Ezekiel 38 War
Offline I'm looking for suggestions on material (or just facts directly if you have them) to counter Christian arguments about the Ezekiel 38 war prophecy. This is a pretty popular topic floating around now and I'd like to be more prepared to debate it. I assume the defense will probably require a grasp of history around the time the prophecy was written as well as translation-related issues. Most prophecies that I'm familiar with in the bible usually turn out to be written after some event and then the writings themselves are claimed to be older than they are. This can be coaxed out of the text with careful examination.
So far nothing has turned up on my searches but "pro" stuff. The Christians are busy bees and have written enough to swamp the search engines it seems. So I'm hoping someone here is an expert or can point me to one.
Think this can't work? - Think again.
"...what we always meant by socialism wasn't something you forced on people, it was people organizing themselves as they pleased...And if socialism really is better...then it can bloody well compete with capitalism. So we decided, forget all the statist shit and the violence: the best place for socialism is the closest to a free market you can get!" - Ken MacLeod's The Star Fraction
- Login to post comments
Ok, so I guess the Christians are right and I'll concede the argument.
Seriously, I know that a lack of response doesn't mean that there isn't one but I'll take this moment to ask WTF is up with the RRS forums? Is it just me or is it turning into a ghost town? It's become extremely inactive. Has it always been this way? Look at the last post stats. Most of them are in the "weeks".
Instead of a Blog
Think this can't work? - Think again.
"...what we always meant by socialism wasn't something you forced on people, it was people organizing themselves as they pleased...And if socialism really is better...then it can bloody well compete with capitalism. So we decided, forget all the statist shit and the violence: the best place for socialism is the closest to a free market you can get!" - Ken MacLeod's The Star Fraction
My problem with any biblical prophecy is that it's written vaguely enough to fit whatever the interpreter wishes.
For example, I wonder how many countries have been called "Gog" and "Magog"
Here's one answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gog_and_Magog. Look under "identifications".
If a prophecy can mean different things to different people throughout history, can it be a prophecy?
"I do this real moron thing, and it's called thinking. And apparently I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions."
— George Carlin
Ezekiel was an inaccurate prophet so all you really need is to use his record of incorrect predictions.
1)Ezekiel 26 he predicted the fall of Tyre to Nebuchadnezzar. It didn't happen. When it failed Ezekiel tried to cover his fuckup over in 29:17 claiming Nebuchadnezzar was mortal and failed.
2)He then predicted in chapters 29 and 30 that Babylon would conquer Egypt. Again he fucked up as it does not happen.
3)It appears that even in his time people noticed he made predictions that sucked as he claims in 38:30-33 that he would be vindicated and they shall know he is a prophet of god instead of the fuckup he really was.
4)When you consider Ezekiel's descriptions of his visions, I conclude he was mentally ill, such as schizophrenic or he was dropping the equivalent of LSD.
____________________________________________________________
"I guess it's time to ask if you live under high voltage power transmission lines which have been shown to cause stimulation of the fantasy centers of the brain due to electromagnetic waves?" - Me
"God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, - it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks please. Cash and in small bills." - Robert A Heinlein.