Christianity Question

[Acriku]

It could be drawn that God is a sadist from the bible, just read it all and you will find many things a sadist would include.

[emprworm]

it could be drawn that God is a sadist by one who hates the idea that they are a created being and is repulsed at the notion of being inferior to a superior being (the idea of bending the knee to a supreme being is a horrid thought to them, so they conclude the being is sadistic)

[nampigai]

Well you could say to some extent that he was a sadist, I mean trying to make Abraham kill Isaac just to test him.

[Caid Ivik]

Sadist? He would it be if He wouldn't stop Abraham from doing it. Sadism is purely human abomination, like any evil (altough it's caused by Satan and such).

[nampigai]

But Abraham didn't know that now did he? and how would this have affected his and Isaacs lives? I would just be happy if my dad would kill me to show his faith in god.

[kblackthorne]

Well you could say to some extent that he was a sadist, I mean trying to make Abraham kill Isaac just to test him.

This is a perfect example of why the Biblical stories must be considered in their context. It wasn't just a test: It was a lesson.

In that time and place, in neighboring tribes, it was customary to offer one's first-born as a sacrifice to the gods. (There was a specific deity involved, but the details escape me at the moment. I can try looking it up later.) This was simply accepted as what was demanded by deity.

So here is Abraham, whom God has furnished -- against all expectation -- with a son. And then... the time comes, as he dreaded it would, to make the sacrifice. So a dutiful Abraham prepares to do so. It's really what he expected all along, and all God's previous promises couldn't erase that certainty from his mind, because this is just what the gods demanded. He knew this.

But that wasn't what God was demanding. In fact, God was showing him a completely different way to serve. But there wasn't much short of divine intervention at the moment of sacrifice that would have convinced Abraham that this wasn't his duty. And that is the true miracle of the story.

It is not about some cruel being demanding ultimate sacrifice, then going, "Just kidding". It is about teaching a culturally-conditioned follower that the things he thinks are demanded of him... are not the things God demands.

[quoudam72]

It goes to show that you should question (to understand) your deity more often. Understanding what is being asked of you is paramount. Most of the biblical characters fall into this 'trap' not because of the deity itself but because of a form of social environmental conditioning.

[Caid Ivik]

But Abraham didn't know that now did he? and how would this have affected his and Isaacs lives? I would just be happy if my dad would kill me to show his faith in god.

It was a test what he is able to sacrifice for God's help. But He showed Abraham, that he needs no human sacrifices, he should just follow His orders. Not as Baal or other "gods" (even Abraham worshipped other gods when he lived in Ur) which were owners of their worshipper life. That shows that He is the only God.