in rememberance

[_LittleNipper]

So your god is essentially the same as Baal and Molech, he likes the blood of children.

Glad to know that. Remind me not to worship the bloodthirsty deity.

Actually, God loves children but hates the lies you want to teach and practice. Such produces the results that took the lives of 26 individuals.

[_SteelHead]

When god kills 42 children for mocking the baldness of his prophet, his sense of scale is out of whack. Bloodthirsty for the blood of children.

When god kills a man for touching the Ark of the Covenant, but doesn't kill another after killing his mother and on his way to massacre children his sense of priority is out of whack.

[_Uther]

If there REALLY is a supreme being that has even a remote interest in humankind, he is more than covert about it. What kills people is either nature, other people, or themselves.

The kind of people that are prone to listening to voices in their heads and speaking to imaginary friends are found both in the religious category and among mad killers.

As for this discussion I see that some follow BKPs admonition to use such situations as preaching opportunities.

[Guest]

My gut tells me tha this has little to do with what happened at the school, and more to do with their opinion of homosexuality. Maybe your actually on the wrong side of the fence you claim to be sitting on.

The fence I am sitting on tells me that on one side are people looking to draw strength from God in a difficult time, on the other are people looking to use a difficult time to draw attention to their personal beliefs.

[_subgenius]

When god kills 42 children for mocking the baldness of his prophet, his sense of scale is out of whack. Bloodthirsty for the blood of children.

When god kills a man for touching the Ark of the Covenant, but doesn't kill another after killing his mother and on his way to massacre children his sense of priority is out of whack.

Yet another great example of a post that mocks something that it neither knows with accuracy or correctness. Oh my how the atheist must surely "know better" than God..how the atheist with his impromptu and ad hoc sense of morality and ethics must surely proclaim that his own "sense of priority" is in whack.

1. Bald head (Hebrew 'aleh kereach') does not mean baldness or lack of hair...it actually is an insult equal to "empty skull" or idiotic, etc..
2. The "children" were not cursed for that reason but rather for what was clearly indicated by their mocking...which was blasphemy of proclaiming that it is fantasy to believe that his master had ascended...this is quite clear in the shouts of "go up bald head" or in other words (that you may understand) "go on and ascend to heaven like an idiot would believe"
this is also clear by his presence in Beth-el which was known for being rampant with calf-worship - so these insults would have been of no surprise.
Besides, the Hebrew translates more accurately to "young men" rather than children.
Reference Number 8

[_SteelHead]

Sub, how does your explanation make this biblical event any more acceptable?

Please explain how mauling, taring, or killing 42 youth is justified, then explain why 20 dead 5 - 6 year olds is justified.

Those trying to make religious hay out of this are sick and the inferences, obscene.

And thank you for the Adam Clarke commentary cut and paste......

I publicly declare my ethics superior to a god who is so thin skinned that he mauls youth for mocking his prophet, and who lets children die out of vengeance or to teach a lesson.

By what kind of sick morality is killing a child a sin except when god does it eg; the flood, the firstborn of Egypt, etc etc? Sacrifice children to Baal = bad. Sacrifice children to Jehovah = good.

[_just me]

So you don't care if it happens again? I firmly believe that if opening exercises and Bible readings were reintroduced into the Public (Community) School System, this sort of thing would end.

Based on what evidence? Shootings have happened at churches and religious gatherings...

still waiting...

[_Uther]

When god kills 42 children for mocking the baldness of his prophet, his sense of scale is out of whack. Bloodthirsty for the blood of children.

When god kills a man for touching the Ark of the Covenant, but doesn't kill another after killing his mother and on his way to massacre children his sense of priority is out of whack.

Yet another great example of a post that mocks something that it neither knows with accuracy or correctness. Oh my how the atheist must surely "know better" than God..how the atheist with his impromptu and ad hoc sense of morality and ethics must surely proclaim that his own "sense of priority" is in whack.

1. Bald head (Hebrew 'aleh kereach') does not mean baldness or lack of hair...it actually is an insult equal to "empty skull" or idiotic, etc..
2. The "children" were not cursed for that reason but rather for what was clearly indicated by their mocking...which was blasphemy of proclaiming that it is fantasy to believe that his master had ascended...this is quite clear in the shouts of "go up bald head" or in other words (that you may understand) "go on and ascend to heaven like an idiot would believe"
this is also clear by his presence in Beth-el which was known for being rampant with calf-worship - so these insults would have been of no surprise.
Besides, the Hebrew translates more accurately to "young men" rather than children.
Reference Number 8

Thanks for making that clear.
I certainly feel much better about God killing young men calling the prophet an idiot, than little children calling the prophet a bald head. Your knowledge in wording and translation helps save testimonies.....

[_LittleNipper]

When god kills 42 children for mocking the baldness of his prophet, his sense of scale is out of whack. Bloodthirsty for the blood of children.

When god kills a man for touching the Ark of the Covenant, but doesn't kill another after killing his mother and on his way to massacre children his sense of priority is out of whack.

This is how you do the truth a disservice. You take things out of context and you present half truths in order to insult God and those who place their trust in him. People who read the Bible with understanding see a different picture.

Question: "Why did the Prophet Elisha curse the “youths” for making fun of his baldness (2 Kings 2:23-24)?"

Answer: There are a few key issues we must understand in regards to this account of the youths cursing Elisha. The text reads, “From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ they said. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.” It seems unbelievable that God would cause two bears to maul a group of children for making fun of a man for being bald.

First, the King James Version has done us a disservice by translated the term as “children.” The Hebrew word can refer to children, but rather more specifically means "young men." The NIV, quoted here, uses the word “youths.” Second, the fact that the bears mauled 42 of the youths indicates that there were more than 42 youths involved. This was not a small group of children making fun of a bald man. Rather, it was a large mob demonstration of young men who assembled for the purpose of mocking a prophet of God. Third, the mocking of “go on up, you baldhead,” is more than making fun of baldness. The baldness of Elisha referred to here may be: 1) natural loss of hair; 2) a shaved head denoting his separation to the prophetic office; or more likely, 3) an epithet of scorn and contempt, Elisha not being literally bald. The phrase “go up” likely was a reference to Elijah, Elisha’s mentor, being taken up to Heaven earlier in 2 Kings chapter 2:11-12. These youths were sarcastically taunting and insulting the Lord’s prophet by telling him to repeat Elijah’s translation.

In summary, 2 Kings 2:23-24 is not an account of God mauling young children for making fun of a bald man. Rather, it is a record of an insulting demonstration against God’s prophet by a large group of young men. Because these young people of about 20 years of age or older (the same term is used of Solomon in 1 Kings 3:7) so despised the prophet of the Lord, Elisha called upon the Lord to deal with the rebels as He saw fit. The Lord’s punishment was the mauling of 42 of them by two female bears. The penalty was clearly justified, for to ridicule Elisha was to ridicule the Lord Himself. The seriousness of the crime was indicated by the seriousness of the punishment. The appalling judgment was God’s warning to all who would scorn the prophets of the Lord.

[_SteelHead]

Watch out for the thin skinned god who resorts to violence when mocked.

Why do we give god a pass on reprehensible behavior?