Originally posted by SwissGambit Actually, he was to marry her, too. But the whole story is strange. First, God offs the firstborn, Er, for some mysterious reason [he is 'wicked', though we are not told what he did to merit the label]. Then, God offs Onan. Then the woman, Tamar, pretends to be a whore so Er and Onan's father, Judah, will bang her and give her a child.
I have no idea ...[text shortened]... in bed, he'd really get pissed off at someone who bangs their own daughter-in-law.
Originally posted by SwissGambit I have no idea why God didn't kill Judah while he was at it. You'd think, if he hates a guy who doesn't finish the job in bed, he'd really get pissed off at someone who bangs their own daughter-in-law.
Well obviously the real punishment comes after death. In Christian theology, when you die is more or less irrelevant, its where you go afterwards that decides whether your death is a blessing or a curse. More important though, God in the OT gets easily angered by anyone who disobeys a direct command (Adam for example) and is a bit less concerned by individuals who just do bad things.
Another interesting aspect of the story is how much emphasis God puts on inheritance. He puts an awful lot of stock in who descended from whom a pattern that is seen throughout the Bible - the very concept of a 'Chosen race' betrays this racism or favoritism for some genes that God displays.
Originally posted by twhitehead Well obviously the real punishment comes after death. In Christian theology, when you die is more or less irrelevant, its where you go afterwards that decides whether your death is a blessing or a curse. More important though, God in the OT gets easily angered by anyone who disobeys a direct command (Adam for example) and is a bit less concerned by indivi ...[text shortened]... concept of a 'Chosen race' betrays this racism or favoritism for some genes that God displays.
That's because the OT God is the God of the Jews, not the Christians. The OT God primarily shows his wrath by destroying people on earth. The Christian God waits until the afterlife, then sends you to hell.
And didn't many nations have [still do!] their own god(s) that always supported their own morally dubious policies? If you're hellbent on conquest, or racial purity, or genocide, etc. what better way to justify it than divine edict?
Originally posted by twhitehead Well obviously the real punishment comes after death. In Christian theology, when you die is more or less irrelevant, its where you go afterwards that decides whether your death is a blessing or a curse.
What about Onan?
28 Oct '09 05:53
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