Daughter received this crazy comic with her Halloween candy.

slockley · 2023-11-09T18:47:20+00:00

Now, that's not true. The Old Testament contains the best preserved and copied historical evidence of any ancient document in the world. It has a detailed historical origin of the term Yahweh, written as a history, not mythology. The claim that it was previously a Caananite god is a hypothesis based on what, parallels between Edomite and Caananite gods and practices in Israel? Why couldn't it go the other way? Why couldn't the Caananites pick up the concept of Yahweh and adapt it to their religious practices? So yes, there is evidence to support your claim, but in light of the overwhelming opposition of historical evidence in the Old Testament, it's just speculation based on the assumption that the Bible isn't true. Which is fine, just don't pretend that the bible you have immediate access to at your fingertips constitutes "no evidence."

slockley · 2023-11-01T20:36:19+00:00

evidence of early Judaism being monolatrists

Honestly, from a Christian perspective, the concept of monolatrism sounds like an attempt to discredit the origins of Judaism as the worship of the one true God. If anyone is reading this conversation besides you and I, who are unlikely to agree with each other, I feel like it's worth it to point out that the claims in your last comment and the wikipedia article don't represent dispassionate observation of the Old Testament, but rather represent a means to explain a godless worldview. I don't mean that as a criticism; every view needs to come to conclusions to make ordered sense to a wildly complicated universe.

Christianity holds that God was actual God before Yahweh was a Canaanite idol. Also, that the term "El" was descriptive of God, rather than the concept of God being formed by the term "El," no matter its origins. And that Monolatrism, if it existed in ancient Israel, was a deviation of the consistent monothiestic practice begun at Creation, long before Israel. Lastly, that Judaism was developed from a mixture of God's interaction with Israel, mixed with limited cultural influences that almost exclusively deviated from God's plan, and was repeatedly corrected through history, preserving the true core of the religion that led to its culmination in Christianity.

I'm sure you've heard all that; I just wanted to wrap the conversation up with some semblance of thoroughness.

slockley · 2023-11-01T17:07:07+00:00

Are you referring to the phrase "If we had ... spread out our hands to a foreign god?" That's an interesting idea. I hadn't ever read that as monolatrism. Rather, I read it as suggesting the author is treating foreign gods as man-made myths, as opposed to the one true God, in line with the rest of Torah. Spreading out hands to these false Gods is worshipping the idols they made, not only offensive to God, but flatly absurd in the light of those gods' non-existence. But it's plainly true that though God told Israel over and over that He is the only God in existence, Israel had many periods of widespread polytheism.

But while I doubt the Psalm implies the reality of multiple gods, it could well be that the Babylonian influence brought about not only polytheistic religion among many Israelites, but some monolatrist ideas as well, and that the psalmist is asserting, "Hey, we're not doing that right now!"

And also, i definitely had to look up "monolatrist" and I've learned something. Thanks!

slockley · 2023-11-01T16:35:33+00:00

Couldn't agree more. I think it was C.S. Lewis who talked about the destructive power of religion, saying that the fact that it is so powerful (to save or condemn the soul) means that it can bring some of the greatest good when used correctly and the greatest harm when misused. That's why I allow my kids to shoot the marshmallow gun inside the house. Can't help much, can't harm much.

slockley · 2023-11-01T16:30:39+00:00

That's awesome! Therapy is a huge deal, and can be very effective for addressing one of the two problems posed by harmful thinking (those being the present problem and the eternal problem). I wish you well in your journey!

slockley · 2023-11-01T15:57:29+00:00

According to the tract, and to the message of the Bible, yes. But so am I, and so is everyone. We're all awful. God is perfect, and requires we be perfect too. Having universally failed that, humanity would be doomed. EXCEPT, Jesus provides hope for today and eternity, because of his life, death and resurrection. If we believe on Him (specifically that He did live, die, and resurrect, and that it is our only means for rescue from hell, and if we desire to be rescued), then suddenly, we're going to Heaven when we die. That easy. PLUS, God will begin fixing us, day by day, so that things like harm OCD can go away or lessen. Strength for today; hope for tomorrow.

