Pharaoh’s Egyptians Are the Borg! (Further Response to Ed)

This is a continuation of my previous posts involving a discussion I am having with my friend Edward Oleander and his charge against God that God is arrogant. In this post I will try and limit myself to address one of Ed's points – that it was unfair of God to punish all of Egypt for the crimes of a few, when God sent the 10^th Plague which killed all of the firstborn in Egypt. In this post I will try and show that all of the adults in Egypt were guilty before God and each deserved God's ultimate punishment in this world – death; and that this punishment was rightly passed onto their children. So let's get started -

 

Ed has boldly proclaimed that the taking of a child's life is always evil. During the time of Moses, Pharaoh ordered the Egyptians to murder all of the Hebrew sons born in Egypt (Exodus 1:16). This continued for 80 years. And so, it is Egypt's leader, Pharaoh who chose what God's final plague would be – the slaying of the innocent firstborn children in Egypt. Because Pharaoh ordered the slaughter of Israel's sons, there is some sense that God issued judgment against Egypt for taking the lives of Israel children. Initially it is by your own words Ed, that you have judged Egypt's action of murdering Israel's newborn sons as an evil act. But let me flesh out a little more of why the entire nation of Egypt suffered the loss of their firstborn.

1). Rescue vs. Murder. When I read the story of the Exodus, I see God rescuing a helpless group of people, while you see only God murdering Egypt's children. While this difference is interesting to explore, let me instead look at your claim that only "some" in Egypt were guilty but that all of Egypt was punished, and that this was unfair. Here are a few reasons why the Bible shows that all of Egypt was guilty before God and deserved God's full wrath upon the entire nation:

- Israel practiced its worship of YAHWEH for many generations while Egypt continued to worship the pantheon of gods led by Ra, the Sun god. Egypt saw the True God and failed to accept Him, and reject its false gods, though the evidence was right in front of it;

- Egypt brutally placed Israel in slavery for 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41), and treated them unconscionably. By the time of the Exodus it is estimated that there were over 2 million Jews in Egypt, and for this it would take the entire nation to support this enslavement;

- YAHWEH reached out to Egypt to repent, which they refused. He sent one of the Greatest Old Testament Prophets to Egypt to cause them to repent, and also to release the people of Israel. YAHWEH sent amazing miracles, signs and wonders to do this (I will address your laughable claim that these were only mundane miracles later in this post). And the entire nation of Egypt rejected Moses and did not repent;

- Egypt as an entire nation did release the Hebrew slaves after the 10^th Plague (death of the firstborn). See, Exodus 12:33. Egypt rightfully feared for their own lives because they understood two things AFTER the 10^th Plague: that YAHWEH, the God of Israel was the true God of the universe, and that the Egyptian gods were powerless before YAHWEH, and the Egyptian pantheon were only false idols; further, they understood they were guilty before YAHWEH for their shameless treatment of God's Chosen People, Israel, and for their rejection of YAHWEH's warnings.

- Finally, note that it was the people who sent Israel out of Egypt, and I see no evidence of Pharaoh issuing any official Government order to release the Jewish slaves. Instead, the grief stricken Pharaoh only spoke to Moses and his brother Aaron that the slaves were set free in Exodus 12:31-32. And so, it was the entire nation of Egypt that were responsible for setting free the millions of Jewish slaves.

Thus, because the entire nation of Egypt supported the slavery of Israel, treated them barbarically, murdered their children (again for this alone you consider Egypt evil because of what they did), and worshipped false Egyptian gods, though YAHWEH used a Great Prophet Moses for their nation to repent, and so the nation was properly judged and were guilty before a righteous God. All of Egypt was wicked. Therefore, it is the entire nation of Egypt that was guilty before YAHWEH, judged by both God and Ed as evil, and they deserved the most extreme punishment possible – their own death. This is in line with teachings in the New Testament that all people are born wicked (Romans 5:23), and that we have earned death because of our wickedness (Romans 6:23).

