In summary, Thanks!

I would like to thank Fishin.com Off-Topic Board for the opportunity to share my thoughts on these topics I have posted lately on Suffering, Justice, Law and Punishment. I wrote this essay on Suffering, Justice, Law and Punishment because I personally had a lot of questions about why God allows unthinkable suffering, crimes and events to occur, especially to the innocent. It is easy for victims of personal loss, crime, genocide, patrimonalism , terrorism, and greed to feel lost, abandoned and faithless. During times of great suffering, it is tempting to lose all faith in God when terrible tragedies occur. You have to remember Job’s wife also suffered because she saw all the terrible things Satan did to Job. She loved Job, and it was hard to see him suffer as he did. In her frustration, said to Job, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” And Job replied, “You are talking like a foolish women. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:9-10). We may not curse God, but we sure want to give up and lose faith in a loving God. No passing pain can compare to god’s goodness. Our responsibility to God should not be extracted in view of our suffering. Our tolerance to suffering must be viewed in light of the Crucifixion.

Some people and groups think scholars are the only ones that can understand translation. You do not need to be a scholar to understand God’s word. If you are trusting scholars to clarify God’s word, you are not trusting God enough to speak to you through his word. When writing and/or teaching the Biblical material, one must be as accurate as possible. There is no room for mistakes in interpreting the Bible. It is our Holy responsibility to speak the truth as written in God’s Word. During the two years of translating the New Testament from the original Greek when I was in college, I was amazed how people interjected their own meanings into the translations. One example of misinterpretation lies in the first few chapters of Genesis. Some think Satan appeared to Eve as a “man-type creature”, and he seduced her to have intercourse with him. It is also thought by some that Eve was pregnant with fraternal twins, one conceived by Adam, which was Abel, and the other conceived by Satan, which was Cain. These verses in English and Hebrew translations do not translate this way. This is a theoretical and secular interpretation, not spiritual truth. First, God told Adam he could not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The serpent (Satan) deceived Eve to eat, and then Adam ate. It is not implied here at all that Satan seduced Eve in a sexual way. Eve clearly said the serpent deceived me. Satan never touched her. Adam and Eve bore Cain, and next, Eve gave birth to his brother, Abel. It was only after God kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden did they have intercourse. Cain and Abel were not twins. Eve said, “With the help of the Lord, I have brought forth a man.” She did not say “men” and she never had any help from Satan. “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the earth” (Acts 17:26-27). All mankind is related to Adam and Noah, not through Satan. Some people say Satan was never in the Garden of Eden. “You (Satan) were in Eden, the Garden of God. You were filled with lawlessness and violence, and you sinned. I (God) cast you (Satan) out as a profane thing from the Holy Mountain (Throne) of God and the guardian cherub drove you out from the midst of the stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:13-18).

One must be careful not to interpret passages of the bible in a figurative way rather than in a literal way. Just because the semantic range of a word encompasses several different meanings doesn’t allow the interpreter to say the text alone determines meaning. The author alone determines the meaning of the text. The interpretation must be kept spiritual, not temporal and without alternate theories. The Hebrew concept of time has been preserved through the ages, so it is easy to see what was meant during that time period. There is no need to theorize. When you mix truth with a lie, you still have a lie. The more truth is mixed with a lie, the better the lie. But it is still a lie. The more persistent to tell a lie as the truth, the more people are going to believe it is the truth. Truth is true even if no one knows it, admits it, agrees with it, or follows it. Truth is more than our subjective feelings of what we feel is right. Sometimes it seems God’s plan for salvation is far too simple for us to misunderstand.

When we question Scriptural interpretation or desire to find answers to our questions concerning God’s blueprint for our lives, God will not fail to reveal and/or clarify His word if we only seek His help. “My people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). We as Christians should pursue Christian maturity and continuously seek God’s guidance and knowledge so we can be a witness to his Word (Matthew 7:7). I challenge any one to ask God to reveal answers to your spiritual needs and then open the Bible and begin to study. The knowledge will flow into you like calming water from a rushing stream. God never fails to fill a vessel with his love and word that desires to be filled.

It is good to live in country with freedom of speech to be able to have an opportunity to share one’s ideas and study. Thanks again.

Bonefish, I've enjoyed reading them. Keep the faith!

Thank you too Bonefish. I enjoyed reading of your thoughts and insights. I love how your mind works and made mine do some thinking too. Gave me a chance to ponder on these issues. I like when people use their minds and think things out for themselves. I mean the bible, the word of God has been translated for generations. I like to see regular folks like me talk about what they think and feel about what the bible says.:)