When I was a child this story scared me. One night I had a nightmare and I remember crying in my father's arms and asked him if God asked him to would he kill me. He said no and continued to comfort me. Then I felt bad that my dad would disobey god. So, that was fun to go through as a kid. ✨sarcasm✨
oh man. that's some serious mental anguish :( This story has caused so much distress in children. It's such an unfair position to put a child in. Sorry you experienced that
@@kerynl.sanchez9891Really? Should think although people were stupid enough to be passed on these horror tales as moral instruction, they were sane enough not to follow them, literally at least.
What's really telling is the fact that the theme throughout the bible isn't necessarily having faith, but fearing god. It was never about faith. It's about fear.
I asked a Christian friend one time " If you have to fear God, how can you love God? She responded, " Didn't you fear your parents growing up, yet love them at the same time?" I responded, " No, I didn't. I only got scared after my Mom would say she would take my dog to the pound if I got a bad grade on a math test. But, that is being scared, not fear. No different emotions "
This! I was going to say this exact same thing! Blind obedience is held higher than moral logic! And you can’t question things … because Abraham didn’t question. And Job was reprimanded for asking why. “Trust and obey… there is no other way..”
@@christophergibson7155 I truly hope someday that you will be free. This belief system is a prison that warps your mind. I grew up in the church. As a missionary kid, preacher kid, I have a bachelors degree in ministry. I truly believed in God for years, fully relying on him. Dedicating my life to him. You’re under a spell. Please, keep searching and asking questions. I was able to break free while I was working on my relationship with God, trying desperately to pursue him even more deeply. But now, the fog has lifted. It’s not real. God is not real. It’s mythology. It’s a blood sacrifice. Read the story of Adam and Eve - ask why they were punished when they didn’t even have knowledge of good and evil. Ask how a blood sacrifice washes away sins… why would God create the universe to work like that? If God knows everything, he would have known they’d sun and he still set things up that way? Requiring burnt offering? He enjoys the smell of the burnt offering…It’s archaic thinking. But, I understand. Years of indoctrination are really hard to break free from
It did not, God did not let Abraham kill his son he was testing his faith in God. When God says you shall have no other gods before us, it even means our own children. If you read the Bible, it is full of love. It’s difficult to understand if you’re listening to a 20-year-old tell you what she thinks versus theologians who have studied in Jesus Christ for years and years and years. Please do your own homework I promise you will see it differently.
@@ganymedkallisto5561 You don’t understand it correctly, it’s amazing if you look at it with the greater context in the Bible having to do with the crusifixion. Remember how isaac had to carry the wood he would be sacrificed on? Same with Jesus, He had to carry his cross. After everything was done God promised Abraham that He would bless all nations on earth through his offspring, which at that time wasn’t fulfilled. Also apparently God told Abraham He would provide the lamb, then God provided a Ramb instead of a lamb. He decided to provide that lamb later in time. Also after Abraham was finished there he named that place “the Lord will provide” and it says in the Bible that on that mountain it will be provided. That would be confusing without knowing what we know today. But apparently Jesus who is also known as “the Lamb of God” went and carried the wood He would be sacrificed on just like Isaac, and on the same mountain which it was predicted, and since He is the Lamb of God it also means the lamb God told Abraham He would provide was provided thousands of years later through Jesus, and through Jesus all nations on earth were blessed through His death and resurrection on that cross. And that’s how God redeemed man, and used Abraham’s and Isaac’s lives to tell a great story that happened thousands of years later.
I'm commenting AGAIN because I've always had a particular issue with this story! I always tell people to imagine if this was a modern day child- hanging around their room, playing video games or whatever and the Dad comes and does something like that! The kid would be ruined for life! Imagine having to LIVE with this father- never knowing whether "God" might tell him to do it AGAIN and not let him off the hook that time! You'd be afraid to ever turn your back on him or go to sleep at night! My daughter told me I'm the ONLY one who got that from those verses-that EVERYONE else was INSPIRED by the story! I'm so GLAD to learn I am NOT alone in my take on this!
The first time I read the Bible cover to cover, I was only 13 years old. I always put myself in Isaac's place. I would never trust my Dad to keep me safe ever again. I would have run away from home. The fact that Abraham knew he had to lie to people about what he was going to do and told them not to come with him when they usually would, tells me he KNEW it was wrong.
I had not read your comment before just posting mine and I have literally written about having the same thought process on this as you do. The way you have also put it into today's context, really shows how evil it is. If this DID happen today, Abraham would be up on charges of child abuse, attempted crimes against humanity and would most certainly be put up for serious psychiatric assessment; and let's not forget that if anyone believed in the God that told him to do it - God would be up on charges too.
I read somewhere that this story is a rewrite, and that in the original, he does kill him. the evidence is verse 19. "Abraham returned..." It doesn't say anything about Isaac. When I told my son about this, he said "Dad, If you tried to kill me, I wouldn't return with you either."
in the bible you also have the daughter of Jephtah... there god did not bother to intervene and he took Jephtah up on his offer... the morale of the story is supposed to be that you should be careful what you promise, but if the bible is a book of made up stories, then maybe god himself could just be made up...
Now, that prank has shown up in Quran as well, and their followers took it so seriously that they turned it into a religious holiday where they sacrifice a lamb every year to this day!
I distinctly remember exclaiming "Isaac must have been so scared!" when our Sunday school teacher told this story. She got really indignant & almost yelled back at me "imagine how Abraham must have felt!" Well dang, that one did some damage. 😅 I'm so thankful for these videos - so cathartic!
@@libbybee89 The elephant in the room is the trauma caused to children in all things god-related. Now, just imagine if they read the Book of Numbers in Sunday School. Children would hear their god say this: "Kill all of the men, kill all of the women who have slept with a man, but keep the virgins, children, and livestock for yourselves." But of course they never even tell the ADULTS about that because they don't want people rejecting that evil piece of shit people call "god." Numbers: its about a lot more than just a census. People should read it.
I remember hearing this story as a child in Catholic school. I asked a question to the nun after the first verse, “what happened to his first son, Ishmael? He doesn’t count as a son? So much for honoring parental responsibility.” Earned me a trip to Mother Superior’s office.
It's because Israelities feared that people would know the truth, because Ishmael was an ARAB, they did that out of jealousy. Actually, Ishmael was Abraham's oldest son. God didn't asked Abraham to kill his son, rather he was shown a dream which he shared with his son ishmael, and then his son said that this must be a command from your lord and you shall fulfill this dream, so when he (Abraham) laid his son for sacrifice, God at the last moment saved his son and replaced him with a sheep instead. So Abraham sacrificed the ram and from that day forward, it is a tradition among muslims to celebrate Eid ul Adha where they sacrifice animals, and distribute it's meat among their relatives, friends and specially poor needy people. (Quran 37:102-112): "Then when the boy (Ishmael) reached the age to work with him, Abraham said, “O my dear son! I have seen in a dream that I sacrifice you. So tell me what you think.” He replied, “O my dear father! Do as you are commanded. Allah willing, you will find me steadfast.” "Then when they submitted, and Abraham laid him on the side of his forehead ˹for sacrifice˺," "We called out to him, “O Abraham!" "You have already fulfilled the vision.” Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers." "Indeed, this was a clear trial" "And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice," "and We left for him (a word of praise) among the later people," “Peace be upon Abraham.” "This is how We reward those who are good in their deeds." "He was truly one of Our faithful servants." "We ˹later˺ gave him good news of Isaac-a prophet, and one of the righteous" The Bible states God commanded Abraham directly to sacrifice his son. The Qu’ran on the other hand states it was actually Abraham’s son (who was a boy at the time; estimated to be between 7-13 years old) that believed his father’s dream was a command from God. This sacrifice event is narrated in , in which the account of the event has suffered additions, alterations and distortions, as I will point out. Here Isaac is mentioned as the son to be sacrificed. Besides that, The chapter Chapter 22 of the Biblical book of Genesis also informs us that during the sacrifice event God referred to Abraham’s sacrificial son as “your only son” three times, but when was the time when Abraham has the "Only Son"? Take your son,” God said “your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that I will show you, offer him as a sacrifice to me.”… But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven: “Abraham, Abraham!” He answered, “Yes, here I am.” “Don’t hurt the boy or do anything to him,” he said. “Now I know that you have obedient reverence for God, because you have not kept back your only son from him.” … The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time: “I make a vow by my own name-the Lord is speaking-that I will richly bless you. Because you did this and did not keep back your only son from me … (Genesis 22:2; 22:11-12; 22:15-16) (Also as I have mentioned before, we don't support this story of the Bible that "God told Abraham to kill his son". But here I'm talking about the Bible). (Genesis 16:15-16): "Hagar bore Abram a son, and he named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old at the time." (Genesis 21:5): "Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born." So Ishmael is older than Isaac by 14 years (100 minus 86 = 14). In other words, during the 14 year period before the birth of Isaac, Ishmael was “the only son” of Abraham. As Isaac was born after Ishmael, he can never have been “the only son” of Abraham. The phrase, “the only son,” applies exclusively to Ishmael. That’s why, the “son of sacrifice” description fits only Abraham`s elder son Ishmael, and not Isaac. (Genesis 25:12-18): "These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore for Abraham. These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names and according to their birth order: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s oldest son; Kedar; Adbeel; Mibsam; Mishma; Dumah; Massa; Hadad; Tema; Jetur; Naphish; and Kedemah. These are Ishmael’s sons. These are their names by their villages and their settlements: twelve tribal leaders according to their tribes. Ishmael lived to the age of 137. He took his last breath and died, and was placed with his ancestors. He established camps from Havilah to Shur, which is near Egypt on the road to Assyria. He died among all of his brothers." (Genesis 17:20): "As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will bless him and give him many descendants. And I will cause their numbers to grow greatly. He will be the father of twelve great leaders, and I will make him into a great nation." (Genesis 18:18-19): "Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” Ever thought what happened to the Abraham's son Ishmael and the promise of God for him?
