Jayb

You like rushing in where angels fear to tread. The book you are describing says that before they made the golden calf , the people heard the commandments and said "We will hear and do it" and after that the tablets were made. Deuteronomy 5: 1- 27.

Egyptian ' ba' means "soul" and they had no ' el '. Bal means 'husband, owner, lord'. There was no Baal at Mount Sinai.



Semitic roots:
"lord" root *baʻl- Arab baʻl-
Hebrew báʻa

Why do I get the feeling that I could as well publish a page from the telephone directory and I would get the same discussion driven by the same people on this thread?

G'day Runner,

Thank you, stick to your principles - they seem to be in short supply these days.

One person I admire greatly is Mother Teresa: in her early forties she began to have serious doubts about the existence of a god: could a god allow such misery and suffering that she was witnessing in Bengal - but she kept working with the poorest right until she died almost fifty years later.

Her compassion for and devotion to her fellow human beings, regardless of whether or not she had God's support, is surely a most wonderful thing, something which few people, including atheists, could emulate or would even contemplate. We surely must live by our principles and do what we can to alleviate misery and privation, and if we don't think those principles are god-given, then we must struggle to fashion our own.

We are each of us on the Earth, this beautiful Earth, for a short time, which everybody is entitled to enjoy free of oppression and misery, whether they are Bangla slum-kids or peasants or Balmain professionals. All of us, believers or non-believers, should be able to see that we have obligations to each other as fellow human beings, and that includes our fellow human beings wherever they are.

Thank you, Runner, and Merry Christmas.

Joe

Hmmm... Is or is not "El" an early Hebrew or Aramaic word for "God?" It is. One of many names for God that were around at that time.

Yarweh is another, Jehova another although it a translation of Yarweh.

Even Jesus said Elahi, Elahi or Eloi, Eloi. English Translation My God, My God. & Ba is a form of address like Joshua ba Nosri or Jesus's real name.

It was King Josiah that combined the many Gods of Israel into one, Yarhew.

Loudmouth

' One person I admire greatly is Mother Teresa: in her early forties she began to have serious doubts about the existence of a god: could a god allow such misery and suffering that she was witnessing in Bengal - but she kept working with the poorest right until she died almost fifty years later. '

strangely enough Loudmouth the existence of evil should convince anyone of the existence of the devil and his demons. The cruelty humans inflict on others is horrifying. If their is no devils humans certainly fill the role. One can't help but to admire anyone who gives up their life to serve to poor. She certainly was an inspiration to many. Today we normally make heroes out of self serving UN officials or some so called climate guru. Can you believe Rudd is being considered for a UN post?

Have a blessed Christmas Loudmouth. Despite our differences your rational non pc posts are a breath of fresh air.

Dear Peter,

<<Why do I get the feeling that I could as well publish a page from the telephone directory and I would get the same discussion driven by the same people on this thread?>>

Perhaps it is due to your absence: I wish you were more active here to direct the conversation!

---

Dear Jayb,

<<No that's not correct. The God didn't speak directly to the people. He spoke to Moses & Arron up on the Mountain.>>

(You mean "Aaron" in his English spelling, or "Aharon" in the original Hebrew)

Well, I don't know what actually happened there at Mt. Sinai - perhaps you know better, but I certainly know what's written about it in the bible, using the original text rather than a translation.

<<Appart from that there is nowhere where God says, "Kill anyone who does worship strange Gods." God did command, "Thou shalt not kill.">>

Another mistranslation: the original says "Thou shalt not murder".

As for the former, you may refer to the biblical command to kill them, but only gradually lest the beasts of the field outnumber humans: Deuteronomy 7, 16-22.

<<Baal, or Ba el... "Ba Al/El" (Ba=Son of, El or Al=God.)>>

"Baal" is spelled Bet-Ayin-Lamed, whereas "El" (an ancient term for God) is spelled Aleph-Lamed. The letter Ayin is pronounced at the back of the throat and has no English equivalent, thus the two are of completely different roots. http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Guttural_Letters/guttural_letters.html

"Baal" by the way means either "owner" or "husband", in this case meaning that the husband of the land is sowing his seed and makes her fertile - not much of that in the Sinai desert...