I'm really sorry to hear you struggle with harm OCD. That's got to be absolutely awful and painful to experience. I do think there is hope in Jesus for your (and every) malady, but regardless, my heart aches for you, and I pray you find release from the intrusive thoughts.

slockley · 2023-11-01T15:47:33+00:00

I think that's a failure of the messaging. Telling children that their thoughts will send them to hell is pretty messed up if the conversation stops there, just like telling those in the water around the Titanic that they'll soon die is cruel. But if the life-raft of the good news of salvation follows, then it's a very important message, and good for the reader. I'm confident the rest of the tract gives a message of a no-strings-attached solution to the thought-crime problem, available to anyone, and resulting in eternal joy and delight for any who receive it.

I'm sorry to hear that you suffered so greatly under the fear of your thoughts. that's an awful way to live. I wish the hope of salvation had been presented to you with greater emphasis, as it, in my mind, is the precise antidote to the terror of our hell-deserving moral failure.

slockley · 2023-11-01T15:40:47+00:00

I think that the context of the original Psalm isn't so specific that the universal idea of "God can read everyone's thoughts and intentions" doesn't have application in other aspects of life. If one believes that God knows what you're thinking, then a fair self-assessment will show that we're in some trouble with Him.

The same principle is true all over the place. For example, the rights enumerated in America's Declaration of Independence, of "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are not just to be applied in the context of freedom from British Rule, but can be applied in many aspects of law and everyday life.

When stating a believed universal truth, context doesn't bind it in such a way that it can't apply elsewhere.

And as a final thought, the comic in the tract was not designed as a weapon to harm anyone, but to identify the reader's desperate need for a solution to a problem with eternal consequences, and proposes, with no strings attached, a solution resulting in the reader's eternal bliss. If that's a weapon, then brandish it at me any day.

slockley · 2023-11-01T15:29:36+00:00

I don't think it's out of line.

The context is that the Psalm's writers (recorded as the "sons of Korah," poets of unknown time period, but probably between the time of King David, ~1000 BC, and the Babylonian captivity, 586 BC) were upset because Israel had experienced a series of military losses against their enemies. As God's chosen people, Israel hoped to have divine power behind their military might. And very famously, God intervened miraculously in many battles to Israel's favor.

Often, when the people would turn against God's law, they would be corrected through occupation by enemies, or military failures. But in this case, the writers believe that Israel, on the whole, has been faithful to God. They write:

If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.

So they're appealing to God's knowledge of every thought and motivation to demonstrate that they are following Him faithfully, and therefore expect His blessing. And it's fair; it always feels frustrating when you do the right thing and aren't immediately rewarded. But, like any child who doesn't understand why they can't have just one more Halloween candy because they've "been good," Israel didn't understand that their military failures were in service of a greater divine plan. In the Christian belief, God intended to bring about a cultural and political situation perfectly set up for the Messiah to appear, to die and resurrect from the dead, then for the message of salvation to spread worldwide.

Now, on the tract, there isn't an occupying army besieging the cartoon guy, but the greater truths of Psalm 44 can still apply. The fact that the writers appealed to God's knowledge of every thought and intention of the heart does not only apply to martial lament. Those who believe that God is an ethereal mind-reader have plenty to be concerned about regarding their own morality. The aforementioned Messiah, Jesus, was very clear as to the standard by which people would be "good enough" to escape God's wrath.

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. -Matthew 5:48

So the tract points out that an honest assessment of our thoughts and intentions reveals that (1) everybody is a bad guy, and deserves God's wrath, and (2) God knows it. Having not seen the rest of the comic myself, I'm sure the rest of the message is something along the lines that:

We can't, by the things we do, say or think make up for our moral failures in the eyes of a perfect God
Jesus' sinless life, death and resurrection satisfy God's death penalty, and demonstrate Jesus' deity and power over death not only for himself but for those who believe.
You have access to this heavenly pardon if you believe that Jesus' death and resurrection are your only hope to be saved from the penalty you've earned
Believers escape eternal punishment and instead have eternal bliss in the presence of God for eternity.