@@smidlee7747 The "God" who promised Abraham and Sarah a son, is Jupiter. The story of Sarah laughing at Jupiter is copied from a story of Venus laughing at Jupiter. Jupiter, along with Mercury, went on to visit Lot (Philemon) and his Wife (Baucis). Women are from Venus and men are from Mars.
So was Jesus (born out of wedlock) to be fair. Also, people 'born in sin' might surprise you. People in general, can surprise us. Heck, much of heaven was 'born in sin'... or the unlikely, propensity, for it. I guess Romans 1:20, was not stress tested, there. Before an unlikely major revolt, civil war, or major break out of... unhappiness, confusion, delusion, or suicidal... pride?@@smidlee7747
@@harveywabbit9541 Interesting, but those stories you're talking about come WAY after the Torah/Old Testament era. So it's the other way around if there was copying.
@@smidlee7747 So, god cares if a child is legitimate or not? Even though he also is for lots of wives and concubines for men? (e.g. Solomon and many others, starting with the Adam/Lilith thing). Seems kind of mean to the children.
The story of Abraham and Isaac has always bothered me. So has the commandment to respect parents, but nothing about respecting children. Especially after the realisation that my father would have done the same thing as Abraham to me,to his daughter.And yes, once again, the Bible completely ignores the fact that it was his mother who bore Isaac, gave him life and most likely raised him. This decision of Abraham's shows absolute disrespect for his wife. Like she is just an incubator! Also, the narratives of blind obedience are repeated again. The lack of freedom, toxicity, and misogyny in the Bible have bothered me since childhood.Thanks for the video and greetings from Ukraine, Kristi!❤
This story disturbed me deeply as a little kid. I was even unable to sleep thinking when would god tell me to stab my parents or do some kind of madness that I wouldn't even be able to contemplate trying. Pretty perverse stuff
@@PGOuma Geesh! You'd be scarred for life! How could you ever trust her again? You'd have been sleeping with one eye open all the time. I am so very sorry that happened to you.
I spent decades in church. This story was 'always' soft peddled. On top of this, there are many other parts of the bible that depicted horrific scenes. These other passages were never talked about. If they were somehow addressed, they were justified as OK. It's all maddening.
@@edm-london1660Where in the Bible does it say not to take the verses literally but only metaphorically? Not once does it command that in any Bible verse, so isn't that heresy that you're making up your own interpretation of it?
@@edm-london1660I think a lot of theists think that people who don't believe don't know the Bible, but you are sorely mistaken if that's what you think. A lot of atheists know the Bible very, very well. So you can't come on here and claim things that aren't true in the Bible, without being called out for it.
like GENOCIDE of babies, pregnant woman, animals, insects, COMMANDS SLAVERY LAWS, UMMMMM SLAVERY of INNOCENT WOMAN and CHILDREN, STONE woman not innocent, children who don't obey, EAT FLESH, This is but a little, they don't teach this stuff people would say what is this TRASH and just go home
That is some literal serial killer nightmare fuel "Hey dad I see the knife and wood for the sacrifice where is the lamb" "Don't worry son just keep walking" I can imagine Abraham had that possessed Jack Nicholson face from the shining while saying it The Bible should only be allowed to be read around a campfire on Halloween nights only.
You should know if you observed Abraham life that he really loved his son that means he probably even cried while killing him but knew that must be done because God is the reason he even had him. Abraham was not a fool like many people bur indeed very wise even if this took all strength he had in every sense of that word
This was the pivotal story that really made me unpack and ultimately move away from my literalist understanding of Genesis. Along with all the things you point out, I got to the point of really examining the problem of "testing" (read - tempting) from a positive law basis. If you hold as true propositions that A. Righteousness or morality (rightness) lies in doing what God commands, obeying Him and B. God is good and cannot tempt man to do evil (James 1:13), then the testing presents an objective and undeniable contradiction, not a matter of interpretive nuance. God had previously commanded that Man may not take innocent life or indeed even shed innocent blood in the covenant of Noah. So in Abraham's case, he was being presented with the choice to either obey God's covenantal command or obey His contradictory personal command, either of which choice would necessitate a disobedience of the other command, which is precisely tempting to evil, i.e. there is no choice available that does not violate one of God's commands. Simply no way around it; it is a blatant contradiction.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr It's more precise than that, which is an arguable point, but still an interpretive nuance. The direct prohibition in the Noahide covenant was against taking INNOCENT life, so while the argument could be made that in war there are other considerations of self-preservation, just cause, yadda yadda, with slaughtering your beloved child there is really no interpretative leeway - it's a direct violation of God's command to Noah.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr Well, that is a belief a lot of Christians have, but it's not textually applicable to the covenant of Noah... if there is no category of humans to refrain from killing, then it's a nonsense command to not kill them.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr The covenant of Noah is from Genesis, where it lists the commands God gave to Noah after the flood. One of these is the command to not kill or shed innocent blood. If Christians don't know that, it would only be because they never actually read Genesis. So with this command in place prior to Abraham, the command to sacrifice Isaac becomes a direct contradiction to an earlier command, moving the issue from a purely moral one (which, interestingly enough, Abraham does chime in about that in the leadup to Sodom being destroyed) to now one of positive law also.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr There are 2-3 commands, depending on how you parse it. The one I'm referencing is from Gen. 9:5-6 - "I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind." This is an active prohibition on God's part that Abraham was then required to disobey, hence the di-lemma (which is definitionally "temptation").
I know what Isaac felt like. I was an only child after a 10 year period of infertility. My abusive parents were VERY clear when they taught me this story. I was Isaac in this story. They loved me very much after waiting so long to have me, but God always comes first. Every time I got yet another beating, I often wondered if this time, god told them to kill me. Because they had already told me they would kill me if they were told to.
I'm sorry to hear you went through that too. But Isaac was a grown man around his twenties who could have overtaken his elderly father who is now about 120 years old. Abraham was 100 years old when he had Isaac, and Isaac is now an adult by the time Abraham was called to sacrifice Isaac. Therefore, Isaac willingly allowed Abraham to bound him for the sacrifice to the LORD. As I explained elsewhere, Abraham understood that God would have to resurrect Isaac because God promised that through Isaac, Abraham would have descendants that are more than the stars in the sky and sands on the shore. Isaac also understood that God could do all things, even resurrect from the dead, therefore he was a willing participant.
I would have done strength increasing exercises. And self defense maneuvers plus offensive moves. Later, I would let them know that you are ready for a battle, if need be. You would have your parents meet G d.
@@statesman6379 Why did Isaac need to be bound? Couldn't he have just lay there? Being bound presents that he was expected to resist. I also don't know if we can argue that Abraham was too old to restrain anyone unwilling at this point. I mean, for one he tells his son that they are going to slaughter a lamb, not a human being, so he's probably taken unawares, and also Abraham lived for another 50-60 years past this, as many humans of the Bible in this age did, so I don't think we can consider his aging process to be the same as a modern human. He'd probably be the equivalent of a leathery-skinned, tough as nails 50 year old of today.
@@maul42 Firstly, Isaac was strong enough to carry the wood for his own sacrifice up the mountain himself. So he could have fought back. Secondly, he didn’t put up a fight, nor did he even utter a word. The entire Old Testament is prophetic of Jesus Christ. Jesus also carried the wood for His own sacrifice to the place that He would be sacrificed. Jesus also didn’t say a mumbling word before Pilate to defend Himself. Jesus was also the Son of the Father who willingly sacrificed Himself at His Father’s will. Jesus actually did resurrect, as both Abraham and Isaac were expecting God to resurrect Isaac in order to fulfill His promise of giving Isaac many descendants. At this point, Isaac didn’t have any children. Isaac was 60 when his sons were born. Being physically bound represents submission. Jesus didn’t have to be bound either. He said He had all power to call the angels to take Him down off the Cross at any time. Yet, He stayed on the Cross for you and me. And being an adult by now, Isaac would be fully aware of God’s promise to Abraham that Isaac will be having many descendants. They both came to the conclusion that God would have to raise up Isaac from the grave because they knew that God would never renege on His promise.
The argument of “Well it’s ok bcuz God didn’t aaaaactually want Abraham to kill Isaac!” really falls flat when you learn that there are other instances in the Bible where people *do* offer child sacrifices to God, and he rewards them for it.
