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Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

I was wrong earlier about the deaths in the Flood being a mystery. It's clear in the Bible why the people were killed. God judged them and found them wanting. This answer raises heated objections amongst some of us here, as in, "What right did God have to judge them and find them wanting, and then go and kill them? Wasn't the whole thing a set-up anyway? Isn't God to blame for the Fall in the first place, since He knew what was going to happen the whole time?"

I don't blame God for destroying what He created. His rules, rewards and penalties. Interesting though is that in this case mankind was drowned but not given a chance to be immersed in water in a completely different fashion, like by John the Baptizer. How many years did man have to wait until God reached out with His grace? How many years did man toil under the Law until it was shown to be only a guide? We have God stating that by living by the Law one can "live" (Leviticus 18:5), yet later in Romans we learn it's really all about faith in the Lord, or having faith in the Law, or... even those who 'naturally' conform to the unknown Law are saved. Or not.

My point is that those drowned people, like the other others that are seen in the Old Testament, are beyond redemption (or at least that's how I read it). It's not until later that Paul tells us that the 'Tetragrammaton' is not only the God of Abraham but of all humans. It's just confusing. And even more disturbing is that after all of that death, we still have sin (Gen 9:20), so what really was the point?

Genesis 10 lets us know where each tribe came from, all from Noah. Later in the Old Testament we will have kinslaying, as all of these tribes are family. If God intended on wiping out the 'dark angel' seed, then He might have chosen a different vehicle, as apparently Noah's children still had the taint.

Originally Posted by Formendacil

All we get is one Day 1, so there's no point in hiding one's Wolfishness or Giftedness, but one had may as well blow the game now, because it's over.

Someone once said, that if your belief system is what's keeping you here, then by all means, keep believing! And note that I've read about people that existed thousands of years ago, and so even though they might be dead, they still have made an impact on my life. And from a biological POV, my immortality is in my children (it's also most likely to be the cause of my mortality... ).

If, however, there is an afterlife, then it makes sense to play the game according to the rules, because otherwise you won't make it to the "Afterlife".

I have a friend who believed that, "logically" it was better to believe, as you don't waste much and have everything to gain, than to not believe and find out that you were wrong. But like many have observed, how does one know which belief system or what diety, sect, group, interpretation (i.e. partial-preterism versus dispensationalism) to choose?

The Resurrection of Christ, to paraphrase St. Paul, is a "stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks" (or have I got their positions mixed up?). Resurrection does not seem logically possible.

But, in the Christian sense, it does as it's a pretty common occurrence. Isn't that why when Jesus went and raised many from the dead that he was thought to be the return of Elijah? Also, Elisha raised the dead. And didn't the bones of one of the twain also return the dead to life? And I quoted to lmp my confusion with Mark 9:37-39, as it seems that there are 'free-lance' miracle workers in the mix. Anyway, if one believes that the dead can truly be raised, then why not the Resurrection? Is it because Jesus brought Himself back? How do we know that another didn't help?

If, however, the Resurrection DID happen (and that is the simplest explanation to fit all the facts), then it seems a good deal more rational to believe in the Resurrection- and therefore the entire Faith that Christ taught, than not.

I've read many simpler explanations, and even if I believed as you, I would think that there must! be some doubt for the believer to overcome. Think about it: where would my free will/choice be if even on my best/worst day there was no way that I could refute the divinity of Jesus Christ? It'd be to me like ranting against gravity. And before you say it, I might be skeptical but I'm not that skeptical.

And please note that I'm hoping not to be attacking, but asking for more information (though none of us here or anywhere might be able to answer), so if I've offended, note that it is unintentional.