abraham did NOT know. God made Abraham suffer through the belief that he would have to kill his own son and for what? So that God could teach a lesson? The lesson of: its all for a higher purpose and it all belongs to me(God). I want to understand the story, what am i missing

[retsea1]

@JaneAlex09 Well, it has nothing to do with it's all for a greater purpose. It was to display his trust in God. Why? Because, ultimately, man has to notice and come to the conclusion that God would not ask us to do something evil. In the end, the boy was never in danger. So, in essence, he brought Abraham to a greater understanding of the grace and mercy of the God he served, thereby reinforcing his trust.

[aletheablack]

Father Barron -- I enjoyed this video, as I so often do. I'm a practicing Catholic who identifies more with the political left than the political right, and I am in favor of gay marriage. The phrase "Biblical family values" caught my eye because I've always remembered a remark I once heard: "Marriage in the Bible is between a man and two women, where one of the women has to go have her baby in the desert."

~Alethea Black

[Nemesis000000]

Seems like the family values hypocrites are even more hypocritical than I thought - they are just making stuff up when they claim its Biblical.

[DaveHof]

This is a tough one, Father. I've watched almost all your videos and they have not only been interesting and entertaining but have deepened my understanding of my Christian (but not Catholic) faith. But here - it is very difficult not to hear Jesus's response to his parents, who had been frantic for 3 days as you admit, as being smug and disrespectful - certainly not in keeping with the commandment to honor thy father and mother. Your explanation is intriguing, but contorts common sense.

[itslifeisall]

Anyone surprised by the story of Abraham and Issac do not know the "family values" of the bible very well. According to Deuteronomy 21:18-21, if Issac had been stubborn and rebellious, not obeying the voice of his father and mother, Abraham should have brought Issac to the city elders so they could stone this rebellious youth to death at the city gates for his transgressions. Now, there's some tough love for you.

[BloodSweatTiers]

@itslifeisall except that the Deuteronomy laws weren't around yet, there where no city elders

[itslifeisall]

@BloodSweatTiers True, and a good thing too. I imagine that after having had dad put the knife to his throat, little Issac may have gone through his teen years just a wee bit on the rebellious side.

[zztstenglish]

Even Confucius talks about the importance of family which is alien to western society

[zztstenglish]

Too bad family values don't mean much anymore in today's society with the advent of same sex marriage

[AgentDevlin]

Some parents send their children wrapped around explosives to sacrifice themselves for God. They claim its their children's mission and the ultimate purpose of God. I don't understand how the real God could ask nothing but love and life that's why he stopped Abraham's hand. God is not a God of sacrifice but of love.

[anilwang]

@mthouser123 Abraham must be seen in context. God promised that Isaac would have many offspring. Isaac's birth was impossible (90 yo women don't have babies). Isaac was a willing victim. They both trusted God, so they knew that Isaac would have to be resurrected to fulfill God's promise. Compare this to the movie Inception. Suppose someone proved that you that you were trapped in dream and told you the only way to rescue yourself and your family was to kill them and yourself. What would you do?

[mthouser123]

@anilwang Bad analogy. God supposedly told Abraham to kill his son. To me, that is immoral. I dont care even if ti is a God saying it.

[anilwang]

@mthouser123 It's a good analogy. In both cases, the individual is not harmed. In both cases, you have sufficient evidence that the individual is unharmed. In Abraham's case, even the victim believes that he will be unharmed. It's the same thing. It's about trust. Look at the Matrix. Neo was convinced that humanity was trapped in the Matrix and enslaved by machines. He trusted in the evidence given. Could he be wrong? What was in that "red pill"? What would you do in the Matrix/Inception cases?

[mthouser123]

@anilwang Well if your going to compare the bible to just hypothetical and fictional movie situations, thats fine with me. Because I think it is a fairy tale anyway.

[filthyswit]

@mthouser123 Not a fairy tale. Just misinterpreted and incomplete. Misinterpreted in the Zachariah Sitchen point of view. Incomplete because so many writings have been left out because they would be dangerous to the religion.

[CatandMaster]

@mthouser123 would be just as arrogant if I assumed I knew more about your atheism than you did. Sure I can know existentialist philosophies and the works of atheistic great thinkers but I don't know enough about you or other modern atheists to know how you perceive them. So if you would, please stop assuming that every Christian hasn't though deeply about the "silly" things about our religion.

[mthouser123]

@CatandMaster Sorry for the misunderstanding

[anilwang]

@CatandMaster, Why care for humanity? The more you love the Judea-Christian God, the more you care about humanity. Read all the Old/New Testament admonitions to care for the vulnerable. If you love God, you do what he says. Not all religions understand God the way. Many see God as a dictator that is obeyed because might makes right. Many see him as indifferent, so he was irrelevant except as an explanation. BTW, God is not "a sky man". He's the ground of all reality, so he can't be ignored.

[CatandMaster]

@anilwang Which was basically my point. I was trying to illustrate that a value like humanity is deeply related to spiritual issues and that we are not appeasing some mythic God making sacrifices because it is not that simple. I'm sorry I apparently wasn't clear enough.

[CarcharodonMeg]

Thumbs up for a video on the Rosary from Fr Barron!

[AdversusHaereses]

St Thomas teaches us that the main purpose of families is to fill heaven with saints.

[bitphr3ak]

@AdversusHaereses - and here I thought the purpose of families was to have a stable, cooperative environment within which parents can raise children to hopefully be stable and cooperative people.

When is the Pope going to declare my Catholic grandmother and grandfather as saints? After dealing with all of the children and grandchildren I'm pretty sure they deserve the recognition.