You have to backup your comment with the necessary quotes. So let me do it: In the bible the biblical God accepted human sacrifices. And that can be proven with the bible. So let me add these verses here: Judges 11:29-40 "29Now the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. 30Then Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” 32So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and Yahweh gave them into his hand. 33And he struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel. 34Then Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. 35So it happened that when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me. But I have opened my mouth to vow to Yahweh, and I cannot take it back.” 36So she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to vow to Yahweh; do to me according to what has gone out from your mouth, since Yahweh has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon.” 37Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions.” 38Then he said, “Go.” So he sent her away for two months; and she went with her companions and wept on the mountains because of her virginity. 39And it happened at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she did not know a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel, 40that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year." Here to obtain victory in battle Jephthah intends to sacrifice whoever comes to his doors. And that one was his own daughter. It is also important to note that before he took that vow that the spirit of the biblical God came to him before. --- There are also other parts of human sacrifices take a look at these quotes here: Exodus 22:29-30 "29“You shall not delay the offering from the fullness of your harvest and the juice of your wine vat. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30And you shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me." Here it states that the firstborn of the Israelites children shall be given to him. Afterwards he said the same about the firstborn animals too. What happens to the animals given to him? They were sacrificed. But that is not enough so let's get a bit more Information. Exodus 13:1-2 "1Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”" Here we have another quote which states the same. Now let's take a look at what happens to the things devoted to him. Leviticus 27:28-29 "28‘Nevertheless, anything which a man devotes to Yahweh out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the fields of his own possession, shall not be sold or redeemed. Anything devoted to destruction is most holy to Yahweh. 29No one who may have been devoted among men shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death." Anything devoted to the biblical God out of all he has, of MAN or ANIMAL shall not be sold or redeemed. It shall be surely put to death. That's human sacrifice. But is there another part in the bible which is a bit more specific? Yes, there is take a look at this: Ezekiel 20:25-26 "25And I also gave them statutes that were not good and judgments by which they could not live; 26and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am Yahweh.” ’" Here it is stated openly. All their firstborns were passed through the fire. That's a human sacrifice. The reason for this in context was for "punishment" but it does not change the fact that they were human sacrifices. --- Deuteronomy 13:12-16 "12“If you hear in one of your cities, which Yahweh your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that 13some vile men have gone out from among you and have driven the inhabitants of their city astray, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), 14then you shall inquire and search out and ask thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the matter is confirmed, that this abomination has been done among you, 15you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, devoting it to destruction and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword. 16Then you shall gather all its spoil into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh your God; and it shall be a ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt." Here you might say that the people getting killed in that city are not human sacrifices directly because you sacrifice their belongings. But you can say that this is an indirect human sacrifice to appease anger. These quotes also give you the possibility to attack people who don't believe in the abrahamic God.
Yup, I wonder what's the logic behind Yahweh being mad at people for offering babies to Moloch but also being mad at Saul for not killing every boy, girl and woman of the amalekites.
If you heard of someone hearing voices in their heads telling them to kill their children, you wouldn't be making stained glass windows in your house telling the story, you'd be phoning the police and getting them sectioned.
Even as a Christian, I agree with you. If someone today thinks they hear God telling them to kill someone, I would guess that they are delusional. If we think God is telling us something, we need to examine it through the lens of God's prior commandments. For example, one time I felt that God was telling me to love Catholics (and I have some beefs with my Catholic brothers and sisters). It was completely in line with Jesus' teaching on loving one's enemies, so I believe it was really from God.
@@PolymorphicPenguin If you are going by the bible (where else are you getting the lens of gods prior commandments?) then I do not see how you distinguish anything. Got killed people and told others to do the same. God told Samuel to kill infant children. God said it was ok to take young daughters as war booty. You get the picture. The person I mentioned hearing voices in their heads could just point to the bible and say exactly the same thing. Your Catholic fictitious kin "brothers and sisters" would have been able to point to the bible on St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and said, God told us to do this. Also, loving ones enemies isn't sound advice (nor are many of Jesus alleged teachings). In WW2, we didn't love the nazis, we shot them and put a load of them on trial.
@PolymorphicPenguin This is not an isolated incident. The Bible is filled with God commanding “his people“ to commit untold atrocities and genocide, specifically instructing that all women and babies be murdered but the virgins should be kept as plunder. This is why so many have concluded that Yahweh is a moral and ethical nightmare and therefore the religion collapses upon itself.
This is the story I've always been most hung up on. Like, I could never understand the "blindness" of this faith, even when I was supposed to believe blind faith was a good thing. They try to cop out with the "sikes, just kidding, just testing ya", but like that's f*cked up, too.
@benjaminrichmond4227 You don’t understand it correctly, it’s amazing if you look at it with the greater context in the Bible having to do with the crusifixion. Remember how isaac had to carry the wood he would be sacrificed on? Same with Jesus, He had to carry his cross. After everything was done God promised Abraham that He would bless all nations on earth through his offspring, which at that time wasn’t fulfilled. Also apparently God told Abraham He would provide the lamb, then God provided a Ramb instead of a lamb. He decided to provide that lamb later in time. Also after Abraham was finished there he named that place “the Lord will provide” and it says in the Bible that on that mountain it will be provided. That would be confusing without knowing what we know today. But apparently Jesus who is also known as “the Lamb of God” went and carried the wood He would be sacrificed on just like Isaac, and on the same mountain which it was predicted, and since He is the Lamb of God it also means the lamb God told Abraham He would provide was provided thousands of years later through Jesus, and through Jesus all nations on earth were blessed through His death and resurrection on that cross. And that’s how God redeemed man, and used Abraham’s and Isaac’s lives to tell a great story that happened thousands of years later.
In the late 50s I played Isaac in a play our church, Assembly of God, put on. I was 5 I did OK in practice with all the lights on. In the performance with lights off except for the spotlight on me and Abraham. When Abraham raised the knife to kill Isaac, I was so scared I wet myself. Not only was I scared now I had to deal with the humiliation of wetting myself. As I've been on my path to freedom from god, I've realized that this and many stories in the bible whether true or not can have horrible effects on children.
@@harveywabbit9541 This is what's inside of me: skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and the reproductive system not a make-believe kingdom.
Ive asked xtians several times whether they would obey god if he told them to kill their child, and ghe result is almost always "well god would never do that", which is very telling. They know they wouldn't do it, but to admit that is to admit that god isn't perfect, and thats unthinkable to them
Sadly I think it's more likely that they WOULD but just don't want to say it out loud. Look at all the people who refuse medical treatment because religion. Jehovah's Witnesses had kids who died because of parents refusing blood transfusions on the cover of one of their magazines as basically heroes who died for god. They know they WOULD do it but can't admit it
@@edm-london1660Explain how it doesn't make sense? May I ask, do you think that's a good god to test someone& traumatize them by telling them to take a knife above their only son and murder him, traumatizing the boy and the father alike? Why would God have to test them, if he already knew whether they would fail or pass his awful test? Let me guess, my questions don't make sense to you either?
I once asked my mom (while I was deconstructing) what she would have done as Abraham, and it rendered her speechless. I think I gave her a mini crisis, because she said she couldn't wrap her head around a loving god making that particular demand of her. I felt more loved by my mom for a little while after that, at least until she came back to me with some generic evangelical doublespeak (from my dad or her pastor) about "letting go" and "trusting God."
“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.” ― Steven Weinberg
This hit different when I had a son, my only child, and read this and said "hell, no!" It just cemented the direction I was already headed (away from Christianity).
The same god murdered every firstborn son in Egypt over a problem he had with the leadership not every single family in Egypt. But then, god is very, very bad at lodging complaints. Also, he likes to show off his power because "real" power is the kind you have to show off, apparently, not the kind you hold in reserve for emergencies.
@cgcolin You don’t understand it correctly, it’s amazing if you look at it with the greater context in the Bible having to do with the crusifixion. Remember how isaac had to carry the wood he would be sacrificed on? Same with Jesus, He had to carry his cross. After everything was done God promised Abraham that He would bless all nations on earth through his offspring, which at that time wasn’t fulfilled. Also apparently God told Abraham He would provide the lamb, then God provided a Ramb instead of a lamb. He decided to provide that lamb later in time. Also after Abraham was finished there he named that place “the Lord will provide” and it says in the Bible that on that mountain it will be provided. That would be confusing without knowing what we know today. But apparently Jesus who is also known as “the Lamb of God” went and carried the wood He would be sacrificed on just like Isaac, and on the same mountain which it was predicted, and since He is the Lamb of God it also means the lamb God told Abraham He would provide was provided thousands of years later through Jesus, and through Jesus all nations on earth were blessed through His death and resurrection on that cross. And that’s how God redeemed man, and used Abraham’s and Isaac’s lives to tell a great story that happened thousands of years later.
I have seen many Christian preachers, priests and apologists try to explain away why so many are breaking from the Religion/Faith. The reasons they give are mere trivial at best. There are some big elephants in the room they choose to ignore. This sordid tale of Abraham ready to murder his son to show how devoted he is to his god is one of those elephants. The idea of devotion without pause or question. Absolute devotion no matter what extremes are required to prove that obedience. One question is this. Why would God test Abraham's devotion. Would God not know how obedient Abraham was ? These are the issues that leading so many around the World to reject such blind devotion. And leave all religions behind.
@@briceidycierramarrujosmith4563 Christian look for any possible angle to inject Jesus into a narrative. God was just testing Abraham's devotion. But my question. I f God is all-knowing, How would he not know the lengths Abraham would go to prove his obedience? And to put Abraham and Isaac into such an ordeal, just does not fit with a loving and holy deity.
I think it is very telling that Abraham knew how EVIL, how ABOMINABLE what he was going to do was, that he asked his men to stay back. LIED to them that he and his son would go on to worship. Funny how these negatives are what characterizes God's instruction. There's no truth to the test, no transparency, no goodness. And yet, somehow, we're supposed to take away a life lesson from this story? Somehow, we're supposed to carry on believing that God is good? This video actually gave me a clarity on an issue that's always bugged me. I'm gay and Nigerian, and in my community, I encounter a lot of stories of Christian parents who turn their backs on their children when they're outed. There are even those who'd willfully endanger the lives of their gay children by calling the police on them. For a homophobic society like Nigeria's, that's the cruelest thing a parent can do to their gay kid. And yet, I know pastors and deacons who've done exactly that. And I've always found it horrible that these parents who claim to love God would throw their children out to the wolves like this. But then, how can I be bugged by that behaviour, when the god they worship instructed the Bible's first example of a "man of faith" to unalive his own son? "To follow god is not to be moral." -- Kristi. Thank you, Kristi. From Tiktok to UA-cam, you have no idea how much your content helps me heal.
