Numbers

The book about the years in the desert.  I almost forgot this book existed. The first part is basically saying what punishments fits each crime. So far every "unclean" person is to be kicked out of the tribes. All first born males are to be taken away to be given to the Lord. How a man becomes a Nazirites.  How theft should be handled and if your wife cheated on you. The Levites responsibilities. I have finally gotten to some of the stories, taking me forever to read this book, just do not have the time.  But it deals a lot with God's anger, vengeance, and impatience.  How the only reason there are still Jews is because Moses convinced him it would look bad. Not saying this group of complainers wouldn't get annoying. But really killing a man because he didn't follow the sabbath? I wonder were the modern Christians got the idea God was against Capital Punishment obviously didn't read this section.  Not that I am for it just a detail in the weird religion world. God answered their prayers for meat, but cannot answer mine for money for school, or better yet the millions of people who lost their jobs? I just don't understand. Anyway the book continues with the Chosen people wining and God delivering until... Moses and Aaron sin and it costs Aaron his life. Basically the people were complaining about the conditions and God delivering them water. However Moses and Aaron did not say it was God's handy work. So they were punished, neither of them gets to live to see the promised land. The book continues with more law and than ends.

Leviticus-The laws for a nation

This book starts out as a way of life for the Israelites. The way church services, and what they can and cannot eat.  Like pig.  Most of the laws in this book are made in order to protect the people from diseases. Which God promised them to be free of the diseases in the Exodus.  So anything unclean, unsanitary, unhealthy, and down right gross. They then turn to the topic of sex, who you can and cannot "do". They never mention premarital sex as a sin, and also in my Bible never mentions homosexuals (but I know some Bibles do usually in Leviticus chapter 18) either, all it really says is no family and animals. The rest of this book tells about holy days and Sabbaths. The end talks about what would happen if you obeyed, or disobeyed the commandments. What I found interesting is what would happen if you disobeyed the commandments. It said that if you disobeyed your people will be spread out over all  the nations (which it is), others will have access to the land I provided (which it is), and even talks about the potential deaths and inability to survive in other nations (which has happened).

So apparently the  Jews disobeyed a commandment. I do not know much about the Jewish history and when everything turned and they left Israel. But it seemed to happen according to scripture.  I do not necessarily believe that this means the Bible is truth. It is one coincidence so far. However, it has made me think about the possibility.

Exodus-The escape from Egypt

The introduction to Moses, God's wrath  and his devotion to the chosen people.  The early part of this book is explaining why the Egyptians hated the chosen people.  Apparently the were reproducing rabbits.  This of course worried the Egyptians worried they would eventually out populate them and they would take control. The Pharaoh orders the death of all the first born sons of the Hebrews. One lady didn't comply, she sent him down a river and the Pharaoh's daughter  took him in and raised him as Egyptian royalty. Then Moses killed in Egyptian in order to protect the Hebrew man. When Moses got word that the pharaoh knew about him killing an Egyptian instead of the Hebrew man. Moses left Egypt.  He stayed with a family in the desert where Moses encounters the burning bush. This bush, God telling Moses to return to Egypt and set his people free at whatever the cost.  Moses being afraid of the Egyptians and public speaking he asks God to sen Aaron instead, but God gave him a magic cane and forced, not really God can't force anyone, to go and ask the pharaoh  to let his people go. After 10 nos and a plaque from God the pharaoh said they can leave then changed his mind and chased after them. But God helped them to escape through the red sea where they wonder around the desert for forty years. The Israelites were very winy people, and complained, and God appeased them for there complaints.  He also gave the Ten Commandments. While Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments the Israelites made a statue of a goat and said it was God. So when moses returned and saw they were worshiping this idol. He had the Levites slaughter 3000 other people including women and children. And God said he would punish them.  The rest of the book is about the proper way to create a synagogue.
    


I know that this is supposed to be historical, and there are some evidence showing the Israelite being in Egypt.
The only thing I found interesting is the punishment.  I think most religions say there punishment was to wonder around the desert for 40 years, I guess that would be OK (kinda)  punishment for that violation.  However Moses had his people commit another violation they killed 3000 of there own people, and God promised punishment. I have a theory that there punishment for the act of mass murder is the mass murder that happened to the Jews during WW2 in Germany.  Not to say it was there fault what happened was sad and horrible and I hope Hitler is some where bad.  But it is a connection to the bible to today's world. Which helps me think maybe he is there.

