Tower of Babel = God hates us
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2007 2:44 pm
I've been debating this guy, and he got me thinking about this. Basically, he says that the language-scrambling that went on in the Tower of Babel thing proves that God is either malevolent or frightened of humanity.
Anway, look. First quote is me, the following is the guy I'm debating. Help plz k thx.
So that's out.
Further, by that point, the prerequisites had not been established. God had earlier stated that no humans will thenceforth be allowed into Heaven (though apparently he meant to say "No humans, except for Enoch"), but this was before the covenant with Abraham.
So presumably, at this point, humans were let in on a "I like you" basis by God, and remember that God is at this point still a very violent deity, if Exodus and Kings is anything to go by. Can you really blame them by wanting to get in themselves, then? Should God?
More to the point, there is nothing here to suggest that God saw pride, and precious little to say that humans were prideful themselves. The builder's quote is "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
The goal of the builder is, very clearly, to unite humanity, and not have humanity be scattered across the whole of the planet. The tower of Babel seems like little more than an extravagence, something to differentiate the city from the other cities of the world, similar to how "Statue of Liberty," "Leaning Tower," and "Pyramids" conjure images of the cities of New York, Piza, and Cairo, respectively.
God then says, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them."
This does not suggest in any way that God thinks we are being prideful. If anything, it suggests amazement and wonder. God is impressed, not angered or saddened or anything so negative.
So then he decides to scatter us, for no reason.
Why would a God, who has just been impressed with us, decide to scatter us? The only realistic answers to this is either fear or maliciousness. Or, perhaps, a bit of pride on his own part. Humanity, in any event, is cramping his style. "nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them," says God. If God, a being of infinite power, is saying that humanity can do anything, then I'm thinking we were posing a considerable threat to his "Lord of All Cosmos" schtick.
You could argue that God wanted to "test" us, but this simply cannot be the case. The point of testing is to find out what one doesn't know, and God knows everything.
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Anway, look. First quote is me, the following is the guy I'm debating. Help plz k thx.
The Hebrew word used here is in fact shamayim, which, while often rendered "Heaven" is better translated as "the heavens" or "the skies" (shamayim is also used in Genesis 1:1. The most literal translation of that line, while still being sensible, is "In the beginning, the gods created the skies and the deep").Or it could be God saw humankind was becoming too prideful. Look at how the metaphorical builders spoke. They wanted to build a tower to heaven, or to go into God's realm without filling out hte prerequisites.
So that's out.
Further, by that point, the prerequisites had not been established. God had earlier stated that no humans will thenceforth be allowed into Heaven (though apparently he meant to say "No humans, except for Enoch"), but this was before the covenant with Abraham.
So presumably, at this point, humans were let in on a "I like you" basis by God, and remember that God is at this point still a very violent deity, if Exodus and Kings is anything to go by. Can you really blame them by wanting to get in themselves, then? Should God?
More to the point, there is nothing here to suggest that God saw pride, and precious little to say that humans were prideful themselves. The builder's quote is "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
The goal of the builder is, very clearly, to unite humanity, and not have humanity be scattered across the whole of the planet. The tower of Babel seems like little more than an extravagence, something to differentiate the city from the other cities of the world, similar to how "Statue of Liberty," "Leaning Tower," and "Pyramids" conjure images of the cities of New York, Piza, and Cairo, respectively.
God then says, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them."
This does not suggest in any way that God thinks we are being prideful. If anything, it suggests amazement and wonder. God is impressed, not angered or saddened or anything so negative.
So then he decides to scatter us, for no reason.
Why would a God, who has just been impressed with us, decide to scatter us? The only realistic answers to this is either fear or maliciousness. Or, perhaps, a bit of pride on his own part. Humanity, in any event, is cramping his style. "nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them," says God. If God, a being of infinite power, is saying that humanity can do anything, then I'm thinking we were posing a considerable threat to his "Lord of All Cosmos" schtick.
You could argue that God wanted to "test" us, but this simply cannot be the case. The point of testing is to find out what one doesn't know, and God knows everything.
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