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chavos · 08-13-2003, 08:26 PM

1. According to the text, is God really asking it of Abraham? There are many indications that everyone involved has every reason to believe that that's not true. See my post above.

2. Are you reading this with modern eyes, or ancient ones? Children were routinely sacrificed to the gods in caananite religious practice...YHWH uses this test to explicitly tell everyone that that is something repugnant, and that it will not be worship that YHWH will accept. To you, it's an out of the blue request that smacks of brutality....to God, its a teachable moment in which God leads the people away from infantcide. Maybe Abraham agreed all too easily...that may well be the point. YHWH uses Abrahams expectations to subvert the normal perception of what it means to be faithful to a god, and reveals the mercy and humanity that God expects of those who are faithful.

08-13-2003, 08:26 PM	#10 (permalink)
chavos Banned Location: St. Paul, MN	1. According to the text, is God really asking it of Abraham? There are many indications that everyone involved has every reason to believe that that's not true. See my post above. 2. Are you reading this with modern eyes, or ancient ones? Children were routinely sacrificed to the gods in caananite religious practice...YHWH uses this test to explicitly tell everyone that that is something repugnant, and that it will not be worship that YHWH will accept. To you, it's an out of the blue request that smacks of brutality....to God, its a teachable moment in which God leads the people away from infantcide. Maybe Abraham agreed all too easily...that may well be the point. YHWH uses Abrahams expectations to subvert the normal perception of what it means to be faithful to a god, and reveals the mercy and humanity that God expects of those who are faithful. Last edited by chavos; 08-13-2003 at 10:28 PM..