Old Testament Troubles, Part 1 of 4, Why did Jesus have to Die, and how it Relates to the OT

Important: How to Get Saved
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH14qHTFB94

Many people have argued that certain parts of the Bible appear to be morally backward, and therefore the Bible must have been written by primitive men and not God. However, this caused by a lack of Bible understanding. Whenever one comes to a difficulty in the Bible, they can either just assume it doesn't make sense because it's nonsensical, or they can actually research, and find out why it is the way it is. It is much more logical to look for the reasons behind the stories (because there are some good one) than to just run from Christ, who was willing to die on a cross from you.

Here are some very good sites for Bible research...

gotquestions.org
carm.org
rationalchristianity.net
tektonics.org

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[ggcage]

@bryan23271

Part 2

I guess what I'm saying is that if we refuse to change our sinful natures then that makes us guilty. God has offered us salvation from sin through Jesus, and if we refuse that salvation that only makes us more guilty of sin. Just like if the rapist were offered help beforehand and then committed rape, that would only add to his guilt. Christ's sacrifice was the greatest gift ever, and it would be a great tragedy if it were wasted.

[ggcage]

@bryan23271 You can say that evil character and sinful nature are the same. I avoided the latter term because I was trying to give a secular example. Suppose the person will not change his ways. You can't help somebody who will not help themselves. You can offer them help but if they refuse it, there's not much you can do. This is the case with the unrepentant sinner. Even though God has offered His only Son, a person cannot be saved if he doesn't accept Christ and desire to change his ways.

[bryan23271]

@ggcage Need a little clarification. Are we equating evil character with sinful nature? Also, why would they be shunned? Why not help that person change their ways?

[ggcage]

@bryan23271

Part II

For example, technically a person isn't a rapist unless they have actually commtted rape. However, if somebody had an evil character and would rape if they knew they could get away with it, and everybody in society knew it, then that that person would be shunned from society as if they were a rapist. So in a sense, a person can be guilty of having an evil character without actually being guilty of a crime.

[ggcage]

@bryan23271

Part I

I see, but it boils down to what "guilty" means. Is somebody guilty because they have committed acts in the past, or is it because of their evil character. One might argue that there are two forms of guilt.

[bryan23271]

@ggcage That's a really weird way of looking at it, but ok. Let's say your right. Even if it's all the same to him, it's not to us and he would know that. If I knew someone was going to kill someone no matter what, should I make them a killer or should I give them the choice of being a killer? If God knows we are going to sin no matter what, should he make us sinners or should he give us the choice of being sinners? Even if the end result is the same, we would at least have a choice.

[ggcage]

@bryan23271

Part 3 of 3

So in a sense, the book has always existed from God's perspective. Because, from God's perspective, the book is about to written, is being written, and has been written all at the same time. The past, present, and future are all the same to God.

[ggcage]

@bryan23271

Part 2 of 3

The book analogy is not perfect. It illustrates how God is outside our perception of time, but that doesn't necessarily mean that He is in another perception like ours. For God, everything is in the present. If God were flip a coin that was outside of the book, then the coin would be about to be flipped, it would be flipping in mid-air, and would have already been flipped all at the same time.

[ggcage]

@bryan23271

Part 1 of 3

That's true. God has always been all powerful and all knowing. But, if God for some reason had not wanted to be all knowing, then He could have not been. It's not that one day God decided to know everything, it's that God has always willed to know everything; and thus has known everything.

[bryan23271]

@ggcage So you're saying god had the power to make himself omniscient and then willed that he be omniscient. So he hasn't always been all knowing but he is now. Of course, being all knowing is a power, so he wasn't always all powerful either but he is now. I think it would be easier to just say that god has always been all powerful and all knowing and of course god is unchanging so he would have to have always had those traits.