2). Spiritual Warfare. I wanted to briefly touch on the important part of the 10 Plagues which you thought might be understood as only coming from "natural" causes by the Egyptians. Let me show that the Egyptians could only understand the setting free the Hebrew slaves and the 10 Plagues was nothing short of a Battle between YAHWEH and the Egyptian gods. I hope you have read the Book of Exodus, it is an exciting read. If you had, you may have wondered why there were unusual Plagues like sending frogs were sent. Far from being mundane miracles, these Plagues represented a clear Declaration of War by YAHWEH against the false gods of Egypt. Here are a couple of quick examples:

- The Second Plague: YAHWEH sends frogs to cover the land of Egypt. The message while a little fuzzy to 21^st Century American readers, it was absolutely clear to the Egyptians. Frogs represented the primordial god Heket in Egyptian religious life. Instead of the Egyptian god Heket controlling its own frogs, YAHWEH showed His Judgment and power by making the 'Divine' River Nile being the source of anguish and misery to the Egyptians. So the Egyptians understood this amazing miraculous Sign of Judgment by using Heket's own creatures – frogs.

- The 9^th Plague: YAHWEH sends three days of Darkness. You may remember the Egyptian Sun god is Ra. The Egyptians believed the sunrise to be Ra's defeat of the Serpent of the Night, the hostile foe of chaos and darkness. And again this was no mundane miracle that could have been caused by natural forces as you've claimed. This was a darkness that only the supernatural God of Creation could create. It was not only a "thick" darkness, it was so unusual that only the Jews could have light from fires in their homes. The Egyptians could not even see one another, and so none left their homes for three days (Exodus 10:23). This wasn't a cloudy day. It was YAHWEH impressing upon the Egyptians that their Sun god Ra was impotent compared to the Sovereign Lord of the Universe.

The other Plagues are likewise Judgment upon the other gods in the Pantheon of the Egyptians. No one in Egypt would have mistaken these Divine Pronouncements as anything that could have occurred by natural means.

 

3). What is Love? Finally, I wanted to raise one brief comment about the nature of love. When you married Mel, you made a vow before God and a few other people (yes, I'm with Dino on this one. I'm still bitter over not being invited to your wedding <G>). Part of this vow was to devote yourself physically and emotionally to only your wife. You may have other women friends that you enjoy spending time with. You may think other women are attractive. Yet your wife holds a special place in your heart that no one else can hold.

So would it be unloving of you to fail to be intimate with other women? Of course not! This is because of the bond that your marriage has created between you and your wife. What I'm trying to show here is that when someone loves another, there are actions and choices made that include this other that you love. There may be times that in order to save one you love, that may have to defend against and even hurt another. In the case of Israel and Egypt, YAHWEH had intimate love with Israel, while having a lesser love of the people of Egypt (see, Exodus 11:7). What I am trying to draw out here is that Egypt did not have any sort of relationship with YAHWEH. While Israel had received promises and Covenants from YAHWEH, many of which would be fulfilled by Israel's freedom from slavery through the Exodus, and setting up their nation in the Promised Land.

And ultimately, I don't believe Egypt would have freed the Hebrew slaves without YAHWEH sending the 10^th Plague, taking the firstborn's lives. One final point is that God still loved Egypt enough to show them His Divine power, so that one day Egypt could better understand and have relationship with YAHWEH through His only Son Jesus Christ.

 

Questions – You said God could have done something other than slaying Egypt's firstborn. My initial thought is how difficult it was for America to end slavery, and how much more so for a country living 3,400 years ago. Please tell us what other options God could have done, but keep these option within two limitations: If you are limited by freewill, and making sure that the report of YAHWEH's defeat of the Egyptian gods is reported to the rest of the world, what else do you think God could have done?

 

SECOND QUESTION: You mentioned that it would be much easier for people if God led us by example. Ed, what do you think of the example set by Jesus?

Are you ready to try tackling the Questions I initially asked about the Parable of the Prodigal Son? Thanks again for your thoughtful comments and energy that put into our discussion.

Let me leave this post with quoting Psalm 58:10-11

The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged.

They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

Then at last everyone will say, 'There truly is a reward for those who live for God;

Surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.'

Response to Edward Oleander – Is God Arrogant?

Topic #1 – Is God arrogant? Edward Oleander's first charge against God is that God is arrogant, and for this Ed believes God needs to repent. God is the Creator, and Ed believes that because God has created mankind and places demands on people that they could never meet. Further, Ed claims that though God created the universe, He treats it as a toy and does things despite the heavy toll it takes on human beings. Ed has helped us in understanding what he is trying to say by pointing to two examples where Ed believes God acts in an arrogant way: the killing of the firstborn in Egypt, and Noah's flood which destroyed everyone and everything except those on Noah's ark.

