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Originally Posted by lagtight
Why do you think that that instruction was ongoing?
It contains nothing that would make me think otherwise AND there's no reason why that proscription would become redundant.. There were non-believers then, there still are.
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Originally Posted by lagtight
Yes.
You actually think there was a global flood, with water 'as high as the highest mountain' that lasted for roughly a year? That one family survived it and had a boat with two of every animal species on it? I'd like to confirm some specifics here.
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Originally Posted by lagtight
I agree that God doesn't need to do the things that He does, but if it pleases Him to do something, can He not choose to do it?
No. If he is a perfect being he can do no other than what is perfect. He could not do something that is less than perfect. (For the sake of transparency, that's my current position but I'm reading about Divine Freedom so may learn something that changes that)
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Originally Posted by lagtight
Good question. I have no idea why God does what He chooses to do. In the Bible, God occasionally tells us why he did something, but that it not typical.
This is what I call the 'mysterious ways' defence, it is highly unsatisfactory and says more about what you want to believe than what you can justify believing.
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Originally Posted by lagtight
So, your argument basically is, "Since I don't understand God's behavior, He doesn't exist?"
Nope, it's 'the simplest explanation for all the mysterious and inexplicable things that god does, or doesn't do, is that there is no god'. (Applies to every god mankind has ever believed in, not just yours)
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Originally Posted by lagtight
So say you. What's your argument?
It contains claims that are worthy of ridicule, such as the flood story.
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Originally Posted by lagtight
. Much of the OT is indeed hard to explain. Nothing God says or does requires defending.
There are parts of both testaments that "literal", and parts that are "allegorical." The Bible contains many genres of literature, and a proper understanding of any passage would require one to, among other things, identify the genre.
Ah, now you have serious maneuvering room here, anything patently ridiculous is simply allegorical (garden of Eden etc) and anything you think you can defend isn't.