I really hope you have loving and supportive people around you who know how awful homophobia is. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to be LGBTQA in a country that is so homophobic. As another person in the LGBTQA community I send you hugs
@@walterude6323 I'm glad you have loving people around you, I hope one day more people in your country (and everywhere) will stop caring about what gender the person someone loves is and only care about who someone is as a person
And I thought about that too, clearly he knew that his men would think him murdering his son was wrong and might even try to stop him so he lied to them about it
As v12 confirms, it was a test of fear, not of faith. Brilliant work, as always. Your thoughtful and calm delivery helps illustrate the complete absurdity of these stories. If they were true, it would be some really sick stuff.
Lol. I’m imagining YHWH telling Jesus right before sending him down, “don’t worry. Remember how I showed up and saved Isaac at the very last second? I’ll do the same for you too…” 🤣🤣🤣
This is one of the most horrifying stories of emotional abuse ever committed to writing. “Kill your son: go on - kill him, kill him, DO IT! …Wait, only kidding LOL! …What, can’t take a joke?” Said every bully ever. Abraham must’ve been a delusional psychopath, and Isaac was probably gaslit for the rest of his life. The lesson here is one of coercive control.
When I was a toddler, my schizophrenic father tried to sacrifice me using this Bible passage as inspiration. He tried to put me in a laundromat dryer, but was stopped by my mom & whoever helped her. Taking these stories literally can lead to people with behavioural health issues to do stupid, often violent things. I have CPTSD & ADHD that was not diagnosed until I was 50 years old. Christianity almost completely destroyed my life, as I tried very hard to adhere to Jesus' ostensible commands. My family relationships, my physical & mental health, as well as my finances were devastated because I tried hard to be the epitome of a good disciple for decades. I sometimes fell into deep doubt & depression as a result of all of the lies I was led to believe.
A lot of us have been caught up and tied down by those lies. I'm glad you've escaped them, or are in the process. I truly believe that leads to a more harmonious world.
CPTSD is extremely common amongst we neurodivergents (especially those of us who spent our entire childhood undiagnosed). I’m sorry for everything you went through.
During COVID, I was a crime victim ..tried to get justice through law and everything else, but nothing worked out...I tried to be closer To God and all I got was deeper depression. I tried to heal while going to church, but I encountered some harassment in my office, fought in the labour office because the management tried to cover it up and in the end, they fired me with a few months additional salary and we 'agreed' it was 'peaceful solution'...the company treated me like I was the villain....the pastor in my church tried to take this Opportunity to glorify God and God had much more beautiful plan for me. Nope ..I decided it's time to turn my back to this God that would like to keep giving me challenges
The poor kid definitely needed therapy after that incident. Nobody notified child protection services either. The father should have been arrested at the very least. Terrible example of morality, my Son is now 33 and he also feels most of the bible is pure BS. I didn't raise him to use the bible as a guide for anything. Our Family knows the truth and religion is no longer part of our life thanks to people like you. I love watching your channel grow. Keep up the good work. Big hug from Rienzi Mississippi 😎
Hi Kristi! Ive been deconstructing for about two months now. You were one of the first videos that came up when i first searched the term "atheism" into UA-cam. You have been an enormous help! Keep it up 😊
I highly recommend the channel Mindshift if you haven't seen his stuff yet, he's currently running through the OT bible book by book looking at the broad themes, and how evil God is in most of them.
@dannioutscore4387 I'll check it out too. Would like to find more atheist perspectives than the few I follow. Only issue with this girl is she's not educated in anything related to language or culture or history and doesn't use any authors or other atheist takes. It's just a younger lady who remembers a few stories and they don't come from her time or culture so the lens is too opaque for me to cling to. I wouldn't want to learn any other material from someone who has such little expertise in the field. It's more like putting all your eggs in the basket of one person in a class who doesn't get straight As. Other people at least cite sources to back up their arguments. Just in this opening I'd question her logic on how she should just be able to read the Bible and know everything it means or it isn't the word of God because not all people can access a history professor or a theologian. Well, no one could read at all when this was written, this was considered history to them and the theologians kept the stories on scrolls and read them like a classroom. Not everyone nowadays can read the same levels with the same comprehensive take away, see the SAT score distribution if you need an example. If she wanted to have more influence she could at least refer to Hitchins or Dawkins one time in any video but it is merely her, thinking from a 21st century young persons mind with zero attention paid to anything or anyone else but her thoughts. Would you take any other class from someone like that and feel like you could pass the test?
@@DH-rs6cq Kristi has a unique take because she's a young lady who de-converted no so long ago. She doesn't need to reference Dawkins or Hitchens to have her own views. Paulogia, Prophet of Zod, Viced Rhino, Telltale, Ember, Planet Curious, Logicked, there's dozens of channels out there all looking at different aspects of religion (though usually Christianity because they're usually US or Canadian), you can take your pick.
I like how God personally told Abe to kill his son, but when it came down to stopping him after he passed the test, God sent an Angel down to do that part. Like God didn't want to be there as a witness if Abe was s little slow at stopping the knife.
Growing up in the 60s, I remember this story in Sunday School and never gave it a second thought. They told us how amazing it was that Abraham had so much faith and we should strive to be as strong in our own lives. We could have confidence that God would never actually make anyone go thru with such a dastardly act. It took decades to review this story from a similar angle that was presented here. Now, its horrific to think of the indoctrination that I fell for back as a kid and even more, how long it took to see the story for what it really is. Great point made about the fact that Isaacs feelings were never considered or mentioned in the text. I never had much empathy for others, growing up. Something I've really worked on, over the last 20 yrs. Now I believe I know the reason for my early lack of compassion. Stories like this and the way they were taught to us.
I remember as a child working hard to see this story as something wonderful and redemptive, and shoving down other feelings about it, because otherwise then I wouldn't be "good". And, underneath that, I'm pretty sure the fear was that if I wasn't good, I'd be punished by this god who had the power of life and death over me. Not that I consciously realized that until much, much later, because I was shoving down those feelings as hard as I could. I hadn't thought of these stories as being something that tamps down compassion, but I see what you mean, now you've said it. Because if you have to shove down one feeling, you have to shove down other feelings, too.
I just wanna say I have been watching you from TikTok to UA-cam for the past 6-8 months and I have to say I love the growth of your YT channel (which is crazy cause I swear you was at 10k not too long ago 😂❤) and your talking points and arguments are so well articulated and logical 🔥💯 You never come off hostile or condescending like the church folk I run into who condemn me to hell with the simplest of disagreements lol. You are one of my favorite people to watch whenever it comes to these topics because I myself was raised up in a religious household and gracefully left Christianity at 17 (now 24). Keep doing your thang miss 🤟🏾👏🏾 you have my support!
Reading it Honestly for and by ourselves without anyone else telling us what it's supposed to mean Breaks the Spells of Indoctrination. Excellent Kristi, Well Done!!
This channel is exploding 💥. It'll soon smash through 50k subscribers and 5 million views. 👌 Kristi continues to produce high quality content that is causing enormous cognitive dissonance amongst Christians who dare to venture here. Keep up the great work Kristi! 👍
Good video. You're getting at what I consider to be the fundamental moral flaw of the Abrahamic religions, i.e., that morality can be based on the concept of sin, which is doing what is against the will of God. Abraham avoided sin by showing his willingness to do what God commanded, but what God commanded was clearly immoral. And that's the basic problem.
that their not bother by YWH GENOCCIDE of babies, pregnant woman, animals, insects, YWH SLAVERY LAWS, sell your daughters, COMMANDS GENOCCIDE, take innocent woman and children, STONE LAWS, This is but a little. How can anyone be cool with this FILTH
They are absolutely fine with Jesus murdering billions of people in the future when the angels start blowing trumpets. And it's certainly ok that nonbelievers are tortured with scorpion stings for 5 months - where you can't die so you have to suffer for the whole time.
I was never taught to look at that story critically or from Isaac’s point of view. It was always about “obeying god” when I was taught this story. And now - this story is absolutely horrific. It doesn’t matter that Abraham doesn’t ACTUALLY kill Isaac in the end. The point is that he was going to kill him and that he had no issue with killing his own son. Ah yes - what a WONDERFUL story to get inspiration from. When I was younger, I was told that only people with the Holy Spirit inside of them could understand the Bible. Looking back, that was just a way for people in the church to disregard the thoughts/opinions of the Bible from anyone who wasn’t a Christian. That and a way to pull people in (ie. “You want to know the truth of the world? Well, you have to join our religion to be able to get it). As an atheist now, the Bible feels more and more horrible to me every day. I am very glad I have long since disregarded it as a source of morality.
I have always found it strange that people find ‘hope’ in the Jesus crucifixion story in which a loving father allowed his son to be tortured and murdered, shedding blood as a way to forgive the sins of future generations. Sins that the same god invented. Then people take up the cross, a horrible torture device, as a symbol of purity and hope. Pretty sick reasoning in my book.
I’d like to correct your statement. It’s important. Jesus died only for those who sinned under the first covenant. See Hebrews 9:15, Galatians 4:5,Matthew 15:24 , Romans 5:13 and Romans 9:4. That’s no one alive today.
@@josephrohland5604 Well, there are a whole lot of present-day preachers telling their present-day audience, "Jesus died for your sins." Seen it in many UA-cam comments as well.
@@sundayoliver3147 The bitter pill of truth is that no one has been saved nor redeemed for nearly two thousand years. The “church today” has been in a massive error; a complete hijacking of ancient Israel’s exclusive and fulfilled redemption narrative, the Bible.