Your question raises the important topic of Theology (the study of God and God's relationship to the world). Who is God and why has He done the things that are reported about Him in the Bible? You have hit on the central reason why there are false charges made against God – it is because of a false understanding of God, and an inadequate understanding of God's Word. If God truly was arrogant, cruel, and selfish, as you described in your Comment, who would want to worship Him?

So here is what I want to do in this post – I want to provide us with a better understanding of how the Bible describes God and His actions, and see if this provides a better explanation of why God chose to kill Egypt's firstborn, and also to see why the flood described in the story of Noah and the Ark was sent. My hope is that we can take a fair look at the Scriptures and agree that God is not arrogant, and instead is better described as loving, long-suffering and just.

1. The first issue raised by your charge that God is arrogant is did God really do these things? Your Comment assumed (rightfully so, I think) that God was responsible for the death of Egypt's firstborn as described in the Book of Exodus, and also the Flood during Noah's time. Although for these two events it is clear that God is responsible for what was done, there may be other times (for example, the tragic loss of life during the Holocaust) when there may be a genuine issue of whether God is directly responsible for what was done. I am only raising this issue now (no response is necessary), as it may come up later. But for now, I believe we both agree that God is sovereign (see, Job 37:5-6, Daniel 4:35, with lots of other places in the Bible like Psalm 66:7) and directly caused both the flood and the plague of the death of Egypt's firstborn.
   
2. A major theme of your attacks against God is the death of infants, primarily I assume because infants are innocent. Infants and the young have not made wrong choices, they are not old enough for taking responsibility of their actions, and probably you agree that everyone loves babies and infants, and hates even the thought of their death or suffering.
   

So let's start with the sending of the 10^th plague to Egypt, the taking of the firstborn in Egypt. Although my normal tack is to explain the issue of God's just punishment of Egypt through this example, let me instead try to show you that God showed His love through this loss of life. God's Word says that God is love (1 John 4:8). This does not mean that God is just loving in His actions. Instead, God's nature is love. What God does is always loving.

And so, am I off my rocker in saying that the taking of Egypt's firstborn lives is a loving action? I don't think I am, but I'll leave that up to you. Remember how horrible Egypt was in their treatment of the Jewish slaves they had. Here are a few of the verses describing the brutal way the Egyptians treated their Hebrew slaves:

1. Exodus 1:11-14, Egyptian Merciless Treatment of the Jewish Slaves - So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. ¹² But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. ¹³ So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. ¹⁴ They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.
   

 

1. Exodus 1:15-16, Murder Ordered of the Jewish Baby Boys - Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: ¹⁶ "When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live."
   

 

1. Exodus 5, Israelites Beg Pharaoh for Mercy, Who Inflicts Even Greater Work - So the Israelite foremen went to Pharaoh and pleaded with him. "Please don't treat your servants like this," they begged. ¹⁶ "We are given no straw, but the slave drivers still demand, 'Make bricks!' We are being beaten, but it isn't our fault! Your own people are to blame!" ¹⁷ But Pharaoh shouted, "You're just lazy! Lazy! That's why you're saying, 'Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.' ¹⁸ Now get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still produce the full quota of bricks."
   

 

1. Exodus 3:7-8a, God Hears the Cries of the People of Israel - Then the Lord told him, "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land.
   

Thus, the children of Israel were brutally treated by their Egyptian masters, their babies were murdered, and they begged for mercy. And none was given. And so, God sent a Prophet to the Egyptians to let them know that the God of Israel was the true God, and that the Egyptian gods were mere idols. And Israel's God showed His love for the people of Israel by helping them be freed from their slavery. Yes, it is love that is the most important thing revealed by God through this story – His love for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Therefore, God's love is shown by protecting the people of Israel from brutal treatment, and providing them with their freedom.

