Page 2 of comments on Questions of Faith I Am Dying To Have Answered
by Philip Yaffe
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Dear Philip,
You are not alone with questions of faith. Please understand I would not dismiss what a questioning heart longs to know, especially concerning their faith. One word in your title is in essence the answer for believers. We do not have all of the answers. We worship a God we have not seen. We believe and accept it on faith that He is and the Holy Scriptures were inspired by Him. It would take corresponding with you through email to enlighten you and perhaps someone who is more astute in biblical history and genealogy than I.
What we believe and understand is what the Holy Spirit has revealed to each of us because of our relationship from time spent with Him. We do not agree with each other about what is in the bible!
Imagine God saying this to you:
"Your five sense are the means of communication with the material world. Sever all connection with them when you wish to communicate with Me."
I am sorry I have not answered your questions. This article is likely to get many responses and may you receive answers.
You are an intelligent man. It is with the heart that one believes. It is with the mind that one decides to choose what he/she believes. I will leave you with this:
“It is not the arguments of theologians that solve the problems of a questioning heart, but the cry of that heart to God and the certainty that He has heard it.”
On a lighthearted note, how do you know it was an apple? *warm smile*
Only believe,
Avis
Philip, I noted I did not say what that one word is but feel sure you know. Not to leave any doubt, it's Faith. I like how the word is defined in the bible. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. To put it another way, it is the confident belief in the truth, value or rightness of an idea or religious system, without resting on logical proof or material evidence.
I revisited because you have been in my thoughts. I read this article again and have a strong desire for you to be comforted on this side not the other side.
Be well.
Great article - thoughtful and well put together!You're only 67 though, so hopefully you'll enjoy plenty more time in this awe-inspiring universe before you return to the same peace you came from just over 67 years ago!Thanks for writing!
Hi Philip - you ask great questions and I can see they are not out of arrogance or mockery to those of faith. First let me say, I do not know everything, however I do happen to know the biblical answers to your questions and believe I can answer them. They may seem inconsistant with what a Father would do, but the first misconception (biblically speaking) is that God is a Father to all people. This is not true, the Bible tells us that those of faith in the coming messiah (those who lived before christ) and those who have faith in Jesus as the Messiah (when Christ was born until the end of time) have the right to become the children of God. We are adopted into sonship by Jesus Christ. The rest are his creation, not his children. I want to give you thorough answers to each of your questions and it will take a long time and alot of space to put in your comments, so I am going to print your article and then answer each of your questions in an article of my own. You can take them or leave them, but they will be biblical. I believe the best interpretation of the bible is the bible. When we take the Bible as a whole, it is apparent that some things are to be taken literally and some things metophorically. The bible has more than one dimension to it - there are at least three that are visiable: Historical, Doctrinal, and Applicable, The other basic instruction from the bible in understanding it, is realizing that it is a spiritual book and can only be understood and received in the heart of one who inquires and receives the Holy Spirit of God. Without the spirit of God in our hearts and minds, it is impossible to understand the things of God....like I said, there is a lot of information that goes along with your questions. I will title the article "Answers to Biblical questions: for Philip Yaffe" or if you prefer, I will be happy to answer you in a personal email. However, you raise questions that are a stumbling block to many and I think they are worth addressing in a public article nonetheless. I promise to have these answers for you and posted here on SW by Saturday. May the Holy Spirit breathe life and understanding to your spirit. God bless you abundantly! TeresaBy the way, I have written articles on some of your questions, if you would like to read a few, go to my article listing and look for the following: "Adam and Eve Banished from the Garden..." and "A heart prepared for God" for starters. Let me know if those answer any of your questions. No doubt they will create more, but I don't mind. I love answering questions :-)
Hi, Teresa,Thanks for your copious reply to my article. As you suggested, I have read your article "Adam and Eve Banished from the Garden..." It does not seem to address the questions I raised, which are:1. Why did God put the "tree of knowledge" in the Garden of Eden, knowing full well the danger it posed for them (Adam and Eve)? Purposely putting temptation -- with unimaginable consequences -- before one's children does not seem a very a fatherly thing to do.2. When Adam and Eve ate the apple, why did God punish not only them, but their children, their children's, their children's children's children, etc., down through the ages? Again, this does not seem to be a very fatherly thing to do.No, I don't know it was an apple. I know the Bible does not specify that it was an apple, but that is what people say who seem to be in the know. The point is too petty to warrant contradiction.Regards,Philip YaffeHI Philip, I apologize for being late in getting the article done by Sat as promised. I am working on it today and should have it done by Monday evening. As I mentioned, it may raise more questions, but I will stay with you as long as you are interested in chatting about this very important spiritual issue.About the Apple, you are right, not worth fighting about, but I seriously don't know why anyone ever decided it was an apple. Just for kicks, I think it could have been a fruit that doesn't exist anymore. :-) Blessings to you. I look forward to a wonderful conversation.Teresa