Kierkegaard was so obsessed with this story that it seemed to him that faith couldn't possibly make sense -- yet was not necessarily a bad thing to submit to -- which he describes as paradox but to me reads like a sort of insanity. He even points out that, in the moment Abraham chose to sacrifice his son and obey God, he was a murderer (in intent); yet he is not reviled as a murderer, but revered as a father of faith. Kierkegaard (or his pseudonymous authorsona for Fear & Trembling) saw this as something profound, but one can easily just agree that yeah probably we should not consider Abraham a righteous person if the only reason he wasn't a murderer is because God stopped him from doing something he had absolutely resolved himself to do. Walter Kaufman said of Kierkegaard: "If it really were axiomatic that God could never contravene our conscience and our reason - if we could be sure that he must share our moral judgments - would not God become superfluous as far as ethics is concerned? A mere redundancy? If God is really to make a moral difference in our lives, Kierkegaard insists, we must admit that he might go against our reason and our conscience, and that he should still be obeyed." Some might see this as edifying of faith, but to me it just shows the problem with it. God should be able to persuade you, and has no right to command you; only a being unworthy of the title God would command anything like this.
I think this is the time and place to quote Voltaire in a not literal, but analogous translation: “Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire ‘Questions sur les miracles’ (1765)
Thanks so much for putting the time and effort into making these videos. I find it very comforting listening to them. I was always troubled as a kid being forced to go to Sunday school and go through all this when none of it made sense and as you say you only get shut down if you question it. Your approach is very thoughtful and genuine with a true emphasis on love and kindness towards others. Looking forward to more of your work.
I wish that Sunday school teachers would take a different approach and not shut down questions. If our teaching doesn't stand up to questioning, can it really be true? I believe that God wants you to explore your questions.
The story of Jephthah had him sacrifice his daughter to win a battle against Ammon in the Book of Judges. So if Abraham did kill his son and sacrifice Isaac, it still would completely in line with the Bible.
God never told Jephthah to sacrifice his daughter; Jephthah made that foolish vow on his own. Judges 11:30-31 "And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, 'If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering.'"
@@robby7499 Presumably God truly despises the murders and rapes that occur throughout history, yet doesn't lift a finger to stop them. Just because God doesn't stop an activity doesn't mean he approves of it.
@@57cactus1 Not to mention all the wars and genocides that god incites in the bible, and the mass slaughters god performs himself. Apparently it's cool when he wants it.
thank you for your ironically loving take on this story, and emotional injury to a child not even considered, a narcissist God's feelings more important than love
As a little kid i don't recall being shocked by that story in Sunday School, maybe because of reading about other violence in the Old Testament and fairytales about cruel stepmothers, parents trying to get rid of their kids, a kid-eating witch or giant, etc., in Grimm Brothers Fairytales, Hans Christian Andersen, and the Thousand and One Nights. My parents were hypocrites who had been baptized into the church and felt the need to appear religious, so we always attended weekly services and sometimes Sunday or Wednesday evenings, although at home they almost never talked about "God" or prayed. At that time i still thought they really had faith, so their silence on the subject was bewildering and made me wonder whether they didn't care if i and my sisters never got faith and were sent to eternal torture in hell. If so, it was only logical to speculate that they would think nothing of slitting our throats. 😱
I've heard atheists here on y-tube breaking down many curious stories from the bible. You are the first one I have seeen tackle this paticular story. Human beings are an irrational species. Your perspectives might just bring some people to their senses. Your work is very important, and you are doing it very well.
Jehovahs witnesses absolutely argue that you need to listen to god no matter what even what it sounds crazy and that they are constantly being prepared to listen to the governing body no matter what they say or how crazy it sounds as they’re basically the voice of god. It’s legit terrifying
Holy Moly, Kristi - you really chose the doozy of doozies to unpack in this video! I don't know if I've told you this in a previous comment, but my father was a preacher's son, and my father's father was so heavy handed with his religion that my dad and all his siblings totally rebelled against religion and became either full-blown atheists or agnostics, like my dad. So, the family environment that I was raised in was kind of like a post-deconstruction thing; above all, my parents wanted me to be free to choose my own religion according to the dictates of my own conscience. Anyway, I am kind of speculating or inferring here, but I guess that the reason I was never told the story of the binding of Isaac by my parents when I was a child was that my parents thought it would be too disturbing or traumatizing to me - and they were probably right, since I was, and still am, a quite sensitive individual. Here's proof positive that the Old Testament God is autocratic and abusive - and then he says, "I was just kidding!" And so, I learned about the whole binding of Isaac thing when I was an adult, and that's also about the time that I learned that this event is also celebrated and commemorated by Muslims as the holiday of Eid. Just think - "Islam" means "submission to God" and nothing shows submission to God more than a willingness to sacrifice your own and only son. But Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, is cut from the same cloth as an authoritarian and patriarchal religion.
I'm not sure if I thought of this when I was a kid or if it came from my feminism studies back in the day: The story gives me the idea that in its culture, children were not valued as people; they were simply possessions. Abram "loved" Isaac because he was a gift from god to Abram that he thought he would never have, a son. When god said, "ok, now give it back," Abram thought "the lord giveth and the lord taketh away, so I'm being unselfish by not holding onto my gift." At no time was the child considered as anything other than a prized object. All this certainly doesn't make to story any better. Just different awfulness.
Yeah, Job's story backs that theory up. God had Satan kill all his children to try to break him, and at the end he gave him new ones. Didn't bring the old ones back, just replaced them.
I love your videos! Thank you so much for making them in such an honest and clear way. I was not raised in a fundamentalist church, but I was born and raised in Brazil. Christianity here is really interwoven with our culture, custumes and morality, even though our country is supposed to be secular. I went to a catholic school and I was really upset and confused with these stories. Even as an 8yo I thought "If god knows everything, why does he need to test people's faith? And why does he test it in such cruel ways?" Not only I never got a straight answer but also was seen as problematic for questioning his teachings.
You were wiser than I when young. And Christianity is in a lot of supposedly secular countries, including the US. The first Western European education was frrom monks and nuns. The whole religious story is embedded in that system -- and so in professions, laws, social customs.
I don't know if you are going to cover this later but there is another guy in the bible who did the same thing with his daughter. Judges chp. 11: 30 - 40. His name was Jephtah and he made an oath to god that he would let him win the battle Jephtah would sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house. So when he got home the first thing that came out was his daughter. He cried over it but he wanted to honor the oath. His daughter wanted him to honor the oath too. So after a couple of months he took her into the mountains and sacrificed her. God did not show up to save that one.
Jephthah made a rash promiise that God had never required. According to Leviticus27 he did not need to "sacrifice" her, She could have been redeemed by a payment of money.
@@ChrisSmith-xh9wb That's an excuse. It doesn't matter whether it was required or not - it matters that it was DONE. The desperate and pathetic efforts to excuse it away or claim it didn't really happen, no matter what the words are always disgusts me. I'm going to suggest something she does not - ACTUALLY STUDY, not the book, study theology, history, archeology, anthropology - faith groupings in the Levant, etc. These two are among other hints that survived into the modern day that are horrific, immoral and monstrous. The God who would PERMIT these things, or command them, or test people with them is a monster, an immoral, unworthy creature. I do NOT accept that because something has more power than I do means that it is good or moral or has any right to command my service, my worship, or my respect. Power? Hell? Those things are the tools of an abuser. If an abuser has enough power, then so be it - but I will not say that these things are acceptable or right, or moral or that a being who would do such things is good in any way. There was a significant early Christian split that believed that the God of the Old Testament was actually evil -- things like this pushed that movement. Human sacrifice is WRONG. Killing your child is WRONG. One hundred percent. A god who would permit or command such things is not worthy of respect or worship from a single person. I by the way am a person of faith - but I know that the Bible is simply myth.
Coming home from church one Sunday I asked my dad if he would kill me if god told him to. Without skipping a beat he said, "Of course I would, as would any good christian man."
I'm enjoying your deconstruction of the the bibles stories that make no sense to many of us. I was born into a Baptist family so at a very young age I would question Sunday school stories such as Adam and Eve. My grandmother would say "you can't question the Bible" so that made me question it even more. I think one of the key words often found in many of these stories is the word OBEY, all religions are about controlling people, what they think and do. Why do you think the term "God fearing" exists, it is to scare people into conforming. Why would anybody fear God? Please keep up your work, it nice to hear a voice that puts answers to many of my questions.
It's amazing how some preachers will turn this story around and say, "This wasn't for God. God didn't need to learn anything. God knows everything! No, It was for Abraham. He needed to know that he was willing to do anything, sacrifice anything for God," when the text says clearly, "Now I know," not "now you know."
I am so new to this topic. My brain is literally swimming right now. I was baptized Catholic and went to 12 years of catholic school and church every weekend, but was still a very secular person. After high school I stopped going to church. I had always had my doubts about Catholicism in particular because it seemed to go against what the Bible said. So because of the myriad of questions I had starting in my preteen years that I never felt comfortable asking for fear of judgement, I decided to walk away once I turned 18 because my mom decided the moment I turned 18 she didn’t have to be my parent anymore and “make” me go. I was brought back to faith as a baptist about 2 years ago because that’s how my husband was raised, although he is not devout by any stretch. We decided we wanted to give a foundation of faith and morals to our kids by introducing them to the Bible and church. But over the last two years my journey has been as follows: getting swept away by the charismatic movement and feeling loved, moving on to going to a local baptist church and feeling the conviction from fire and brimstone preaching, and circling back around to where I was nearly 15 years ago in terms of having a crisis of faith and deconstructing again. God’s personality changes from the old to the New Testament and it’s something I felt when I was a child and still feel today: which God am I going to get today? The loving one or the wrathful one. Thank you for addressing things I’ve been struggling with for two thirds of my life.
