The Tanakh also has loose stories about the actual life of King David and the other leaders of Judaism. They are not completely real, but there is a grain of truth in the Tanakh about their lives. So it is not complete fiction. Just like 300 the movie is not a complete fabrication either. It is based on truth with some fiction built in.

Like I said before, God is warlike if you come from a warlike region. If you come from a peaceful region, you get things like Taoism, Hinduism, and Buddhism; more peaceful religions and more peaceful Gods.

I was going to make a sequel thread to my Israel and Judaism threads entitled "Why I am now secular". But Mover is against the idea. I am as secular as can be now. This knowledge came when I had a more religious outlook in life. And I like the Tanakh's (Hebrew Bible) lessons on life. But I can tell you now that I am secular.

God was going to destroy the world with a flood, but he found one man; a single righteous man (Noah). So he spared the world by letting Noah live and let mankind continue on. That is the moral of the story of Noah. That is the religious interpretation. It is a message of God's love.

In the secular interpretation, peaceful places of the world had peaceful Gods. But warlike places, like ancient Greece and ancient Israel, had warlike Gods.

Hope this helps.

I am sorry that you feel that way. I will try to make my future threads more interesting for you. Here is a cool video of Rabbi Asher Meza doing Krav Maga, an Israeli martial art.

Although I am secular, Rabbi Asher Meza is my favorite Rabbi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB3etYM5LJg

Here is Rabbi Asher Meza discussing differences and similarities between Judaism and Christianity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0NVxiziQuE

I am not heavily religious. I am secular.I am not sure if a father could die for his son's sins if he purposely raised him to be sinful.Like I said before, I can make an entire thread about why I am secular if you want me to.

no

I'm arguing from the religious standpoint. I myself am secular. But I was arguing from the Jewish standpoint. I wasn't arguing life examples; only Jewish examples.

I personally think that it is weird that God would sacrifice himself to himself to appease his own wrath.

Can you name some exceptions in the Jewish religion?

I was told by a Rabbi that no man can die for another man's sins. So that is why Jews don't believe Jesus is the Messiah.

I'm not thinking of this discussion, but I'm always amazed by the way people avoid thinking about the consequences of things. In Iraq, people think of Saddam as a homicidal maniac, which of course was true. But while he was mostly secular, he was Sunni, and ran a ruthless dictatorship that oppressed everyone, but the Shia were probably worse off than everyone other than the Kurds.

From MSN News

US sending arms directly to Kurds in Iraq

AP 10 hr ago By LOLITA C. BALDOR of Associated Press

SYDNEY (AP) — The Obama administration has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces who have started to make gains against Islamic militants in northern Iraq, senior U.S. officials said Monday.

Previously, the U.S. had insisted on only selling arms to the Iraqi government in Baghdad, but the Kurdish peshmerga fighters had been losing ground to Islamic State militants in recent weeks.

The officials wouldn't say which U.S. agency is providing the arms or what weapons are being sent, but one official said it isn't the Pentagon. The CIA has historically done similar quiet arming operations.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.

The move to directly aid the Kurds underscores the level of U.S. concern about the Islamic State militants' gains in the north, and reflects the persistent administration view that the Iraqis must take the necessary steps to solve their own security problems.

A senior State Department official would only say that the Kurds are "getting arms from various sources. They are being rearmed."

To bolster that effort, the administration is also very close to approving plans for the Pentagon to arm the Kurds, a senior official said. In recent days, the U.S. military has been helping facilitate weapons deliveries from the Iraqis to the Kurds, providing logistic assistance and transportation to the north.

The additional assistance comes as Kurdish forces on Sunday took back two towns from the Islamic insurgents, aided in part by U.S. airstrikes in the region. President Barack Obama authorized the airstrikes to protect U.S. interests and personnel in the region, including at facilities in Irbil, as well as Yazidi refugees fleeing militants.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, speaking to reporters here, said the airstrikes "have been very effective from all the reports that we've received on the ground." He declined to detail how or when the U.S. might expand its assistance to Iraq, or if military assessment teams currently in Baghdad would be moving to a more active role advising the Iraqi forces.

"We're going to continue to support the Iraqi security forces in every way that we can as they request assistance there," Hagel said during a press conference with Australian Defense Minister David Johnston.

At the same time, the administration is watching carefully as a political crisis brews in Baghdad, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Iraq's embattled prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to maintain calm among the upheaval.

"We believe that the government formation process is critical in terms of sustaining the stability and calm in Iraq," Kerry said. "And our hope is that Mr. Maliki will not stir those waters."

Speaking in Australia on Monday, Kerry said there should be no use of force by political factions as Iraq struggles form a government. He said the people of Iraq have made clear their desire for change and that the country's new president is acting appropriately despite claims of malfeasance by al-Maliki.

Maliki is resisting calls to step down and says he'll file a complaint against the president for not naming him prime minister.