[mthouser123]

@wordonfirevideo (continued) You see, this is what religion does to people. It convinces them that there is some higher power and purpose to their life, and then they value that more than they do humanity and fellow human beings. For you to even call the story of Abraham and his son a moral thing is a testament to how immoral your religion is and what it has done to you. So I'm guessing that if God told you to kill someone, you would do it?

[thegorn68]

@mthouser123 Get lost troll!

[CatandMaster]

@mthouser123 Mmhm so if there is no "higher power" of "purpose" why should we care about "humanity?" The way you value it shows that perhaps you unwittingly believe in something others view as a part of the "Greater Good." or God. I have great respect for Father Barron's commentary but I still am not at the point where I can honestly say I believe that the Bible is all its supposed to be. Nonetheless (to me at least), the point is to look deeper. Don't search space for some man in the sky.

[CatandMaster]

@mthouser123 (Continued) Look inside yourself. Read between the lines. Take the time to ask "what would the significance be if I'm wrong?" I do that and it reaffirms my search for Truth and my appreciation for love. I'm getting a bit corny here. But seriously. The Bible is a collection of many books containing not simply "a demand of God" but history of the Isrealites and poetry. Do not condemn all those who are religious as blind worshippers of a magic book. Not all are like that.

[mthouser123]

@CatandMaster C'mon man don't be condescening. "Look inside yourself", isn't that another way of saying "don't be skeptical just try to accept it." And are you really going to use Pascal's Wager on me? What if your wrong and the Hindu or Muslim God is real?

[CatandMaster]

@mthouser123 No it's not. The first is meant to draw your attention to your deepest values. The second is to see why those are your deepest values. I'm not as well read as I would prefer on Hindu gods or Islam, but basically I really can't believe that good and evil is based on the games of the gods (Hindu) or that the all-powerful God would really require daily appeasement (Islam). You're getting hung up on small biblical details. It's not that they aren't important, but don't start there.

[mthouser123]

@CatandMaster HAHAHA... I really cant believe that the all-powerful God(Christianity) would require baptism, circumsicion, and all the other little things that go along with your religion. Its funny how you think everyone else is wrong and you believe in the one TRUE God. So arrogant and ignorant.

[CatandMaster]

@mthouser123 Arrogant and ignorant? Perhaps some think baptism, circumcision, the eucharist, etc are "tickets to heaven," but others (me as one of them) them as methods to appreciate or to feel they're working for God. You can agree or disagree but don't tell me what my own beliefs are. As far for calling me arrogant, ignorant, and condescending: I'm more than happy to engage in discussion, but I won't put up with petty attrition. If you have to say that to make yourself feel right, your loss.

[mthouser123]

@CatandMaster Believe me, I'm not insecure in my lack of belief that I feel the need to call other arrogant and ignorant in order to make myself feel better. I was calling you that because of your comment about Muslims. There are just as many, if not more whacky things in your religion.

[CatandMaster]

@mthouser123 Why didn't you cut to the chase and call me a bigot? I find the traditions of other cultures beautiful in their own right; but forgive me if I disagree that God would require such harsh customs for women or praying that many times a day as a "necessary act." As a Christian I believe everyone has access to God regardless their religion. Yes, we have our own traditions and rituals that might seem strange, but you need to stop thinking you know more about my spirituality than I do. It

[gambleor]

@mthouser123 It's not possible to value God and not value humanity.

[mthouser123]

@gambleor Really? Thats a bold assertion. Can you back it up? Now I think that the story is fiction anyway, but according to your religion, God wanted a human sacrifice. And Abraham was willing to do it. Seems to me that he valued God more than he did his own son. So would you kill your son if God told you to?

[gambleor]

@mthouser123 Read Matt 25. The fact that Abraham was stopped from completing the sacrifice was a polemic against the practice of human sacrifices taking place in the surrounding nations. If I were to kill my own son, according to the tenets of the faith, it would be the same as murdering God Himself. This relationship is intertwined. You cannot love God and hate man. It's impossible.

[mthouser123]

@gambleor It doesn't matter that God stopped the sacrifice, He told Abraham to do it and Abraham was going to. What if God didnt stop him? I'm not going to read Matt 25, the bible holds no weight with me. Why do you believe the bible?

[gambleor]

@mthouser123 I'm not sure I understand. You asked me how I can back up my assertion and I provided you with the text that backs it up. Now you're refusing to read it because the bible holds no weight with you, but in retaliation, you're going to cite a story from the bible to show me what? Your hypothetical situation where God doesn't stop Abraham is irrelevant. God DID stop Abraham and it was a sign to all nations around that human sacrifice if not desired by God.

[mthouser123]

@wordonfirevideo You've got to be kidding me, good family values?? You mean like stoning unruly children and wives being submissive to their husbands?

[1966JohnE]

Other times God does not "repent" of the planned destruction -- the flood, placing rival tribes under the ban, etc. I can understand if God does it, after all he is the Lord of life and he can do as he pleases, especially with fallen men, which is all of us -- physical death does not necessarily mean eternal hell. However, what about when he calls others, especially his own chosen people, to kill? Why is that ok?

[1966JohnE]

Thanks for this reality check. It is very tempting to live my own hopes and aspirations out through my sons. Rather, we must help them to discern what God is calling them to, which could be far different than my own inferior hopes.

[BalladoftheWindfish]

Soooooooooo much to be said about the family in the Bible, in Christianity, in Catholicism. 8 mins is nowhere near enough, huh, Father?

[TheFaithHunter]

Do you think children can be closer to God than adults?

[GenghisKhan44]

@TheFaithHunter So much closer.