If this story is actually true, imagine the massive dynamic shift this TRAUMATIC event would have created between the father & son. If my parent had bound me up, raised a knife to me, and almost followed through with murdering me, I would be in constant fear of that parent, and I would never trust that parent again. Ever. This is God's "perfect" plan???
This is such a refreshing perspective. You're right about what the heck was going through Isaac's mind when his dad is holding a knife over him. If that was my father, I would probably never forgive him, let alone stay in his house anymore.
No one was harmed in this tale. The Ram that is slain is the Aries constellation. Aries sets headfirst and his horns are entangled in the thorn bush (winter). The Lamb slain is the same Aries at the spring equinox. It was the blood of this lamb that was placed on the door posts to mark those to be spared. One would certainly be insane to think the writer was talking about a real live animal. The Red Sea, that is passed - over dry shod, is the spring Aurora.
OMG I remember studying this at Bible school in a small in-depth session and the apologetics were off the wall. I bought it at the time, Now that I think about it, I love exploring fairy tales and myths, so now I know this is just one of those. I wish I had the courage and knowledge that I have now to speak out about how crazy this story is. Aside: Mind you, I only went to Bible school because it was in Australia and I was in Canada, and my parents were going to fund this 19 yr old to go, so, yeah, I can suck up some religion because the economy sucked and I had nothing else going on in a Vancouver winter, and Australia was sunny. It was a great experience, and solidified my atheism (also, a friend I still have from that 1980s experience is a pastor, so he obviously got something else out of it) .
I find it striking that at the end, after the angel has stopped Abraham, the angel says that NOW Abraham will be rewarded by having a multitude of offspring. But this promise had already been made much earlier, in Genesis 15 and 16. I wonder if this is another instance where multiple different stories about the same person have been mashed together.
I was thought as christian how God is against human sacrifice (despite the only way to gain salvation supposedly is to accept Jesus sacrifice on our behalf). If this is true, the correct answer for Abraham would be something like "Go away Satan, God would never ask this from me." But that's not the story... in the story, it's completely reasonable to accept that God ask for a human sacrifice!
Allow me to share my thoughts with you - Due diligence I'm Jewish: Our POV on things is a modern way of thinking and differs a lot from the ancient one: child sacrefice was a common practice back then in these regions. The children were thought to be the father's possessions and so were the wives. Terrible, but still this was widely spread. The children knew this could happen. And God of Israel always wanted proof of one's faith through deeds... Paul taught you otherwise but the OT is clear - faith alone was not enough. It is crystal clear. ______________________________________________ *The binding of Isaac* *Genesis 22* The OT says this: (Chabad) 1 And it came to pass *after these things,* that God *tested* Abraham, and He said to him, "Abraham," and he said, "Here I am." What could be clearer than that? How do we know this was a test? What things happened in the previous chapter ? That is the meaning of 'after these things', to take us back a notch. *Ishmael and his mother were banished to the desert, thought to be dead by Abraham when all he had was God's word that Ishmael will be a nation* Now look at what God asks Abraham to do: 2 And He said, "Please take your son, *your only one,* whom you love, yea, Isaac, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you." *If G-D would have told Abraham that Ishmael is still very much among the living this wouldn't be a real test.* It is repeated here: 12 And he said, "Do not stretch forth your hand to the lad, nor do the slightest thing to him, *for now I know that you are a God fearing man, and you did not withhold your son, your only one,* from Me." *It was just a test.* *It wasn't even a sin sacrefice.* *It is not 'a foreshadowing' of anything.* *God abhorres human sacrefice.* _______________________________________________
@@PazPinhasRahamim9220 Thank you for sharing, and allow me to retort why this "just a test" is a failure for both Abraham... and God as well. Abrahams failure is to put obedience above moralality and/or knowing God and his character. As you point out, it's understandable, he's just a human, he assumes his god is just like every other god out there. He's a man following the conventions and the lead of the people around him. And he is ready to sacrifice the life of his kid to appeace his god. Why would ANYONE worship a god who demand human sacrifices (or sacrifices at all, for that matter)? As a jew, you might be offended by what I'm about to say, but to breed a people from that genetic material is a setup for failure. But as for God himself, we can't give any justifications... he's supposedly all-knowing and unchanging, which would include the character and morality. You say he abbhore human sacrifices... yet he REWARD Abraham for being willing to perform it! He doesn't value a relationship where you both know each other, he doesn't value a moral character... he value, above all else, obedience at the expence of everything else, to the point he reward someone willing to do abbhorent things for him. Why would anyone worship such a character? The most, or even only, moral thing you can do with such a character is to search for some kind of a god-killer sword and put that rabid thing down!
I have always had trouble reconciling the conflicting messages of the Bible. Especially the story of Abraham and Isaac compared to this verse -- Matthew 7:11 -- "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him." The thought that Abraham had the knife raised, ready to plunge it into his child Isaac, always horrified me. In my life, Christianity has been a dysfunctional construct that was more about obeying the "rules" than about loving other humans.
Thanks again for another bit a truth. Nothing evil about what you are sharing. Its refreshing but people I have shared you with are afraid to hear it, as if listening to truth were evil. Keep up the Good work.
I'm a father of a 5 year old beautiful boy and if I heard a voice from above asking me to sacrifice him to show my love I would seek psychological therapy. I dispise religion but I do believe in a superior entity and it would never ever ask me to commit a heinous act. Its disgusting and disturbing story that is just one of many.
Thank you for your videos. Along with your enlightened perspectives, they are to me a welcome summary of the bible, that most harmful of books. Greetings from Belgium! ❤
I really love what you do. I am extremely impressed in the way you present your videos, with a very soothing voice. Your smile alone can light up a room. I have always been a skeptic in my life since I can remember; I was always the kid in Sunday school that spoke out and said that doesn't make any sense. Thank you for your insight, you have a way of taking my thoughts and putting them into words.
Yesterday you had 32.1k subscribers and today 32.5k subscribers.. I love your videos and I think. you have a really good heart and try to explain things and look at things as objectively as you can. I hope you eventually get to 500k+ subscribers you have the best deconstruction videos and seem like a genuinely good person. I used to to always see the best in people.. after years of getting robbed.. shot at.. screwed over.. reputation ruined.. and now am basically alone other than my dog and my mom, and grandfather when he isn't disappointed in me.. i have mental issues i struggle with.. bipolar 1.. anxiety disorders.. he doesn't really understand but my mom does. You also seem to have empathy for that sort of thing and so i really do wish the best for you and for your channel you deserve it. I lost my other dog to cancer a couple months ago and i think that was the final straw and now I am deconstructing. Waking up to my innocent, perfect, Molly who did nothing her whole life but love.. waking up to her dead, laying against my leg, she had medications so idk if she was suffering.. she didn't act like it.. we took her to the vet and talked about whether to put her down or let her pass in my bed, with me, not scared and confused on a cold table.. and 2 days later she passed.. and I have had my grandmother who raised me die in front of me, saying "I'm going to hell".. then not saying anything else for 2 days.. she raised me before my mom was mentally ok and could fully be there for me.. my nana on my dad's side also died from cancer and i wasn't there for her and i regret it.. my mom told me i would regret it.. but i chose to drink and live that life and i woke up hungover to a phone call that she had passed.. those 2 deaths combined.. were nothing compared to my dog.. idk how a loving God could do that.. what could possibly be "part of the plan" for that/??????
You nailed the human sacrifice issue in one. Yes, it's messed up. Always was, always will be. Christianity needs a new understanding of the whole story of redemption. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
The moral I get from this story is that no one should trust anyone who follows that god, because they will happily kill you if it means not questioning their faith.
4:25 -- Every time I think about the stories in the Torah and/or the Tanakh more broadly, I become more and more convinced that the version of God depicted in those texts actually *wasn't* supposed to be as omnipotent/omniscient/etc. as modern-day theists (especially Christians) tend to think. I even think I've commented on a previous video about how one of the rabbis I know did a whole sermon about how stories like the one of Abraham and Isaac should be taken as cautionary examples of how you *shouldn't* blindly follow God/your faith/etc. even if you do believe. Still one of my favorite sermons/textual deconstructions to think about to this day.
(I say especially Christians, but other religions aren't exempt, either. I definitely know other Jewish folks who will say, "Well, it might not be okay for humans, but it's okay if *God* does it" when I point out God as acting petty and vindictive in certain stories. I'm just *also* more likely to encounter other Jewish folks who are like, "Oh, yeah, totally. And while we're at it, let's point out instances in our texts when God out-and-out admitted that he made a mistake.")
Kristi, in Catholic School we were taught that Isaac was much younger, too young to understand what was happening. So as a very young child Isaac was not traumatized.
There's some longlasting myth that young chldren don' t feel things, because they're not mentally developed like an adult. But the reverse is true: young children feel deeply, and take in EVERYTHING as truth (brain in theta state does this). Being traumatized as a very young child is the kind of trauma that's really hard to get rid of. As a child, were you unaware of how your parents felt? Because children are sensitive and pick up these things.
I’ve heard sermons praising the willingness of Isaac and that we should be “willing sacrifices” for God. It’s also crazy how they tell you the stories and how you’re supposed to interpret and feel about them as well. It’s so controlled, they leave no room for free thought. I knew this, but I didn’t realize how insidious the control is until now.
You have no idea of the impact and encouragement you create. I really appreciate your perspective. I relate so much and you bring up so many points I didn’t even think of.