 

1. God's Justice. I'm not going to forget about the key aspect in the Exodus story of God's Justice and rightful punishment of oppressors. Remember, Egypt had taken advantage of the Israelites, made them their slaves, and treated them monstrously. God had sent His Prophet Moses to proclaim God's Word to Egypt 'Let My people go'. And Pharaoh and the Egyptians rejected God's call and warning. (See, Exodus 11). But even though 9 prior plagues were sent by God to Egypt, and despite Moses' warning of the final plague, the Pharaoh would not relent and free the children of Israel, God's people. And so, God rightly brought judgment upon Egypt and Pharaoh. But the key here is that God did send a Prophet to warn them. God sent plagues to show His displeasure for the barbaric treatment of the Israelites. And God provided a final warning before He sent the final plague, the death of the first-born, with this warning being rejected. Now not only Egypt, but the entire world now knew that the One true God, was the God of Israel. Further, God from this time on was well known for what He did that night in Egypt. And the Jews continue their remembrance of this night through their celebration of the Passover when God protected Israel and issued rightful Judgment upon Egypt.
   

The one thing that I don't think that you understand about God which is revealed by your Comment that God is arrogant is that there is Justice in God's Order. People must pay for selfish behavior they commit while on Earth. Can you imagine a world where there are no consequences for what they do? Sometimes, the punishment is meted out in this life. But God also promises there is a punishment after death, where all of one's sins are reviewed by Jesus Himself on Judgment Day (Matthew 25:31-:46). So most importantly, we know that Divine Justice will be given to all for what was done during their life. And there is only one chance: For it is appointed unto man to die once and after this to face Judgment. (Hebrews 9:27).

1. This leads me to now discuss your second charge of God's arrogance the flood and God's protection of Noah, his family, and the animals that entered the Ark two-by-two. Again, I want to make sure that you have a better understanding of the context of what was taking place in the world before God sent His flood. Here is what God's Word says about the times that Noah and his family were living in:
   

 

1. Genesis 6:5-6 - The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. ⁶ So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.
   

This section of Genesis shows the total depravity of humanity at this time in history. Everything people thought or imagined was evil. It is hard to conceive of what a wholly wicked society would look like, but we have a little glimpse of this through the actions of Nazi Germany in World War II. Millions of people starved, raped, experimented on, and then killed with poisonous gas. Mass graves. People shaved for their hair so the Germans could use it. Tattooed like a brand on cattle. And everything the Jews owned was stolen from them as if they were not even human. And the Germans all followed orders while the monstrous atrocities were taking place around them. And the world during Noah's time was somehow even worse than this.

Yet again we see God's love through even these times. God created people in His image so He could have a relationship with us, and that they could act in a way of community with each other, and have fellowship with God through eternity. Instead, people during the Days of Noah were completely evil – this means that they spent their days consumed with their own malevolent thoughts, hurting each other, and gratifying their selfish desires of lust and greed. It is a good thing God put an end to this. So what is the most loving thing God could do in this sort of world? Let them continue hurting and terrorizing each other. The strong bullying the weak. The weak plotting ways of revenge. A world in flames of evil and wickedness. Isn't starting over and helping the world by establishing a nation that which will ultimately provide the Messiah, God's own example of His love for all of the nations? A nation from where God's own Son will come, to teach, to be an example, and to be a sacrifice for those who will accept it?

1. What is God Really Like? The Story of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15.11-32 – I recently accidentally let one of our family's favorite cats Oliver out of the house. Oliver was especially Peggy's favorite cat. And when she learned he was out, she spent days looking for him, notifying all of the Humane Societies in the area of what he looked like. She drove around the area and put up over 100 flyers of our lost cat. We previously have lost two cats who when they ran away from home were run over in the street. And so, Peggy and the kids spent hours each day to try and find this lovable cat, Oliver.
   

Then we got the word that there was a cat matching the description of Oliver lying dead on a snow bank at County Road 42 and County Road 11 in Burnsville. We looked, Peggy much more than the rest of us, but we couldn't find him. One of Peggy's friends was found diving in a garbage dumpster by the police, seeing if the cat's body was thrown away like rubbish. Through all of this searching we were unable to find him. But the next day we received some hopeful news: Burnsville's Animal Control had recently picked up a cat in the area we were searching, and it wasn't Oliver. Perhaps he was still alive!

