It was the first weapon of mass destruction, supposedly used by a God deeply grieving God's own creation of humans, as all their thoughts had become evil continually. It was global drowning.
The rain fell... and fell... and fell. However, there eight God chose to save, the man Noah, along with his wife, three sons and their wives. So disillusioned with God's own creation, God destroyed it all, saving eight humans to rebuild a new world.
How can we understand this? One faces a difficult conflict with "this God" when the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." The general acceptance of Jesus as God raises the conflicting picture of this man of Mercy in the New Testament, and this God of Wrath and Punishment in the Old Testament.
Let's view another perspective. Be reminded that the text states, "The wickedness of [humanity] was great in the earth, and all [their] intentions of the thoughts of [their] hearts were only evil continually."
What is the real power of evil? Perhaps it lies in its energetic influence on others and the environment. When the thoughts of the entirety of earth's population are continuously evil, there's a lot of negative energy... destructive energy... put out everywhere.
Is it not conceivable that God set up a system that "does bring back what one sows?" Are blessings a reward from God and negative consequences a punishment from God? Or are blessings a product of living God's way and negative consequences a product of not living God's way. Deuteronomy frequently says the law was given "for your well-bring" and that "it might go well with you." (See 4:40;5:29 NRSV) There are several places that indicate the law was given as God's gift to us.
Is it not possible that the "continuous" evil thought of "every human" such energy that induced this massive flood, shaking the very Ancient Near eastern structure of the cosmos so it collapsed. This also explains the flood. The ancients believed, to make it simple, that the "sphere" in which we lived was surrounded by water (the waters below the heavens from the waters above the heavens, see Gen. 1:6-7).
I'm not offering a scientific treatise, though areas of science support the feasibility of this view, just a plausible explanation for what can be perceived as an act of mass murder by a loving God of Grace. The grace was in God not allowing the total destruction of humans by humans.
The rain fell... and fell... and fell. However, there eight God chose to save, the man Noah, along with his wife, three sons and their wives. So disillusioned with God's own creation, God destroyed it all, saving eight humans to rebuild a new world.
- Could God really have expected humanity to be different when the same humanity would be allowed to do the "starting over?"
- Why a flood to begin with...?
- Is God the horrific and terrorizing "punisher" this story depicts? Is this the God of Love?
How can we understand this? One faces a difficult conflict with "this God" when the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." The general acceptance of Jesus as God raises the conflicting picture of this man of Mercy in the New Testament, and this God of Wrath and Punishment in the Old Testament.
Let's view another perspective. Be reminded that the text states, "The wickedness of [humanity] was great in the earth, and all [their] intentions of the thoughts of [their] hearts were only evil continually."
What is the real power of evil? Perhaps it lies in its energetic influence on others and the environment. When the thoughts of the entirety of earth's population are continuously evil, there's a lot of negative energy... destructive energy... put out everywhere.
Is it not conceivable that God set up a system that "does bring back what one sows?" Are blessings a reward from God and negative consequences a punishment from God? Or are blessings a product of living God's way and negative consequences a product of not living God's way. Deuteronomy frequently says the law was given "for your well-bring" and that "it might go well with you." (See 4:40;5:29 NRSV) There are several places that indicate the law was given as God's gift to us.
Is it not possible that the "continuous" evil thought of "every human" such energy that induced this massive flood, shaking the very Ancient Near eastern structure of the cosmos so it collapsed. This also explains the flood. The ancients believed, to make it simple, that the "sphere" in which we lived was surrounded by water (the waters below the heavens from the waters above the heavens, see Gen. 1:6-7).
I'm not offering a scientific treatise, though areas of science support the feasibility of this view, just a plausible explanation for what can be perceived as an act of mass murder by a loving God of Grace. The grace was in God not allowing the total destruction of humans by humans.