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Old 09-26-2007, 05:32 PM   #1
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Default Jewish history

Anyone interested seeking evidence on whether God exists or not could read a book on Jewish history and compare that history to Deuteronomy 28 (the part about what would happen if they disobeyed).

Deuteronomy was written when they were still herding goats in the desert.

Some of the most obvious fulfillments take place thousands of years later during the middle ages.

Here's one example: In Deuteronomy 28 it says "They will lend to you and you will not lend to them."

That doesn't make much sense until you get to the middle ages and the Jews became money-lenders. Things always went pretty good when they first established themselves in a new area, but sooner or later the persecution would start and one of the persecutions was that the Jews could no longer lend money, but were forced to take on loans at high interest rates --- hence the fulifllment of the prophecy.

The prophecy that they would eat their own children came to pass when Jerusalem was besieged by the Romans in AD 70. Roman soldiers found mothers eating their own children when the city was finally broken into.

The prophecy that their children would be taken from them was fulfilled during the pogroms in various places.

There are dozens more. The history of the Jews was written in advance.
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Old 09-26-2007, 06:31 PM   #2
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Sending this to BC&H
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Old 09-27-2007, 07:23 AM   #3
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Oh really? Where does the bible predict Israel's recent failed invasion of Lebanon? Its president's sexual harassment scandal?

A lot can happen in 2000 years. the fact that you cherry pick events out of 2000 years that are vaguely similar to events 'foretold' means absolutely fuck-all. Given any group and 2000 years of history, you will find times where they resort to cannibalism, are persecuted, have their children taken away, are made to bear onerous financial burdens. I suppose you are a nostradomus fan too?
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Old 09-27-2007, 09:49 AM   #4
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This is really stretching.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Deuteronomy 28
43 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. 44 He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.
Note the lending refers to the alien who lives among you. But in the time you're talking about, the Middle Ages, it was the Jews who lived as aliens among other people. So you can only say that this "prophecy" applies by ignoring half of it.

And just a few verses before:
Quote:
39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off.
Nothing to indicate that this refers to a separate time: but where in the ghettos and shtetls of eastern Europe did the Jews have vineyards and olive trees? Not too many olives grew in Poland.
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Old 09-27-2007, 05:43 PM   #5
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Well, it got my attention. I was looking for evidence. And when I learned that the prophecy had been given even before the Jews entered the promised land, even before they disobeyed and were kicked out of the land, and even before they became money lenders in the nations where they fled to, it seemed a little more than coincidental.

Money lending was a big part of their economy for hundreds of years in the dark and middle ages.

But how could anyone know this detail several thousand years in advance? And nail such a curious little detail with such precision? We call ourselves thinkers yet casually ignore that?

It's called a sign and a wonder and it's there for us to consider.

We don't even know what we will eat for breakfast tomorrow or if there will be a breakfast or a tomorrow.
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Old 09-27-2007, 06:37 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kyurious View Post
Deuteronomy was written when they were still herding goats in the desert.
There are those who would disagree strongly with this assertion.
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Old 09-27-2007, 07:40 PM   #7
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Especially since they did not develop writing until well after they settled down!
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Old 09-27-2007, 07:44 PM   #8
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Yeah, you may be right. It could have been oral communication generated before they were in the land between Moses and the people, passed on and written down later when they were in the land.
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Old 09-28-2007, 03:34 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kyurious View Post
Yeah, you may be right. It could have been oral communication generated before they were in the land between Moses and the people, passed on and written down later when they were in the land.
Yes, because the fact that there are four or five distinct dialects, writing sttyles, etc in the text means nothing.
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Old 09-29-2007, 02:56 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kyurious View Post
We don't even know what we will eat for breakfast tomorrow or if there will be a breakfast or a tomorrow.
Yeah, but I can predict that there will come a time in the future in which you or one of your descendants will eat breakfast.
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