SunGod Posted September 16, 2012 #1 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Noah blessed Shem, Abraham blessed Issac, Issac blessed Jacob/ Israel. Ham undermined, humiliated ; Cannan cursed. Ishmael neglected. Esau/ Edom hated , " Jacob I loved but Esau I hated " in Bible verse. African, Cannanite, Arabian, Edomite all other nations neglected , undermined, humiliated, cursed and hated. But why ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bad Voodoo Posted September 16, 2012 #2 Share Posted September 16, 2012 If is it true that God choose them I think its like in the companies. You must choose one leader to lead a team. Maybe they show leadership, good descion making, as good startegists and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted September 16, 2012 #3 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Because the guy who wrote it was self righteous and completely misinterpreted what he was basing it on. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ever Learning Posted September 16, 2012 #4 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I wouldnt want to be the chosen people, they are the most judged people by god. god gave them the law, he gave the rest of the world salvation through the jews 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud the mackem Posted September 16, 2012 #5 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Because he couldn't find anyone else who spoke Hebrew 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckys_Mom Posted September 16, 2012 #6 Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) Ennie meenie minie mo...tag you're it..HA ! Edited September 16, 2012 by Beckys_Mom 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted September 16, 2012 #7 Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) History is written by the victor or whoever has found the pen. Edited September 16, 2012 by Darkwind 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud the mackem Posted September 16, 2012 #8 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Ennie meenie minie mo...tag you're it..HA ! Ha ha,got it,but he didn't have much choice around that area they all support Allah..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanslune Posted September 16, 2012 #9 Share Posted September 16, 2012 The Hebrews wrote the words to glorify themselves. Lots of people consider themselves the favourites of the god(s)...in their own minds 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambelamba Posted September 16, 2012 #10 Share Posted September 16, 2012 The Hebrews wrote the words to glorify themselves. Lots of people consider themselves the favourites of the god(s)...in their own minds Ding ding ding, we have the winner! Seriously, I agree with you, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckys_Mom Posted September 16, 2012 #11 Share Posted September 16, 2012 . Lots of people consider themselves the favourites of the god(s)...in their own minds So true... I never would have believed it until I came on here years ago... I still sit in awe lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor T Posted September 16, 2012 #12 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I don't believe god chose them, I believe they chose themselves, and they and the world are suffering for that ignorance now. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterwind Posted September 17, 2012 #13 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Simplest answer: God was their invention so of course they are the chosen people in their own religion. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunGod Posted September 17, 2012 Author #14 Share Posted September 17, 2012 I can't say they are BS , but what I can and want to say is they are CRAP. Idolators, drunkard like Noah, and naked like him. " WINE - . . Error ; fornication ; temptation ;passion. " S & H 598:17 " Eve squeezed grapes from the Tree of Knowledge and gave Adam to drink " ZOAHR I 36a , 267b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramelin Posted September 17, 2012 #15 Share Posted September 17, 2012 I can't say they are BS , but what I can and want to say is they are CRAP. Idolators, drunkard like Noah, and naked like him. " WINE - . . Error ; fornication ; temptation ;passion. " S & H 598:17 " Eve squeezed grapes from the Tree of Knowledge and gave Adam to drink " ZOAHR I 36a , 267b Got it: Eve was very smart but also butt-ugly, and she knew she had to find a way to seduce the unwilling Adam into a bit of healthy procreative activity or else God's plan to populate the earth with humans would have failed there and then., and He would have to go back to the drawing board and erase Adam and Eve. So she gave him the fermented fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, aka Grapevine, and she shapeshifted from ugly to beautiful before Adam's very own eyes, and the future of humankind was saved. Adam was never sober again, ofcourse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted September 17, 2012 #16 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Galatians 3:6 Abraham serves as an example. He believed God, and that faith was regarded by God to be his approval of Abraham. Sometimes it really is that simple..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommunitarianKevin Posted September 17, 2012 #17 Share Posted September 17, 2012 For the same reason I am the star of my autobiography. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gremlin Posted September 17, 2012 #18 Share Posted September 17, 2012 If we consider that God's Will is anything that he appears to sanction by not punishing it...... then The Israelites were chosen to go to the Holy Land......Since they had the 'might' to stay there. Then they were punished, and it was God's Will that they were ejected from there various times....... Since they are returned, and have the power to cling on to Israel, then it must be God's Will that they do that..... Are they God's Chosen people, preferred by Him over all other cultural/social groups? NO, that's just what a primitive and tribal polytheistic people thought about the god that eventually became their primitive patron deity...... .....most Patron deities (as the name implies) have favourate peoples. This primitive patron deity, has undergone the transformation that comes with theological and metaphysical development that comes with growing social sophistication. Many of these primitive notions are discarded and viewed as metaphor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scowl Posted September 17, 2012 #19 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Because God wanted drama! The Pentateuch is full of murder, betrayal, incest, rape, trickery, and God generally backing the most conniving characters like Jacob. God loved that stuff. If God had picked a bunch of clear-headed obedient people who followed his orders to the letter and gave him the love he constantly demanded by threatening