A strong argument that people are worshiping Baal without even realizing it.
A strong argument that people are worshiping Baal without even realizing it.
If we were as industrious to become good as to make ourselves great, we should become really great by being good, and the number of valuable men would be much increased; but it is a grand mistake to think of being great without goodness; and i pronounce it as certain that there was never yet a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous." - Ben Franklin
Imagine what good we can do if we all joined together, united as followers of Christ - M. Russell Ballard
haven't seen the vids yet - but the premise bothers me; I suppose I believe one cannot accidentally worship anything.
“… the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face" - Pete Carroll.
Firstly how on earth do you guys watch television? A 3 of the 6 clips are 8:30 mins, 2 are 15 mins, and the last one was under 5 mins all separated with adverts? =/
Seemed pretty disjoined but a few notes -
The BEST clip was the start to the Thrid part, which opens with videos of riots and then the caption comes "WHAT TYPE OF GOD APPROVES OF VIOLENCE" obviously they're wanting you to think baal...because, of course, the god of the old testament never approved of violence in any shape form or fashion xD
Another amusing moment was when Beck said that the book/film Lord Of The Flies "proves" how darwinism could never work, oh dear xD
Baal itself is basically sin, as DMP said above, its not so much that anyone is worshipping anything, however, i can garuneetee there is not a person on this board who could not be said to be "worshipping" baal, the way it is presented in the videos
And when did the baal really start to pick up speed in america? Ofcourse when the Pill was introduced. Same old points from the religious right, woman having control over their own body leading to the ultimate downfall of civilisation...
Towards the end i think the show loses the plot a little, and just goes on an all out attack on secularism and environmentalism (i hope none of you christians recycle your waste or try to live lest wasteful lives, because thats a 'sacrament of the secular church' don't ya know')
I don't think anyone will deny they fact that we have become a greedier, needier culture, far less sensitive to sex and violence, however, to sprinkle it with meta-physics and call it a god is unnecessary imo.
If you also agree that an animals suffering should be avoided rather than encouraged, consider what steps you can take.
I didn't think Beck was in anyway unreasonable. The tone throughout was measured (probably because Beck and the Rabbi were in total agreement throughout) and even though they started to wonder of course somewhat at the end, the majority of the discussion was on message. So I don't think the fact that it was Beck is a talking point.
If you also agree that an animals suffering should be avoided rather than encouraged, consider what steps you can take.
just some rambling thoughts...
To pin it all on Baal is ready metaphor for much of what's going on today. But the fact that people set up justifications for certain sins and promote them as Good. Turns them into Ideological Idols. In the old days the Idols had certain characteristics and promoted certain concepts -Sex as tool of pleasure, wiht few rules- for example. Baal in some of it's forms fit well with some modern cultural idea's.
The metaphisyic , of it I believe is a reality. Many won't go there but It's a part of the package. the Bible says that people fall into to sins "but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed." The dersire is in us already to certian things, but there are spirtual forces that promote the negative desires as well. many people cliam to lead into deviant acts by spirits and some worship the sexual impluse or divine feminine, or aspects of power over others. some see power in shedding of blood of others as a way to spiritual power. When you look at a Charles mason type there seems to be more to it than just people behaving badly.
the Bible states and many Christians and former spiritualist report that the demonic world is very active and personal.
The concept of worshiping an idol is at the same time conceptual or metaphorical and spiritual.
"Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons."
the Idols are just pieces of rock or wood but there are Ideas (baduns) and spiritual beings behind um as well.