19 July 2009Dear Rabbi Stanley,You seem to be a plain-speaking person, so I will be plain in my response. Please do not take offense.No, you have not answered all my questions. You in fact raised a new one. Let me deal with that one first.You say that "Adam and Eve's children had relations with each other and produced offspring. It wasn't until much later that it was forbidden. It wasn't repugnant to them then, they understood they had to populate the earth. Their genes were not yet corrupted so the children of these brothers and sisters were not born defected." Sounds good. However, as I understand genetics, if Adam and Eve had the same genome, then their children, and their children's children, etc., all would have had the same genome. This never would have changed. If Adam and Eve had different genomes, then each succeeding generation would have had fewer and fewer genes in common.It is generally the case that birth defects are attributed to the mating of people who have very similar genomes, so there should have been an enormous number of birth defects in the early generations and fewer and fewer down the ages. Please explain.Also, if incest was necessary to populate the earth, it would seem that there should be a verse in the Bible where God says, "That which I ordained and required at the beginning is now repugnant to me and you shall no longer engage in it at risk of incurring my wrath." Does such a verse exist? Where can I find it?As I said in the article, I am much less concerned about the Bible's apparent lapses and inconsistencies than about its moral lessons, so I will ask you to address yourself once again to these.You state that "G-d doesn't cast anyone into hell, we choose to go there. If one doesn't like the things of G-d, they'd be miserable in heaven." This is in no way an answer to my question, which was:In view of the terrible consequences, who in his or her right mind would fail to obey? There would seem to be only two possible explanations: 1) The "sinner", for whatever reasons, simply does not believe that he or she is disobeying, 2) The "sinner" is not in his or her right mind. Who with properly functioning synapses would choose temporal gratification at the cost of eternal grief? For God to cast such people into hell would not be punishing sin, but rather ignorance or mental illness. This is a hard concept to swallow.Also, I am still at a loss to understand the moral lesson of the hunger, pestilence and death, especially of newborns, God wreaked on Egypt rather than dealing directly with the Pharaoh, who alone defied His will. You did not comment on this.Finally, how are we to morally interpret things such as avalanches, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, blizzards, droughts, and other blindly destructive events referred to as an "act of God"? Do these phenomena mean that there are certain things over which God does not have control? Or worse, that God periodically unleashes these devastatingly destructive forces for no apparent reason?I am looking forward to your replies.Philip Yaffe
20 July 2009Dear Rabbi Stanley,It's a good thing that I don't take offense easily. In the first line of my article I say, "To try to pre-empt people from misreading between the lines, let me clearly declare that the purpose of this article is in no way to challenge anyone's faith, but rather to better define my own." You may believe this or not, as you will.If you make a reasonable point, I believe that I am perfectly capable and willing to recognize it. Are you capable and willing to recognize that what may be a reasonable point to you may be unreasonable to me? In other words, are you prepared to accept that any probing of your point is not an attempt to burst your bubble, but to test the sturdiness of your position for the benefit of both of us?Philip Yaffe
Phillip, the first question is do you believe in God? If not the discussion meaningless and mute. If you do then God is God, we know not the ways or how it is simply FAITH, no proof required. For any mortal to try to answer is useless. We apply mortal thinking. Turn to Job and get your answer that he got, 'where were you, etc." You either accept or do not. Now God himself in Isaiah asks anyone who thinks they can challange Him to come and sit and talk with Him. I won't tell you where I will let you read. You see many profess, many quote scripture but it is only that God is God and can do it all. In fact God left it that way so we can choose. It is all about believing and loving. Look at Noah. He spent time building an arch and everyone around him scoffed and laughed. What did he have, faith. Now if you challange that as fable, myth, story then we are back to line number one. best wishes in your search.
20 July 2009Dear Mr. Melaccio,May I suggest that you re-read my article? It in no way challenges the existence of God, but it does question some of the inconsistencies and nonsense that people say about Him.Take your example of Noah. Surely their must have been more good people in the world worth saving in addition to Noah and his family. Yet they were all destroyed. Why?When God sent Moses to tell the Pharaoh "Let my people go!" Pharaoh refused. Instead of punishing Pharaoh, he punished all of Egypt, including sending famine, pestilence, and even slaughtering newborn infants. Why?If there is a moral to these two stories (and many similar ones in the Bible), then I am at a loss to understand what it is. Please enlighten me.Philip YaffeNo Phillip, respectfully, you have it wrong as to what I poorly expressed. What I am saying is, if you believe, as you say you do, then faith is the only answer to many mysteries. Now I refer to the scriptures concerning the Potter to answer your questions. Basically who are we to ask God why, what, how? Was not Job asked that directly, "Where were you when"? Yet, my sense of your replies fosters an opinion upon me right or wrong that this article seems to be challenging the Word or you have what you deem as the answer and are testing Christians. Sorry if not so but that is the perception? The answer to that is the Word is God made flesh. Therefore if anyone doubts any part of it they are not a believer. One cannot be. It is simply that regardless of what one professes to be. You literally question God. Why God chose to do what He did and how is a question for God not man. We can speculate all we want using mortal thinking and intellect but the fact is we do not reason as God does about surely this, and why that. Now God stated very clearly some are made for the wrath, to bring others to salvation, that the elect will be saved and not all. A very profound statement not all. You see some follow the doctrines of men. I'd have to write many more articles and many of us already have. Read it and see for yourself. So why only Noah, God said why and He spoke about the condition of man. However, if you are a Jehovah Witness then their bible speaks to those questions in a different light. It also speaks to a lot other things, fact not judgment and we can talk about that for hours and go no where, ones belief and choice. Once again, questions asked by many a person. So let me ask you this and forgive me my impression by your responses is you might have the answer, how is it the planets stay fixed in space and do not fall? I always wondered about that? Also how is it that everything, that is everything is made up of Atoms, yet we are all unique beings created in the image of God? A lot of mysteries even the most intelligent of men can't answer and battle over. At the end we shall have our answer. Best wishes.
Hi Philip, "Answers to Biblical Questions: for Philip.. Part 1" article is posted - in response to the first question you bring up in this article. I do hope it helps :-) No strings attached. Blessings! Teresa
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