them, what a boring story it would have been! Instead He picked a bunch of clueless idiots who constantly whined about everything, who acted like miracles happen on their own, and constantly wished out loud that they were still slaves in Egypt. God had a great time blasting them with fire, scaring them with earthquakes, killing them off with plagues, and effectively beating them like abused pets. Even when they behaved themselves, God's trigger finger would get itchy and he'd flip out on trivial things. For example he wasted two of Aaron's sons with fire because they messed up the sacrifice procedure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimbaudelaire Posted September 18, 2012 #20 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Question: I have long been uncomfortable with the concept of the "Chosen People". To suggest that as Jews we are somehow closer to G-d than all other nations smacks of arrogance, elitism, and racial prejudice. How is that any different to anti-Semitism? Sincerely, Margaret Answer: Dear Margaret, That is a fantastic question -- a question that could only come from someone who is chosen. Allow me to explain. In the Jewish understanding, chosenness leads not to arrogance, but rather to humility. If it were some human king that chose us to be his special people, then your assumption would be correct -- we would become elitists. When a mortal power shows favoritism towards a subject, that subject will become more arrogant as a result -- the closer you are to the king, the more significant you are, and the more significant you are the higher respect you feel you deserve. But we were chosen by G-d. And the closer you are to G-d, the more you sense your insignificance. While being buddy-buddy with a human leader inflates your ego, a relationship with G-d bursts your selfish bubble. Because G-d is an infinite being, and all delusions of petty self-importance fall away when you stand before infinity. Being close with G-d demands introspection and self-improvement, not smugness. This is the idea of the Chosen People -- a nation of individuals who have been given the opportunity to sense G-d's closeness, hear His truth and relay his message to the world. All agree that it was the Jews that introduced the world to monotheism and a system of ethics and morals that has shaped the modern view of life and its purpose. And it is the survival of Judaism to this day that attests to the eternal value of this system. To say that this is ethnocentric is absurd for one simple reason: anyone from any ethnic background can convert to Judaism and become chosen. Jewish chosenness is not a gene, it is a state of the soul. Anyone wishing to take it upon themselves is welcome -- as long as they are ready to have their bubble burst. So the arrogant person is not acting chosen. The true test of chosenness is how humble you are. You, Margaret, have passed this test with flying colors. Your humility is so deep, it doesn't allow you to accept that you are chosen. While most other religious groups are quite comfortable claiming that they are the best, we Jews will do anything to say that we are nothing special. Now that's what I call a Chosen People! By Rabbi Aron Moss http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/160993/jewish/Are-the-Jews-the-Chosen-People.htm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckskin scout Posted September 19, 2012 #21 Share Posted September 19, 2012 rimbaudelaire, Is it "worthy to be chosen?" or is it "chosen to be worthy?" Hmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenWolf Posted September 19, 2012 #22 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_narcissism Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scowl Posted September 19, 2012 #23 Share Posted September 19, 2012 "To say that this is ethnocentric is absurd for one simple reason: anyone from any ethnic background can convert to Judaism and become chosen. Jewish chosenness is not a gene, it is a state of the soul. Anyone wishing to take it upon themselves is welcome -- as long as they are ready to have their bubble burst." This is all feelgood modern Judaism. I can't think of any cases in the Hebrew Bible where non-Jews were converted. Whenever the Israelites conquered people, they immediately killed their men, children and adult women and optionally enslaved their virgin females. The conquests of Joshua proudly declare that not a single person was left alive after he was done. Even in one case where a city chose to surrender (through trickery) and the Israelites didn't butcher them, the people were enslaved, not converted. Enslaved gentiles were far more useful to the Israelites than converted Jews. There's one example that especially bugs me. When Rahab helps Joshua's spies in Jericho because she had heard of their wonderful god, they do the honor of not killing her after the city falls but there's nothing about them converting her to Judaism even though it sounded like that's exactly when she wanted. Have I overlooked a case where the Chosen People converted pagans instead of just killing or enslaving them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted September 19, 2012 #24 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Part of the reason I became such a die hard supporter of Israel and the Jews - regardless their behaviors at times - is because I saw a very tiny small fraction of 1% of the human population on the planet hated with breathtaking vehemence down the centuries. Blamed for every imaginable woe of mankind. It continues to this day. Fewer than 8 million people in the State of Israel are seen as the primary problem facing the UN today - really? My imperfect understanding of God's choice of Abraham centered on his faith and nothing more. He was in no other way remarkable except that he believed and acted upon those beliefs by doing what he perceived to be the will of God. If one discounts the idea of a god then the argument is moot of course. But a thinking person might look to history and ponder the survival of this family of people and their survival - including their language - over so many centuries and so much persecution. I think they were chosen to show that God expects faith and obedience. For every instance of wealth that has been accumulated there are at least two stories of torture, death and diaspora. I believe in God. I also believe His word and those who hate the Jew and heap slanders and lies on them - it will have consequences. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimbaudelaire Posted September 19, 2012 #25 Share Posted September 19, 2012 rimbaudelaire, Is it "worthy to be chosen?" or is it "chosen to be worthy?" Hmm... Great question. In my 'humble' opinion, I'd argue that it's the Torah's authors' intent that both apply equally. The story of Abraham depicts G-d showing that Abraham exudes both, as does the story of Job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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