The Fallibility of Man Exposed in The Bible
The story of the Golden Calf illustrates the inherent fallibility of man. It starts out when the people ask Aaron to “make us gods, which shall go before us.” Despite the fact that God had spoken to them just days earlier commanding them not to make themselves any graven images, Aaron doesn’t argue too strongly against this, immediately asking them to turn over any gold jewelry they have so that he may make them a figure of worship. This choice of material symbolizes man’s covetous nature, perhaps also implying that Aaron feared to go against God’s wishes directly, and so he chose gold in the hope that the people would be loathe to part with it. However, they readily hand over their wealth, which Aaron makes into a statue of a golden calf. In this too, Aaron compromises; while the people asked him to make them “gods,” he chooses to make a single figure, and states that it is the God that brought them out of Egypt. This concession is intended to sooth God’s wrath when he sees what the Israelites have done.
The people seem to be remarkably unconcerned with Moses’ whereabouts at this point considering the fact that he just brought them out of Egypt and is leading them to the Promised Land. In this story they seem to treat him with a great deal of suspicion, stating that they “wot not what is become of him,” which implies that he’s abandoned them, and that they’re ready to move along without his guidance. This seems ironic, given that he is all that saves them from God’s wrath for this very incident.
Upon seeing this idolatry, the Lord becomes enraged, and tells Moses to leave so that he may d...
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...ll every man who played a part in the creation of this false icon, even friends or kin. This done, Moses returns to face God in hopes of prevailing upon him to forgive his people.
In the conclusion of the story, Moses confesses to the Lord, stating that “this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold,” reiterating the prior thought that men were worshipping material values over God himself. Moses asks that God destroy him with the rest of his people if he will not grant them forgiveness, implying that the thought of god’s displeasure so disturbed him that he would rather die in hopes of averting this disaster. While God denies him this, he grants that those guilty of the sin shall only be plagued with misfortune, rather than destruction, as he planned earlier. Thus the people are given mercy, but not forgiveness.
In the first chapter of God Behaving Badly, David Lamb argues that God is unfairly given a bad reputation. He claims these negative perceptions are fueled by pop culture and lead many to believe the lie that the God of the Old Testament is angry, sexist, racist, violent, legalistic, rigid, and distant. These negative perceptions, in turn, affect our faith. Ultimately, Lamb seeks to demonstrate that historical context disproves the presumptuous aforementioned. In addition, he defends his position by citing patterns of descriptions that characterize God throughout the Old Testament. “Our image of God will directly affect how we either pursue or avoid God. If we believe that the God of the Old Testament is really harsh, unfair and cruel, we won’t want anything to do with him” (Lamb 22). Clearly, they way Christians choose to see God will shape their relationship with Him.
When God first approaches Moses in the form of a burning bush, God says “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land,” (Exodus 3:7). Moses however, questioned God’s judgement, saying, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). Moses continues to question God throughout the rest of the chapter, but eventually begins his journey to rescue his
Like Odysseus, Moses was at one with the gods. In Moses' case it was only
...nnel for the message to the Israelites. This serves God's ultimately purpose of setting his chosen people free. Although Moses does not seem like a worthy candidate for the task, God gives him the power to overcome his flaws. Moses was successful in communicating and obeying God's word throughout his journey, because he never sought to control or possess the land or the people, unlike Pharaoh. In the end, the journey of the spiritual hero can finish in either one of these two paths. It is up to the individual whether or not they will succumb to temptation and be led down into hell and remain there forever.
The spies went during the time of the first grape harvest, and brought back a branch with "one cluster of grapes" (Numbers, Ch.13, Line 23), together with some pomegranates and figs. They tell Moses that the land is rich, and the walls of the towns are unfortified. However, while Joshua and Caleb argue that the land is abundant and is "floweth with milk and honey" (Numbers, Ch.13, Line 27), the other spies say that strong and evil men inhabit it, which causes the Israelites to want to return to Egypt. The Lord talks to Moses and says he will kill all the Israelites. Moses pleads with God, saying that others would think badly of God for leading his people to the wilderness and abandoning them there.
In today’s society, many argue that the death penalty is inhumane. They call it a form of torture because the convicted wait so long on death row for their execution date. However, according to the United Nations Convention, it is not a form of torture. The United Nations Convention defines torture as “Torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is...
This section of exodus focuses on Moses, an Israelite who was raised as an Egyptian, who has fled from Egypt after the Pharaoh tried to kill him for killing an Egyptian man. By Exodus 3:1 Moses is married to Zipporah daughter of Jethro who gives him a job working as a shepherd. While tending to his animals Moses arrives at Horeb also known as Mount Sinai or the Mountain of God. Here Moses has his first theophany with God in the form of a burning bush. During this passage God talks to Moses telling him what he needs to do: go to Egypt and convince the Pharaoh to let the Egyptians go by performing a series of miracles. What god is asking Moses to do is intimidating. At this time the Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt who had a powerful army and the Israelite’s weren’t going to be easy to convince that God sent him. Despite the “signs” Moses is reluctant to take the role beca...
