Yes, I have. The reason that God took the lives of the first-born Egyptians was not to punish the children, but to prove to Pharoah that God is almighty
"So lets see here. I am an omnipotent being who can prove I am a god by doing absolutely anything I want. Lets see....Turn the deserts futile, allowing them to bloom like I should have when I created the planet? Nah. I don't like that guy. Spell out "I am Yawheh and your god" in the stars? Nah. I know, ILL KILL HIS GOD ****ED CHILDREN! Yeah, that will do it."
That isn't how an all loving being proves something, that is how the Mafia proves something. I'm surprised the Pharaoh didn't wake up next to a horse head.
As to The Flood, it was because the world was full of what even we would today regard as sinners, as they were liars, murderers, thieves, etc.
So you killed them, when you could do absolutely anything else?
"Well I have got a world full of sinners here... Lets check my options. I could transfer them to a different planet, plenty I left empty for no particular reason. Nah. I could make them good again, but would interferer with free will (Note to self, remember to harden Pharaoh's heart later). I know, ILL KILL THEM ALL! Yeah Yawheh, your full of good ideas!"
Also, God then promised to Noah that God would not commit the same act again.
The same action, as in he said "Well ok, I won't flood the world again." Which leaves plenty of options open. It would be like Hitler coming to the podium and stating "Ok. I promise never to kill a bunch of people using gas again". Would you forgive Hitler in that situation?
The human sacrifice of Isaac was to prove that Abraham was willing to completely devote himself to God's service.
Judges 11:34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.
11:35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
11:36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.
11:37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
11:38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
11:39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,
So what does that prove? I'm not talking about when YWHA said "Go kill your kid" then took it back. Im talking about when he said it and meant it. Basically the guy said "Ok, YWHA, if you help me kill a bunch of people Ill kill the first thing I see when I get home for you" and it was his daughter, welcoming his return. So he killed his daughter. What lesson is there?
First of all, Yawheh is an incorrect English translation of the Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey used in Hebrew to denote Gods name
Fine. For this thread only, I will use YWHA. Close enough for you?
As to why God chose the Israelites, it was because they were the only ones willing to accept commandments from God
What do you mean? The Chinese and the Greeks just said "No thanks, we don't need divine wisdom. You should check that desert over their!"?
Also, God did not really choose the Israelites, so much as the sons and daughters of Jacob
So it was narcissism?
That is like hiring a CEO because his great great great grandfather was George Washington.
That is where the term, B'nei Yisrael, or, Children of Israel comes from.
I have never heard of that saying and fairly certain no one I know can pronounce it.
To your second question, after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD by the Romans, many mitzvoht, or, commandments were discarded as impossible to follow. Thos included the rituals of sacrifice, and some punishments. Also, Judaism has, for lack of a better term, evolved to modern day society. In fact, I do not think that any Jew has stoned someone for violating any of the laws that would mandate death by stoning in at least 200 years. Also, I am a Reform Jew, and I choose not to follow every single commandment in the Torah.
So YWHA's rules are not worth building a new temple for? I thought the rules where supposed to withstand the test of time, being from a deity and all. Does that mean that our human laws are better than YWHA's?