Five days passed. We knew the odds were slim that he was alive unless he was taken in by a kind stranger. But to make a long story short, Tuesday night my son Elijah was outside and there at the bottom of the driveway was our Prodigal cat, Oliver. He was a bit ragged and he had lost a lot of weight. But he was home, praise God! Our family was so happy to see him, and I don't think Peggy has put him down since his return. Last night it was very cute – Oliver laid next to Peggy's head on her pillow for most of the entire night's sleep. The two are no closer than ever.

Why do I bring this story up? First, I know that you are a cat owner/lover, and you can empathize with the loss of our cat. But I ask that you read the story of the Prodigal son, which Jesus used to describe God's love for those who will return to Him. Please read Luke 15:11-32, and would you then answer the following questions that I borrowed from my Community Bible Study lesson:

1. Describe the younger son.
   
2. Considering that the father most likely knows his son's character and lifestyle, why does he honor his son's request to be given his inheritance immediately?
   
3. Why does God allow us this same kind of freedom?
   
4. How does Jesus describe the younger son's change of heart?
   
5. What does Luke 15:20 tell us about the father?
   
6. What does the father's response to his son reveal about God's attitude toward you?
   
7. In a separate Comment, let me know your thoughts about the rest of this post. If you have a lot to say and there are natural breaks, would you mind please breaking up your writing into separate Comments.
   

 

Thank you Ed for the examples you provided, for your thoughts and the time it takes for preparing your response. And it would be great if there is anyone else out there to join in with their thoughts and ideas. Thanks and may God bless you with peace and a greater knowledge of God this week.

Response to Edward Oleander;

My friend, Ed;

 

Allow this post to serve as my initial response to your comment made this past December 26th when you stated:

"To whom does God confess His sins? Where does He seek redemption? … When will He ever live up to the demands he places on us?" (Edward Oleander, Comment on the Wolff Blog).

 

Let me say that I do understand your frustration with those people like me who can so confidently say that there is a God, when tragedies like starvation, malnutrition and disease are so common. I believe it is author Fyodor Dostoyevsky ('Crime and Punishment' and 'The Brothers Karamazov')who being a believer still said the "death of a single infant calls into question the existence of God." Yet I see something as natural as the birth of a child as something so amazing, as to call into question a god-less world. You may know that Peggy and I were not able for a long time to have to children. We suffered through many miscarriages, and yes, I purposely said "we". It seemed that by the natural world for whatever reason, Peggy and I were unable to have children. During this time of our marriage, I went through many questions about God as I read the Bible: How could God not let Peggy have children (she was someone who knew that she had to be in a marriage with children)? Was I doing something in my life where God was teaching me through the miscarriages (it was this point in my life that I started my battle with pornography)? And through this dark time in our lives, it drove me to the Bible and prayer, yet we still didn't have children. So I remember what life's tragedies can do to raise questions about God.

But I don't think your statement is raised as an honest attempt to ask questions in an effort to find out more about the nature of God and God's Creation, or the nature of our universe. I thought I would start by using our gaming experience that we have together, and try and show how you have entered new and much more chilling territory with what you have just said. When we game together we push to get more experience, and thereby have tougher characters. This allows us to become more independent, and have a greater impact on the fantasy world that we game together in. From my past history in both being agnostic about God for a large period of my life, and from the time I have spent talking about Jesus with people (like you) who have rejected the necessity of Jesus, let me ask you to consider there being three (3) levels of Atheism:

 

1. Self-Centered. This is the opening position where most people live. This is where I was when we first started gaming together. You remember, don't you? We loved making schemes to make our characters tougher, yet hurt the other characters, making the others weaker. I was called "Mr. Instigator", because I did things like make a comment that I knew would enrage Dino or Mike, even causing physical fights in your parents' home kitchen. I enjoyed causing trouble, and the conflict that it caused with others. At this level, God is irrelevant and instead the person's individual desires and drives are what life is built upon;
   
2. Self Righteous. The next higher level is for those who are religion teachers and intellectuals. This is the group that Jesus was most likely to become angry against, as shown in the Gospels. Let me describe it through the religious group during 1^st century Israel known as 'Pharisees'. The Pharisees were known to be scrupulously religious. And they did things like tithe to God, they did not do work on the Sabbath, and they followed many extra-Biblical religious rituals.
   