Real options analysis as a tool for making investment decision is taking into account uncertainty and building flexibility in the system. In the real option analysis, more elements are drawn as follows: 1) the time elapsed until the option is no longer valid or time to expiration, 2) the volatility of the returns to the investment or underlying risky asset. It offers a supplement to the NPV method that considers managerial flexibility in making decisions regarding the real assets of the firm.
Simplified Energy Design Economics by Harold E. Marshall and Rosalie T. Ruegg. NBS SP 544. Washington, DC: National Bureau of Standards, January 1980.
Throughout the Bible many different men have been essential in fulfilling God’s will. One of the main men that had an extremely important part throughout the history of the Bible is Moses. Moses has a very interesting life in my opinion, he is known as one of the most important prophets not only in the Christian religion but also many other religions. The life of Moses’s is full of accomplishments with the help of God, but also struggles along the way.
According to the book of Exodus in the Bible, Israel's future leader, Moses, was born at a very risky time. It was a time when the Jews in Egypt had increased in number and prospered so much that the Egyptian pharaoh decreed that every male Jew who was born at that time was to be killed. Moses was born a Jew. However, when his mother realized that, the time came for him to be born; she decided not to let him be killed and was eager to hide him. It was not possible though to keep him with her, for she would be found. Consequently, she decided to hide him among the reeds in the River Nile (Exodus 1-2 and QB VI...
“Is renewable energy an economically viable option for South Africa?” – In the long run yes, however, the costs to set up and maintain this clean energy plants are excessive and current schemes would have to be monitored so that costs to set up the plants could be motivated.
There has been advancements on many fronts to make economical and financial viability assessment for Renewable Energy Projects possible, including (but not limited to) production costs (e.g.McAloon, F. Taylor, Yee, Ibsen, & Wooley, 2000); transportation costs (Batidzirai, 2005; Overend, 1982; Searcy et al., 2007); capital costs (Bridgwater & Double, 1991; Gallagher, Schamel, Shapouri, & Brubaker, 2006); resources availability (Graf & Koehler, 2002); environmental performance (Von Blottnitz & Curran, 2007; Taheripour, Hertel, Tyner, Beckman, & Birur, 2008; Pimentel & Patzek, 2007); regional socio-economic development (Swenson & Eathington, 2006), and organizational costs (Altman & Johnson, 2008).
One of the key areas of long-term decision-making that firms must tackle is that of investment - the need to commit funds by purchasing land, buildings, machinery, etc., in anticipation of being able to earn an income greater than the funds committed. In order to handle these decisions, firms have to make an assessment of the size of the outflows and inflows of funds, the lifespan of the investment, the degree of risk attached and the cost of obtaining funds.
The death penalty has always been and continues to be a very controversial issue. People on both sides of the issue argue endlessly to gain further support for their movements. While opponents of capital punishment are quick to point out that the United States remains one of the few Western countries that continue to support the death penalty, Americans are also more likely to encounter violent crime than citizens of other countries (Brownlee 31). Justice mandates that criminals receive what they deserve. The punishment must fit the crime. If a burglar deserves imprisonment, then a murderer deserves death (Winters 168). The death penalty is necessary and the only punishment suitable for those convicted of capital offenses. Seventy-five percent of Americans support the death penalty, according to Turner, because it provides a deterrent to some would-be murderers and it also provides for moral and legal justice (83). "Deterrence is a theory: It asks what the effects are of a punishment (does it reduce the crime rate?) and makes testable predictions (punishment reduces the crime rate compared to what it would be without the credible threat of punishment)", (Van Den Haag 29). The deterrent effect of any punishment depends on how quickly the punishment is applied (Workshop 16). Executions are so rare and delayed for so long in comparison th the number of capitol offenses committed that statistical correlations cannot be expected (Winters 104). The number of potential murders that are deterred by the threat of a death penalty may never be known, just as it may never be known how many lives are saved with it. However, it is known that the death penalty does definitely deter those who are executed. Life in prison without the possibility of parole is the alternative to execution presented by those that consider words to be equal to reality. Nothing prevents the people sentenced in this way from being paroled under later laws or later court rulings. Furthermore, nothing prevents them from escaping or killing again while in prison. After all, if they have already received the maximum sentence available, they have nothing to lose. For example, in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court banished the death penalty. Like other states, Texas commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment. After being r...