Protestantism

» pink101 - We Come At Reality

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If this Babel story is pure myth or a legend with no substantive base-facts, no physical history, only allegory or pure fiction...then the legend creates self-fulfilling barriers...its own non sequiturs. AND there IS a stumbling block for me over the languages per my previous posts.
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So, I don't build houses on sand. Before I can draw any comparative analysis to "our present situation", it needs to make a tad more sense. I am not locked into any belief system that relies on all consequence having ancient cause. (Except to say without any Earthlings, none of this applies.
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The problem is a little deeper than I understand you are saying. (Do I misunderstand you?) It seems you are saying that the story fails to have any influence on you and therefor on the greater society. The point is that the story it self may be of no significance in so far as it has any message for us. It ends up being a test in this sense, "Do you believe this story is a true historical account about how God deals with humanity?" Chances are, you don't; but, there are any number of people who do believe it. Here--in this thread and its predecessor--there are participants who believe nothing could be more true and there are untold millions of people who will go to their deaths believing it is God's absolute truth. Therein lies the problem for you and me and the greater society.
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Pushing it off and ignoring the problem will not make it go away.
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-- posted by pink101

» pink101 - An Aussie You Might Like

In response to We Come At Reality posted by redback:
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Here's an Aussie you might like, Jeff:
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http://www.lifemyths.com/philosophy.htm
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I get her newsletter. She is on the ball.
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-- posted by pink101

» redback - We Come At Reality

In response to We Come At Reality posted by pink101:

"It seems you are saying that the story fails to have any influence on you and therefor on the greater society."

????? It seems you're doing it again? I was saying if it doesn't yet make sense, I don't draw conclusions from it.

Merry Xmas. 8:30pm Xmas Eve. I'll resume after the silly season is over.

-- posted by redback

» pink101 - We Come At Reality

In response to We Come At Reality posted by redback:

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To be frank with you, I--sometimes--have a hard time trying to figure out what it is you are saying.
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Sorry about that.
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Merry Christmas to you, Spiderman.
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Gen 11: 8

In response to Who Says So? posted by pink101:
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Me: "...look what God did to squash Man's ambitions. He introduced language barriers."
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You: Who says so?
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This ancient legend says so, in the next verse: 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
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They were forced to abandon their ambitious projects at Babel and they dispersed. Not that I believe it, but it's how the story goes.
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(Quoting from http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.j...
"...Here they built a city and a tower of such materials as a great river-basin would afford and the genius of man could manufacture. Apparently this was done to prevent their scattering abroad and losing their tribal unity, to make a great center about which they might gather, and to obtain for themselves a name. Yhwh came down to investigate the purpose of all this unusual enterprise. The self-confidence and unity of the people were everywhere prominent. Fearful that the accomplishment of this project might embolden them to still more independent movements, Yhwh said, "Let us go down, and there confound their language." Consequently they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth; "and they left off to build the city."

-- posted by Migisi

» pink101 - Gen 11: 8

In response to Gen 11: 8 posted by Migisi:
You: "...look what God did to squash Man's ambitions. He introduced language barriers."
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Me: Who says so?
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You: This ancient legend says so, in the next verse: 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
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Okay. For a moment there it looked like you were the one who was saying that.
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So, THAT's how the leopard got its spots. I always wondered about that.
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Can you imagine grown people pretending like that? I got a bunch of them in my family. And, I hardly dare to question their pretending as I have such a hard time not believing they know they are pretending. I am sure they do.
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What do you think?
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Gen 11: 8

In response to Gen 11: 8 posted by pink101:
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Okay. For a moment there it looked like you were the one who was saying that.
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Clearly, Man's ambition and progress hasn't been squashed. Here we are - communicating via the magic of Man's ingenuity.
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Can you imagine grown people pretending like that?
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Oh, let them have their fantasies.
They can pretend that God didn't fail to keep his angels from rebelling (Lucifer et al).
They can pretend that God didn't fail to keep his first human children naive and ignorant (Adam/Eve).
They can pretend that God didn't fail to wipe out all evil on the earth via a flood (Noah & kin).
They can pretend that God didn't fail to squash Man's genius, ambition, and progress (Babel).
Yes, men were indeed 'scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth' -- which is actually a testament to Man's success! And Man built and completed other great cities and nations everywhere around the world. Yep, "... nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them" (vs 6).

-- posted by Migisi

» pink101 - Gen 11: 8

In response to Gen 11: 8 posted by Migisi:

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And they can pretend it is all true.
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Gen 11: 8

In response to Gen 11: 8 posted by pink101:

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Whatever gets 'em through their tricky days - whatever makes em happy -- I'm FOR it.

-- posted by Migisi

» redback - We Come At Reality

In response to We Come At Reality posted by pink101:

I think I'm getting the hang of this...and it's hanging by a tenuous thread:

redback: "To the extent I understand you..."

Pink: "...I--"sometimes"--have a hard time trying to figure out what it is you are saying."

There is something incredibly prophetic about the Babel story. Maybe the spirit of Babel...'ancient blame'...lives on. Many claim to believe or understand or even misunderstand or we claim to seek greater understandings...but we don't, can't or won't. (The only exceptions are superficial ones???)

Do we really seek or have peace in our lifetime...or only occasional strategic ceasefires in some "backyards"?

Maybe we're genetically Babel-ised...some more than others?

Understanding (beyond simple tolerance) of each other is a great gift but methinks an 'Indian Giver' was involved. Maybe twas a Bible lesson that greater understanding is limited to discretionary largesse from a Biblical God...never from each other.

I ponder the pious scribe detailing the limited Biblical attributes of God...unable to mention God may have had a mischievous bent.

-- posted by redback