Gensis- In The Beginning

This book of the Bible makes no sense. First God makes only two people, they mess up and are kicked out of Eden.  They procreate and have 3 sons; Cain, Abel and Seth.  Cain kills Abel and God sends him out of Eden with a mark because "anyone may kill me at sight" Genesis 4:14. Wait where did all the people out there that may kill him come from? Also how was the entire world spawn from two people who only had boys?  Then the flood happens, only thing I get from this chapter; God hates his creations so much he murders them all. The Tower of Babel weird and oddly placed but whatever.  Abraham; God's favorite human. He comes down from the heavens gives him children, land and assurance that  God is real. There are tons of people now that would just settle for food from God, but no rescue.  He also seems to purposely separate the Jews and the Muslims, setting the stage for a millennium and probably more of violence, hate and segregation. Why would he ever do that, other than keeping Sarah from killing her maid and her son Ishmael. Also God chooses his "chosen people" at this time only descendants of Abraham's son Isaac who is a descendant of Noah's son Shem. Shem was only one of three.  Now this is after the spreading of the humans around the world. So if you think you might be a descendant of Isaac, think; are you Jewish? If not you are probably not chosen.  So for we unfortunate souls born to people that God separated from his chosen ones we are screwed according to Genesis. Sodom and Gomorrah, same as the flood just different element, fire.  I also think if you believe in God and the Bible you would  take this story in vain for all cities to come that suffer a natural disaster, like the earthquake of 1906 in San Fransisco also more recently Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf.  Completely wiping out the city while some gets out and others are die. God's vengeance or not? God then picks a wife for Isaac, the first place where sex is brought up; "Isaac then took Rebekah into his tent; he married her" Genesis 24-67. So there was no big ceremony, they didn't even talk. Draw your own conclusions. It accounts Abraham's other children. Then Abraham dies and Isaac moves to another location. Philistine setting the stage for that war.  It accounts Isaac's move, and he had twins and Jacob screwed over Esau with a blessing right before he dies.  Not only does Jacob screw over Esau he does this to almost everyone. He has two wives and procreates with 4 different women. Sex matters?  After 14 years he goes back to Esau where Jacob's daughter was raped and his sons killed the entire village of the rapist.  Now Jacob now called Israel feels in danger. Yet he stays put.  Joseph he was one of the thirteen tribes of Jacobs sons, he was sold to Egypt and God blessed him there Famine comes Joesph saves the day for his family, and they come to live in Egypt. 

I understand that some view this book as story, and some as history.  It is only supposed to give you an Idea of who God is.  Loving(if you are lucky enough to be chosen) vengeful and full of Hate toward us. He did kill a lot of people. This book reads to me like a Greek god story.  The people being very close and personal with their god.  Everything is dependant on God and he does not always care for everyone.  This is what I got from this book.  If its history I do not really care because in my opinion we are hear and just because he creates us doesn't mean he deserves our trust and  loyalties or worship. Especially without proof.  I do not think that Jacob really believed until God came and talked to him and what God said came true.  This is just the beginning.

New Topic

I know, I still want to do reincarnation but I want to focus on the bible itself and find were the religions get their material, because as I read the versus, I can never seem to come up with what they intended. So quick change.

The Gospel of Matthew Chapter 11 Christ's witness to John

I found that the first website for reincarnation only gave an opinion on certain phrases, and was taken out of contexts so I will add more for you to read
  "It is about a man that scripture says,
                       'I send my messenger ahead of you to prepare your way before you.'
A solemnly assure you, history  has not known a man born of women greater than John the Baptizer. Yet the least born into the kingdom of God is greater than he.  From John's the Baptizer's time until now the kingdom of God has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.  All the prophets as well as the law spoke prophetically until John. If you are prepared to accept it, he is Elijah the one most certain to come. Heed carefully what you hear. the wayward children, what comparison can I use to describe this breed?  They are like children squatting calling to their playmates:
            'We piped you a tune, but you did not dance.
            We piped sang you a dirge but you did not wail' 
In other words, John appeared neither eating nor drinking and people say 'he is mad.' The sun of man appeared eating and drinking and they say 'This one is a glutton and a drunkard, a lover of tax collectors and those outside the law!' Yet time will prove where wisdom lies."

I used The New American Bible for Catholics.


My Translation:
When it talks about John being the best man on earth, it is saying the standards to get into heaven are to high, so high that the best person in all of history can not get in. The next part talks about something violent has been controlling the kingdom of God since John  and therefore Jesus was born. God was able to make the prophecies come true but since he doesn't have control, therefore they could not send Elijah. Thus John.
The comparison is a little tricky to me.  I feel that he is trying to say, you do not always get what you expected and even what you were told, some things are out of our hand.

I can see how it could speak of reincarnation, instead of the prophets were wrong just on John because it never just said Elijah's spirit. and it is him.  However it is all in the two line riddle make sense of it and make sense of it all. My version tries to explain it, but it says it is just words written in the kingdom of God.  I really don't feel that is correct. I feel it is the explanation of who is John the Baptist.

Reincarnation and Christianty

I found another site that rebuts the theory I spoke about in the last post.  But as I read there explanations of the verses, I find that they are also twisting the meaning to get there agenda across.  So when I find, yes find, my Bible I plan on reading the versus suggested and try to view it with what I think it means.  Also the meaning of phrases comes from which version someone has, because each version is translated to fit that specific religions ideas and beliefs, in order to justify their reason for being different.  I find it just a gigantic mess.  I wish I could read whatever language the bibles were written in and get my hands on the original. But I don't and I have to trust someone interpretation of the book, because I read somewhere that Jesus spoke in parables and was often difficult to understand, so it would stand the people writing the books listening to God, God would be hard to understand as well. So the interpreters may have made mistakes allowing things to make sense, even though they didn't on purpose.  Sorry for the tangent but I will need more time to finish the comparisons.