In my deconstructing, I began to see god as a sadistical mob boss figure. It’s precisely stories like this, and the story of the crucifixion that first got me thinking. It took me a long time to leave. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when my wife told me that if one of our kids turned out to be gay, and if I told that child they would go to hell for being gay, she would be done with me. It would be over. I did a whole lot of research after that and finally because an atheist.
Just found your channel today and pretty much immediately subscribed. We need more people like you calling out the bs that is the "holy book" or ironically the good book. lol. Keep up the good work.
I had all of these thoughts and questions as a young boy. I told my father that if I was Isaac, I would never have trusted or spoken to my father again. I would have also rejected his screwed up God. These are terrible stories to tell a thinking child.
My kinder teacher (in a Protestant school) who was teaching Bible class told us that "Isaac was perfectly calm and obedient to his father" was he was being tied down and about to be slaughtered. I didn't learn that that teacher added that commentary and it's not, in fact, in the Bible many years later.
Best “realistic” representation of Abraham and Isaac story is a ten year old video by nonstampcollector here on UA-cam. It’s titled “Yahweh’s amazing test”. I recommend checking it out if don’t already know it. It’s just a cartoon but really brings home the horror of the story.
@lapetusStag We were told in church that God caused a kind of "sleep" to come over Issac (like a hypnotism) and therefore the child was NOT aware! (Spin, spin, spin!)
Kristi, I strongly encourage you to do a sequel to this where you google to see if there are traditions where Isaac was sacrificed. You may also wish to note that Abraham tells Isaac that "The Lord will provide the sacrifice." Christians often use that phrase as foreshadowing Jesus.
A similar story happened in my city a long time ago. This woman took her kids in a gas station bathroom and stabbed them because she claimed the voice of God told her to. It’s so sad and traumatized me so much to the point that i will never go to that gas station to this day. It happened when i was in middle school. I’m turning 27 this year.
When I was a child this story scared me. One night I had a nightmare and I remember crying in my father's arms and asked him if God asked him to would he kill me. He said no and continued to comfort me. Then I felt bad that my dad would disobey god.
So, that was fun to go through as a kid. ✨sarcasm✨
oh man. that's some serious mental anguish :( This story has caused so much distress in children. It's such an unfair position to put a child in. Sorry you experienced that
At least he said no. I know people who would totally do it. 😓
@@jezebelvibes 🤗
@@kerynl.sanchez9891 true
@@kerynl.sanchez9891Really? Should think although people were stupid enough to be passed on these horror tales as moral instruction, they were sane enough not to follow them, literally at least.
What's really telling is the fact that the theme throughout the bible isn't necessarily having faith, but fearing god. It was never about faith. It's about fear.
Always has been, always will be.
Exactly. It's always about what god will do if you don't listen to him.
I asked a Christian friend one time " If you have to fear God, how can you love God? She responded, " Didn't you fear your parents growing up, yet love them at the same time?" I responded, " No, I didn't. I only got scared after my Mom would say she would take my dog to the pound if I got a bad grade on a math test. But, that is being scared, not fear. No different emotions "
As I've said before, the mindset behind Christianity basically boils down to "Do what he says and he won't hurt you."
@@3ggshe11s God doesn't want to hurt you. He wants to have a relationship with you. He is like the best father you could think of.
Man, that must have been an awkward walk home. "Soooo...you were gonna,eh, slay me?"
And this is why, as a kid, I grew up conflating blind obedience to authority figures with morality!
You appear to be mentally ill. Do you have someone looking after you?
This! I was going to say this exact same thing! Blind obedience is held higher than moral logic! And you can’t question things … because Abraham didn’t question. And Job was reprimanded for asking why. “Trust and obey… there is no other way..”
Exactly
@@christophergibson7155 God killed his own son, then gives the insane excuse that he sacrificed him to himself. He has no right to speak of morality.
@@christophergibson7155 I truly hope someday that you will be free. This belief system is a prison that warps your mind. I grew up in the church. As a missionary kid, preacher kid, I have a bachelors degree in ministry. I truly believed in God for years, fully relying on him. Dedicating my life to him. You’re under a spell. Please, keep searching and asking questions. I was able to break free while I was working on my relationship with God, trying desperately to pursue him even more deeply. But now, the fog has lifted. It’s not real. God is not real. It’s mythology. It’s a blood sacrifice. Read the story of Adam and Eve - ask why they were punished when they didn’t even have knowledge of good and evil. Ask how a blood sacrifice washes away sins… why would God create the universe to work like that? If God knows everything, he would have known they’d sun and he still set things up that way? Requiring burnt offering? He enjoys the smell of the burnt offering…It’s archaic thinking. But, I understand. Years of indoctrination are really hard to break free from
Their faith started with and ended with human sacrifice. How heart warming
It did not, God did not let Abraham kill his son he was testing his faith in God. When God says you shall have no other gods before us, it even means our own children. If you read the Bible, it is full of love. It’s difficult to understand if you’re listening to a 20-year-old tell you what she thinks versus theologians who have studied in Jesus Christ for years and years and years. Please do your own homework I promise you will see it differently.
If God is omniscient, he knew in advance, that Abraham had strong faith in him. So there was no need for God to test Abraham in the first place.
@@lisasalvatore1643 So God was just playing mind games with Abraham? Please explain how that is less insane, I'm dying to hear it.
@@ganymedkallisto5561 It all falls apart under basic scrutiny.
@@ganymedkallisto5561 You don’t understand it correctly, it’s amazing if you look at it with the greater context in the Bible having to do with the crusifixion. Remember how isaac had to carry the wood he would be sacrificed on? Same with Jesus, He had to carry his cross. After everything was done God promised Abraham that He would bless all nations on earth through his offspring, which at that time wasn’t fulfilled. Also apparently God told Abraham He would provide the lamb, then God provided a Ramb instead of a lamb. He decided to provide that lamb later in time. Also after Abraham was finished there he named that place “the Lord will provide” and it says in the Bible that on that mountain it will be provided. That would be confusing without knowing what we know today. But apparently Jesus who is also known as “the Lamb of God” went and carried the wood He would be sacrificed on just like Isaac, and on the same mountain which it was predicted, and since He is the Lamb of God it also means the lamb God told Abraham He would provide was provided thousands of years later through Jesus, and through Jesus all nations on earth were blessed through His death and resurrection on that cross. And that’s how God redeemed man, and used Abraham’s and Isaac’s lives to tell a great story that happened thousands of years later.
I'm commenting AGAIN because I've always had a particular issue with this story! I always tell people to imagine if this was a modern day child- hanging around their room, playing video games or whatever and the Dad comes and does something like that! The kid would be ruined for life! Imagine having to LIVE with this father- never knowing whether "God" might tell him to do it AGAIN and not let him off the hook that time! You'd be afraid to ever turn your back on him or go to sleep at night! My daughter told me I'm the ONLY one who got that from those verses-that EVERYONE else was INSPIRED by the story! I'm so GLAD to learn I am NOT alone in my take on this!
The first time I read the Bible cover to cover, I was only 13 years old. I always put myself in Isaac's place. I would never trust my Dad to keep me safe ever again. I would have run away from home. The fact that Abraham knew he had to lie to people about what he was going to do and told them not to come with him when they usually would, tells me he KNEW it was wrong.
I've got to admit that would be traumatizing, having your father almost kill you.
I had not read your comment before just posting mine and I have literally written about having the same thought process on this as you do. The way you have also put it into today's context, really shows how evil it is. If this DID happen today, Abraham would be up on charges of child abuse, attempted crimes against humanity and would most certainly be put up for serious psychiatric assessment; and let's not forget that if anyone believed in the God that told him to do it - God would be up on charges too.
What about the story where the prophet killed his daughter because she was the first person he saw? This isn’t impressive at all
I read somewhere that this story is a rewrite, and that in the original, he does kill him. the evidence is verse 19. "Abraham returned..." It doesn't say anything about Isaac. When I told my son about this, he said "Dad, If you tried to kill me, I wouldn't return with you either."
Basically, the invisible sky wizard was like it's just a prank, bro.
he was just feeling silly goofy
in the bible you also have the daughter of Jephtah... there god did not bother to intervene and he took Jephtah up on his offer... the morale of the story is supposed to be that you should be careful what you promise, but if the bible is a book of made up stories, then maybe god himself could just be made up...
❤here to prove Jesus power 😮 warning it is intense
God: It's just a prank bro
Isaac: DUDE I WAS GONNA DIE YOU DUMMY
Now, that prank has shown up in Quran as well, and their followers took it so seriously that they turned it into a religious holiday where they sacrifice a lamb every year to this day!
When I was a Christian, this was the top Bible story I could absolutely never wrap my head around. “The Lord provides.” Provides what?? PTSD???
😂 I'm sorry I found that funny. I sure do have some ptsd from deep diving into Christianity
I distinctly remember exclaiming "Isaac must have been so scared!" when our Sunday school teacher told this story. She got really indignant & almost yelled back at me "imagine how Abraham must have felt!"
Well dang, that one did some damage. 😅 I'm so thankful for these videos - so cathartic!
@vandalianion I'm not really sure how your comment relates to mine. What's the elephant in the room that you speak of?
@vandalianion I wouldn't call Jesus the elephant in the room - it's just not the topic of the video!
Sunday School is the kind of school where the teachers yell at children.
@@libbybee89 The elephant in the room is the trauma caused to children in all things god-related. Now, just imagine if they read the Book of Numbers in Sunday School. Children would hear their god say this: "Kill all of the men, kill all of the women who have slept with a man, but keep the virgins, children, and livestock for yourselves." But of course they never even tell the ADULTS about that because they don't want people rejecting that evil piece of shit people call "god." Numbers: its about a lot more than just a census. People should read it.