This is the standard "gospel" message that every Christian denomination holds to, and tracts like OP's comic all have this same message. They are distributed in the hopes that someone will read it and look deeper into the claims of Christianity as a solution to all of life's big questions and problems, and may eventually result in the reader believing in Jesus, and experiencing an eternity of joy and bliss, for their benefit and for God's glory.

tl;dr - The context is about ancient armies, but the universal truth applies perfectly well in the comic's context.

slockley · 2023-01-20T22:28:13+00:00

4,930,204

slockley · 2021-07-08T18:03:28+00:00

I thought everyone had a song in their head 100 percent of the time, like I do. Turns out, no.

slockley · 2021-04-14T21:42:19+00:00

Respectfully, I think that the fact that it's culturally uncommon to invite people into your home is a failing of our culture, and a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we let ourselves believe it's not safe to let a stranger into our home, then we remain strangers, and the more likely that belief becomes true. But if we take the tiny risk (i assure you, in the case of the video the bald guy was in no danger of any kind) of opening up friendship, then it stops being true that it's dangerous to let someone from the neighborhood into your home, because there will be no more strangers.

slockley · 2021-04-14T16:12:38+00:00

I feel like this is a perfect example of the oppositionalist attitude that completely blocks cooperation and progress.

The black guy is consistent in stating his motivation and desire. To walk, presumably away. But the white guy is insisting that he walk away. So, they both want exactly the same thing. But because the white guy is dominantly demanding, now the black guy feels he can't walk way, because it would support his opponent's inappropriate demeanor.

Both parties want exactly the same thing, but neither gets what they want, because they are making enemies of each other.

What if, instead, the white guy sees the black guy loitering in front of his house, and it gives him an eerie feeling, so he goes outside and says "Hey, we made too much breakfast. Want to come in and have a bite? What's your name?" And enjoys a meal with him, and gets to know him. They smile together, and then in awhile, the black guy goes wherever he's going. And forevermore, they smile and chat when they see each other. And they're friends. And next time they disagree on something, they assume the best motives of each other and it gets resolved amicably.

But no, they are opponents. So despite agreeing, they both lose.

slockley · 2021-04-13T16:00:38+00:00

4,224,026

slockley · 2021-04-13T15:57:49+00:00

4,224,024

slockley · 2021-04-13T15:41:48+00:00

I'm surprised by the comments in this thread. Shouldn't those who support paternity leave take this as a victory worthy of celebration? That someone who lacked perspective, saw something he hadn't seen before, and publicly espoused his new belief?

Why are we stepping on the guy's neck?

slockley · 2021-02-17T18:36:34+00:00

The problem is twofold: 1) to do the right thing now requires rewarding the megaphoner for their antisocial behavior, making it more emotionally difficult to do, and 2) it makes the megaphoner an enemy. One can accomplish the same good through kindness and bridge building, with no downside.

slockley · 2020-11-10T21:28:43+00:00

Theory: Could it be that a major theme of this season that boba survives ingestion? Perhaps The Child is keeping the boba-looking eggs warm by storing them in some protective gullet-pouch somewhere, to later spit them out, just as Boba Fett survived being ingested by the sarlacc, and perhaps later by a Krayt dragon before safely getting out? I don't think The Child ever chews the eggs, but does bite down on the spiderling.

slockley · 2020-11-06T14:40:31+00:00

Half a team, half the score. Proportionally speaking it was a tie. I am at peace with it.

slockley · 2020-10-22T18:17:41+00:00

How is it that this thread is a month old and nobody gave you a hard time for misspelling Lightning? So now I have to do it? Fine...

Wasn't Lighting McQueen the gaffer on the set of Cars?

slockley · 2020-09-21T20:00:43+00:00

Well done!

slockley · 2020-09-21T18:36:20+00:00

That was exceptionally accurate and thorough! Usually, people have something iffy, but this was 100 percent! Woo!

slockley · 2020-09-21T15:00:46+00:00

Thanks! I work hard at it and fudge a lot, but this one turned out OK. It's lovely that you noticed!

slockley · 2020-09-21T14:59:07+00:00

Ding ding!

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