Kerry noted that Maliki's Shia bloc has put forward three other candidates for the prime minister job and says the U.S. stands with the new president, Fouad Massoum.

Maliki has accused Massoum of violating the constitution because he has not yet named a prime minister from the country's largest parliamentary faction, missing a Sunday deadline.

Hagel and Kerry are in Sydney for an annual meeting with Australian defense and diplomatic leaders.

___

AP White House correspondent Julie Pace contributed to this report.

He certainly has a way with words. He's also a bit of a douche though and seems willing to compromise good policy formulation for the sake of political posturing. But I guess that is everyone on the hill.

It's true. Shias and Sunnis have been fighting in Iraq for over a decade and Sunnis feel marginalized.But at the same time, it's like making a deal with the devil.I wish Iraq's Sunnis had a better way to help their people rather than rely on those ISIS monsters.

It still doesn't excuse the formation of ISIS. They're too radical regardless of how Sunnis feel excluded.

Well, trying to follow this but it seems to be going in circles... anyway if you are trying to discuss something from God or about God and you are using today's dictionary definitions, you are automatically in error...

G1484

ἔθνος

ethnos

eth'-nos

Probably from G1486; a race (as of the same habit), that is, a tribe; specifically a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually by implication pagan): - Gentile, heathen, nation, people.

The nation is just a group of people, today's definition is the border that encompasses a nation, God actually doesn't see it that way, he sees it as groups of people, basically families.

You guys touched on abortion for a moment... search the Scriptures and find out what happened to those nations who killed their children... as a practice or a common thing. (not pleasant)

and just because you think you are enlightened, just realize that those people also thought they were enlightened.

And as far as murder goes, the Scriptures also are pretty explicit on what constitutes murder and what does not...

now the great what-if...

if there is a God and you stand in judgment, will you have the correct answers?

Now if you run this backwards, the Scriptures do contain the correct answers...

and how would they do that unless there was a reason.

For a judging...

and if there is a judging, there is a judge.

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works

well the Bible actually contains numerous books and you will be judged by what is written in those books...

and catch the word dead... the dead are judged, not the living.
Just like Jesus told the man who said first let me go bury my father and Jesus told him let the dead bury the dead...
so even though you may be breathing, God may consider you already dead.

And even though I do find it fascinating, when you understand all of the prophecies or at least the vast majority of them, who is who and what will be happening and where it will be happening and who is involved and who is not involved... a few more things fall into place and we may be finding out relatively soon whether or not all of this is true.

And sadly there are no mulligans...

and also, I really no longer care... if someone wants to learn, I will teach them all day long, if not, it's not worth my time to argue, so they are on their own and I will not look back.

No, I don't want Sectarian fighting, but I do want different Sects to control different countries. This keeps the Middle East in balance. My nightmare would be the Syrian and Iraqi Governments being toppled and being replaced with a Sunni ultra-religious State. This would drag Israel into war with it and would cause even more chaos in the Middle East.

The religious argument goes in here. I want to keep a balance of Shia and Sunni control so that Sunni insurgents do not overthrow Shia States and then turn to attacking Israel and the U.S.

I am saying in the Greater Middle East. Not necessarily per country, but have most countries as a whole represented by majorities and a few countries represented by minorities.

For example 3 Shia-led States, a Jewish State, and a bunch of Sunni States. And then India on the Eastern End.

Not have a bunch of Sunni States with India and an endangered Israel. Israel, the U.S., and Iran can work together against ISIS. I think negotiations can work here.

That is all. Remember, I have been studying religion too. So I know how Jihadis think. I think more on the religious realm rather than the political realm. And we are in trouble if we let the majority not let the minority have rights. And that includes Israel not letting a Palestinian state be created, and that also includes the Arab world not recognizing Israel as a Jewish State. Both Jews and Palestinians are minority groups that need to be recognized in the Greater Middle East.

Edit: While I am secular, I feel that religion plays a lot of factors in the Greater Middle East.

You were not being harsh. I just went overboard not caring about the influence of the Gulf States in places like Iraq and Syria. For that I apologize.

I am just saying that I support negotiating with Iran and Syria. Although I am conservative, on the issue of Iran and Syria I am pretty liberal. I feel that ISIS is a greater threat to America, Saudi Arabia, India, and Israel than Assad and Iran can ever be. I don't think Iran is suicidal in building nukes and Assad is giving up his chemical weapons. We should work together to keep equal representation in the Middle East. A Jewish State, a Palestinian State, a Kurdish State, and Sunni and Shia States. I am sick and tired of how some of us here in the States support Al Nusra and Jihadis who behead people in Syria at the expense of Assad, who is more moderate in comparison. I would not have said that in the past, and I am actually shocked that I am saying it now. But we need balance. A balance in the Middle East is needed and not support for the rebels in Syria. I personally think this is in the best interest of both the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, and India. That is just my opinion. I don't want crazy religious prophecies to come true.