   So why did Jesus pick on this group of especially observant Jews to vent His wrath? He called them such names as "unmarked graves" (which make people "unclean" if they go near- Luke 11:44), hypocrites (Matt.23:13-19), and even that they were blind (Matt. 15:12-14). But the worst insult Jesus hurled at the Pharisees is that they were vipers (Matt. 12:34; meaning that they were small snakes, like their spiritual father Satan, the Serpent), and along the same line, they were children of Satan (John 8:44). So why was Jesus so vehement against those who kept the Jewish tradition, and observed the Jewish Laws with single-minded focus?
   

   My take on this question is that there were two things that made Jesus so angry with the Pharisees: First, they clearly were hypocrites. The Pharisees had an outward appearance of being religious and upright members of society. But as Jesus said, they were like clean cups looking clean on the outside but inside the Pharisees' cup is filled with greed and envy (Luke 11:39-40). While everyone is to some extent a hypocrite (who would like a video tape of their past week's worst moments shown on CNN?), the Pharisees drew such harsh criticism because they thought they were sooooo good and nice. They thought they were living the lives God wanted them to. Yet they forgot the weightier matters of justice for the poor, and mercy to all. And so, it is the Pharisees that the great Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) is directed against. To all who are reading this post is there anyone who could make a charge against you where you have failed to show kindness or mercy to them, and as a result they were hurt? Other people being hurt by a person's action or inaction is what made Jesus so angry against the Pharisees, and is why God sent the world His Son, as the world's Savior.
   

   The second reason why I think Jesus was especially sharp with the Pharisees is because of God's great love of the Jews, God's chosen people. Because the Pharisees were the leaders and teachers of God's Law to the Jews, they had a special responsibility to faithfully act in their office as priests and teachers. Instead of faithfully teaching the people in Israel though, the Pharisees instead were more concerned with receiving recognition from other people, and with rules, instead of directing the Jewish people to faith in God. And so, we see from Jesus' attacks the Pharisees an important principle: Don't mess with God's chosen people;
   

   OK, let me add one more reason why Jesus attacked the Pharisees – because they rejected God's own Son, and what He taught. Anyone who rejects Jesus' words and teachings is considered wicked by God. (Matt. 12:45 and 16:4). And if someone rejects Jesus, then they have likewise rejected God (John 14:9).
   

3. The Angry Atheist. This is a growing field as shown by the popularity of such books written by super-evolutionist Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, Sam Harris' The End of Faith, and Christopher Hitchens' God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. The tone of this new atheist is different from previous non-believers in one important way – they seek to spread their views. In other words, they are evangelists (so to speak) of their new Atheism, and they think that by spreading their ideas they will somehow help the world. They are angry at God, and at the people who follow God, and they want the world to know about it. This is where you your most recent comment about God having sinned has now placed you. Congratulations, you have reached a new "level" of blasphemy against God. This is not an achievement that anyone should desire.
   

   Now, I know you well you enough that you may have just been posturing. Perhaps you were trying to 'instigate' a reaction, throwing a hand grenade on my blog to provoke a response. Remember though every day you are making a choice – every day you choose to speak to the unseen God through prayer. Every day you could read the New Testament Gospels, and see for yourself what is really said about Jesus. And after all of your days are completed, then you have to die. Your life is ultimately a ballot for God or against God. And with your lips and writings you are revealing how your ballot is being cast. I hope you feel that you are open-minded enough to be persuaded of truth if it is shown to you.
   

Before you write a lengthy volume on your thoughts that are raised by this post, I hope you will take a moment and first answer these questions. Don't worry; I will give you ample opportunity to full express your opinions. But let's start if you will with direct responses to some questions I have for you. This is only the first of several posts I hope to write to you on this topic. So if you would please briefly answer the following questions -

Questions for Edward Oleander:

1. Do you want there to be a God?
   
2. Do you feel that you could be judged by God and justly punished for what you have done and left undone in this life, if you were to appear before God on Judgment Day?
   
3. What's your definition of an 'atheist'?
   
4. Did you try another god?
   
5. If there is a 'God', how would God's personality and characteristics be different than that of Jesus?
   

Thanks for your Comments and ideas that you provide when you visit my blog. May God bless you with a more clear understanding of His nature, and of your nature. In Jesus' name, Amen.