How much of the Old Testament are you supposed to believe in, word per word?
Are we supposed to believe that Noah built an ark and crammed each gender of every animal in the world into that ark while the world flooded?
Are we supposed to believe that Jonah was in a whale’s mouth for days and then got spit back out alive?
Are we supposed to believe in the tower of babel, the ten plagues, the pillar of salt… etc etc?
And if these things didn’t actually happen, did the people involved even exist?
Are we to believe that there was an Adam and Eve? and that there was actually two trees in the middle of the garden,the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? What are we to believe about the commandment that God gave to Adam "“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
There is another verse in Genesis that will bring Rev 16 to light -
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[e] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Are we to believe that that Prophecy of River Euphrates won’t happen? and what about the minute that Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and the fact that she handed it over to Adam - was God actually walking? Scripture states, “was walking in the garden in the cool of the day” and “21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” or does an Angel actually guard the entrance to the garden, “of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
What would have been of the promise? - the redemption? When reading further in Genesis, it was said that Noah was to bring relief - to bring comfort "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.”
Again, did the Exodus ever happen - did God really part the “Red Sea” (yam sup) to let the Israelite cross,"And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
Did the Sun Actually Stand Still in Joshua’s Long Day?
What parts of scripture can we honestly say that we should or shouldn’t take at face value? - or what part seems to be too impossible to understand? It would be difficult …very difficult. Your question about Noah - we could say, why did God tell Noah to use gopher wood and not arcadia wood - So I made the ark out of acacia wood and chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands." or even the Temple, The boards of the tabernacle were of acacia wood overlaid with gold.- ? or why 40 days/40 nights? Why was it necessary to send a dove? Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out birds, first a raven – the raven is considered a unclean animal/bird, see Leviticus 11:15? -
I know I’m going to get some flank about this post ~ :juggle:
p), I ask this out of pure curiosity and a hope to reach a better understanding. Nothing more.