Funny how when we think an idea is the way to go that instead of the idea becoming a servant to us we often become a servent to it. the idea that Power or Sex is .... or that scinece is... or humans should... becomes the master, and worshipped and defended as a god. not to be challeged.
there's a book i read a while back that goes into more than one idol that western culture has adopted, more in the ideologiacal sense and how they a "spirit" and Anti God. It's an amzing piece a work and anit light reading. Here's the talbe of contents
Idols for Destruction
The Conflict of Christian Faith and American Culture
By Herbert Schlossberg
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Forward by Charles W. Colson
Preface by Robert H. Bork
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE: Idols of History
History as a Religious Enterprise
The Cult of Historicism
History as Lord of the Universe
Getting in Step with History
Inevitable Progress
La Trahison des Clercs: History as a Polemical Device
The Historical Profession
The Myth of the Seamless Web
The Christian View of History
God’s Action in History
Judgment
Judgment and Mercy
Consequences of the Christian View of History
CHAPTER TWO: Idols of Humanity
Human Beings as Gods
The Ethics of Antinomianism
The Function of Law as Ethical Foundation
Subjective Pragmatism
Humanitarianism
Ressentiment
Equalitarianism
The Misuse of Guilt
The Poverty Issue
Poverty and Culture
Poverty and Work
Poverty and Dependency
The Curse of Ontological Victimhood
The Poor Countries
Domination by Classification
The Exercise of Power
Issues of Life and Death
The Degradation of Humanity
The Irrationality of Humanism
Humanism and the Future
CHAPTER THREE: Idols of Mammon
Covetousness and Theft
The Alchemist as Theif
Inflation
The Role of Banking in the Inflationary Process
Politics and Inflation
Inflation as Redistribution
The Consequences of Inflation
Envy and Economics
Morality and Economics
Materialism
Redistribution
Redistribution to the Rich
Redistribution to Business and Industry
The Political Payoff
The Politics of Pressure Groups
The Power of the State over Economic Life
Bureaucratic Domination
Price Controls
Autonomous Officialdom
The Failure to Invest
The Role of Profit in the Economy
The Onset of Poverty
Freedom and Coercion
The Evasion of Evil
The Failure of Mammon
CHAPTER FOUR: Idols of Nature
Nature and History
Nature as the Whole Show
Science as Religion
Social Science as Ideology
Reductionism and the Sociology of Knowledge
Reason as Lord of the Universe
The Triumph of the Irrational
Assault from the East
Nature as Lord of the Universe
The Triumph of the Irrational
Assault from the East
Nature as Lord of the Universe
The Effects of Naturalist Irrationality
The Cult of Narcissism
A World Become Spooky
Second Face of Janus
Nature in Control
The Riddle of the One and the Many
Prolegomena to Any Christian Epistemology
CHAPTER FIVE: Idols of Power
The Creation of Leviathan
God Marching on Earth
Only the State Can Save Us
A Moral Revolution
Our Father, the State
The State as Idol
Creating Utopia
The Rule of the Elite
The New Gnosticism
The Apotheosis of Power
Scholars-on-Pension
The Shepherds and the Sheep
Bureaucrats, Politicians, and the Exercise of Power
Khadi Law and the End of Justice
Power through the Religion of the Schools
Individualism and Its Enemies
Inferior Magistrates as Countervailing Powers
The Family under Attack
The Attack on Economic Resistance to the State
Freedom as a Vice
The Question of Totalitarianism
The Vision of Global Unity
The Irrationality of Statism
The Sacralization of Power
CHAPTER SIX: Idols of Religion
Anti-Clericalism as a Biblical Theme
False Religion in the Early Church
The Conformity of American Religion
Loss of Intellectual Underpinnings
Humanism and the Church
The War against Economics
Churches of the Messianic State
Theology in the Service of Revolution
Civil Religion and the Churches
The Checkered Church
Democratic Idolatry
The Kingdom Coopted
CHAPTER SEVEN: Consequences and Expectations
Understanding the Present and Forecasting the Future
History as a Moral Universe
Foul Is Useful and Fair Is Not
Moral Man and Immoral Society
Moralism and Guilt in the Absence of Morality
Paganism Revisited: The Mimetic Inversion
The Breakdown of Intellect
Religious Secularity
Manifestations of Religious Warfare
The End of Prosperity
A Society Feeding on its Future
A Society Marked By Strife
Antinomianism as an Accompaniment to Decline
Ethics in a Post-Christian Society
The Drive for Power Accelerates
Poverty and Power
The Onset of Judgment
A Society Transformed
CHAPTER EIGHT: The New Community
The Dual Vision of Righteousness
Prolegomena to any Christian Metaphysic
Freedom and Responsibility
Prolegomena to any Christian Ethic
Idolatry and Injustice
Society and Its Dissenters
Defying Mammon
Responsibilities of the Rich and the Poor
The Stewardship of Wealth
Unity among the Faithful
Defying the Powers
The Preservation of Intellect
Christ against the World
Toward the Triumph of Justice
Persecution
Embarking on the Great Adventure
Index
It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. The freeman of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. James Madison
Live as free people, yet without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness; but live at all times as servants of God. 1 Peter 2:16
Fascism has come to America, wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross. His name is Trump.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. - George Orwell...The New GOP motto.
If we were as industrious to become good as to make ourselves great, we should become really great by being good, and the number of valuable men would be much increased; but it is a grand mistake to think of being great without goodness; and i pronounce it as certain that there was never yet a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous." - Ben Franklin
Imagine what good we can do if we all joined together, united as followers of Christ - M. Russell Ballard
“… the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face" - Pete Carroll.
If we were as industrious to become good as to make ourselves great, we should become really great by being good, and the number of valuable men would be much increased; but it is a grand mistake to think of being great without goodness; and i pronounce it as certain that there was never yet a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous." - Ben Franklin
Imagine what good we can do if we all joined together, united as followers of Christ - M. Russell Ballard
Ba'al is a divine title in Hebrew. It means "master". Christians have demonized the term.
um yeah it' means, "lord" some time and the devil is an angel too. but that doesn't quite tell the whole story.
tthese are a few old testaments vs.
1 Kings 18:21 Elijah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you waver between the two sides? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." The people answered him not a word
1 Kings 18:40 Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Don't let one of them escape!" They seized them. Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.
1kings 22:
52And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: 53For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
I don't think the Christians rewrote or "demonized" the the old testament term for the Jews here.
http://concordances.org/b/ba'al.htmNumbers 25:3 Israel joined himself to Baal Peor: and the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel. (See RSV)
Numbers 25:5 Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Everyone kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal Peor." (See RSV)
Deuteronomy 4:3 Your eyes have seen what Yahweh did because of Baal Peor; for all the men who followed Baal Peor, Yahweh your God has destroyed them from the midst of you. (See RSV)
Judges 6:25 That night the LORD said to him, "Take your father's bull, the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Ba'al which your father has, and cut down the Ashe'rah that is beside it; (DBY RSV)
Judges 6:28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Ba'al was broken down, and the Ashe'rah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered upon the altar which had been built. (DBY RSV)
Judges 6:30 Then the men of the town said to Jo'ash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Ba'al and cut down the Ashe'rah beside it." (DBY RSV)
Judges 6:31 But Jo'ash said to all who were arrayed against him, "Will you contend for Ba'al? Or will you defend his cause? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been pulled down." (DBY RSV)
Judges 6:32 Therefore on that day he was called Jerubba'al, that is to say, "Let Ba'al contend against him," because he pulled down his altar. (Root in DBY RSV)
1 Kings 16:31 It happened, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. (See RSV)
1 Kings 16:32 He reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. (See RSV)
1 Kings 18:19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." (See RSV)
. (See RSV)
whats your source
It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. The freeman of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. James Madison
Live as free people, yet without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness; but live at all times as servants of God. 1 Peter 2:16
If we were as industrious to become good as to make ourselves great, we should become really great by being good, and the number of valuable men would be much increased; but it is a grand mistake to think of being great without goodness; and i pronounce it as certain that there was never yet a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous." - Ben Franklin
Imagine what good we can do if we all joined together, united as followers of Christ - M. Russell Ballard