I had a similar experience in Sunday School. She got angry if I questioned what she taught.
I remember hearing this story as a child in Catholic school. I asked a question to the nun after the first verse, “what happened to his first son, Ishmael? He doesn’t count as a son? So much for honoring parental responsibility.” Earned me a trip to Mother Superior’s office.
It's because Israelities feared that people would know the truth, because Ishmael was an ARAB, they did that out of jealousy.
Actually, Ishmael was Abraham's oldest son. God didn't asked Abraham to kill his son, rather he was shown a dream which he shared with his son ishmael, and then his son said that this must be a command from your lord and you shall fulfill this dream, so when he (Abraham) laid his son for sacrifice, God at the last moment saved his son and replaced him with a sheep instead. So Abraham sacrificed the ram and from that day forward, it is a tradition among muslims to celebrate Eid ul Adha where they sacrifice animals, and distribute it's meat among their relatives, friends and specially poor needy people.
(Quran 37:102-112):
"Then when the boy (Ishmael) reached the age to work with him, Abraham said, “O my dear son! I have seen in a dream that I sacrifice you. So tell me what you think.” He replied, “O my dear father! Do as you are commanded. Allah willing, you will find me steadfast.”
"Then when they submitted, and Abraham laid him on the side of his forehead ˹for sacrifice˺,"
"We called out to him, “O Abraham!"
"You have already fulfilled the vision.” Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers."
"Indeed, this was a clear trial"
"And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice,"
"and We left for him (a word of praise) among the later people,"
“Peace be upon Abraham.”
"This is how We reward those who are good in their deeds."
"He was truly one of Our faithful servants."
"We ˹later˺ gave him good news of Isaac-a prophet, and one of the righteous"
The Bible states God commanded Abraham directly to sacrifice his son. The Qu’ran on the other hand states it was actually Abraham’s son (who was a boy at the time; estimated to be between 7-13 years old) that believed his father’s dream was a command from God.
This sacrifice event is narrated in , in which the account of the event has suffered additions, alterations and distortions, as I will point out. Here Isaac is mentioned as the son to be sacrificed. Besides that, The chapter Chapter 22 of the Biblical book of Genesis also informs us that during the sacrifice event God referred to Abraham’s sacrificial son as “your only son” three times, but when was the time when Abraham has the "Only Son"?
Take your son,” God said “your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that I will show you, offer him as a sacrifice to me.”… But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven: “Abraham, Abraham!” He answered, “Yes, here I am.” “Don’t hurt the boy or do anything to him,” he said. “Now I know that you have obedient reverence for God, because you have not kept back your only son from him.” … The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time: “I make a vow by my own name-the Lord is speaking-that I will richly bless you. Because you did this and did not keep back your only son from me … (Genesis 22:2; 22:11-12; 22:15-16)
(Also as I have mentioned before, we don't support this story of the Bible that "God told Abraham to kill his son". But here I'm talking about the Bible).
(Genesis 16:15-16):
"Hagar bore Abram a son, and he named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old at the time."
(Genesis 21:5):
"Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born."
So Ishmael is older than Isaac by 14 years (100 minus 86 = 14). In other words, during the 14 year period before the birth of Isaac, Ishmael was “the only son” of Abraham. As Isaac was born after Ishmael, he can never have been “the only son” of Abraham. The phrase, “the only son,” applies exclusively to Ishmael. That’s why, the “son of sacrifice” description fits only Abraham`s elder son Ishmael, and not Isaac.
(Genesis 25:12-18):
"These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore for Abraham. These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names and according to their birth order: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s oldest son; Kedar; Adbeel; Mibsam; Mishma; Dumah; Massa; Hadad; Tema; Jetur; Naphish; and Kedemah. These are Ishmael’s sons. These are their names by their villages and their settlements: twelve tribal leaders according to their tribes. Ishmael lived to the age of 137. He took his last breath and died, and was placed with his ancestors. He established camps from Havilah to Shur, which is near Egypt on the road to Assyria. He died among all of his brothers."
(Genesis 17:20):
"As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will bless him and give him many descendants. And I will cause their numbers to grow greatly. He will be the father of twelve great leaders, and I will make him into a great nation."
(Genesis 18:18-19):
"Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
Ever thought what happened to the Abraham's son Ishmael and the promise of God for him?
@@smidlee7747
The "God" who promised Abraham and Sarah a son, is Jupiter. The story of Sarah laughing at Jupiter is copied from a story of Venus laughing at Jupiter. Jupiter, along with Mercury, went on to visit Lot (Philemon) and his Wife (Baucis). Women are from Venus and men are from Mars.
So was Jesus (born out of wedlock) to be fair.
Also, people 'born in sin' might surprise you.
People in general, can surprise us.
Heck, much of heaven was 'born in sin'... or the unlikely, propensity, for it.
I guess Romans 1:20, was not stress tested, there.
Before an unlikely major revolt, civil war, or major break out of... unhappiness, confusion, delusion, or suicidal... pride?@@smidlee7747
@@harveywabbit9541 Interesting, but those stories you're talking about come WAY after the Torah/Old Testament era. So it's the other way around if there was copying.
@@smidlee7747 So, god cares if a child is legitimate or not? Even though he also is for lots of wives and concubines for men? (e.g. Solomon and many others, starting with the Adam/Lilith thing). Seems kind of mean to the children.
The story of Abraham and Isaac has always bothered me. So has the commandment to respect parents, but nothing about respecting children. Especially after the realisation that my father would have done the same thing as Abraham to me,to his daughter.And yes, once again, the Bible completely ignores the fact that it was his mother who bore Isaac, gave him life and most likely raised him. This decision of Abraham's shows absolute disrespect for his wife. Like she is just an incubator! Also, the narratives of blind obedience are repeated again. The lack of freedom, toxicity, and misogyny in the Bible have bothered me since childhood.Thanks for the video and greetings from Ukraine, Kristi!❤
Love these thoughts and this perspective!
Part of this fairy tale is borrowed from the Phoenician myth of Saturn sacrificing his son Jupiter (Ieoud) to Uranus.
🇺🇦💛
It says parents shouldn’t provoke kids into anger, but it still doesn’t change my doubts.
Ukraine!!
I support your efforts to kick Russia off your land. Long live Ukraine!🇺🇦
From USA 🇺🇲
This story disturbed me deeply as a little kid. I was even unable to sleep thinking when would god tell me to stab my parents or do some kind of madness that I wouldn't even be able to contemplate trying. Pretty perverse stuff
My mom straight up told me that she would kill us without hesitating if God told her to
@@PGOuma 😬😬😬 sorry to hear that
@@PGOuma Geesh! You'd be scarred for life! How could you ever trust her again? You'd have been sleeping with one eye open all the time. I am so very sorry that happened to you.
@@PGOumaBecause she knows what is good for you and for her. She knows what means to be faithful. However there is no need for that today so rest easy
I spent decades in church. This story was 'always' soft peddled. On top of this, there are many other parts of the bible that depicted horrific scenes. These other passages were never talked about. If they were somehow addressed, they were justified as OK. It's all maddening.
How about the lady who had a donkey for her lover? Ezekiel.
@@edm-london1660Where in the Bible does it say not to take the verses literally but only metaphorically? Not once does it command that in any Bible verse, so isn't that heresy that you're making up your own interpretation of it?
@@edm-london1660I think a lot of theists think that people who don't believe don't know the Bible, but you are sorely mistaken if that's what you think.
A lot of atheists know the Bible very, very well.
So you can't come on here and claim things that aren't true in the Bible, without being called out for it.
@@Jerseyboondocks
Look up Galatians and the word Allegory.
like GENOCIDE of babies, pregnant woman, animals, insects, COMMANDS SLAVERY LAWS, UMMMMM SLAVERY of INNOCENT WOMAN and CHILDREN, STONE woman not innocent, children who don't obey, EAT FLESH, This is but a little, they don't teach this stuff people would say what is this TRASH and just go home
That is some literal serial killer nightmare fuel
"Hey dad I see the knife and wood for the sacrifice where is the lamb"
"Don't worry son just keep walking"
I can imagine Abraham had that possessed Jack Nicholson face from the shining while saying it
The Bible should only be allowed to be read around a campfire on Halloween nights only.
You should know if you observed Abraham life that he really loved his son that means he probably even cried while killing him but knew that must be done because God is the reason he even had him. Abraham was not a fool like many people bur indeed very wise even if this took all strength he had in every sense of that word
Dear OP, the comparison to the Shining is REALLY interesting - I'm going to be thinking about that for a while. And it's also a really funny image 😹
This was the pivotal story that really made me unpack and ultimately move away from my literalist understanding of Genesis. Along with all the things you point out, I got to the point of really examining the problem of "testing" (read - tempting) from a positive law basis. If you hold as true propositions that A. Righteousness or morality (rightness) lies in doing what God commands, obeying Him and B. God is good and cannot tempt man to do evil (James 1:13), then the testing presents an objective and undeniable contradiction, not a matter of interpretive nuance. God had previously commanded that Man may not take innocent life or indeed even shed innocent blood in the covenant of Noah. So in Abraham's case, he was being presented with the choice to either obey God's covenantal command or obey His contradictory personal command, either of which choice would necessitate a disobedience of the other command, which is precisely tempting to evil, i.e. there is no choice available that does not violate one of God's commands. Simply no way around it; it is a blatant contradiction.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr It's more precise than that, which is an arguable point, but still an interpretive nuance. The direct prohibition in the Noahide covenant was against taking INNOCENT life, so while the argument could be made that in war there are other considerations of self-preservation, just cause, yadda yadda, with slaughtering your beloved child there is really no interpretative leeway - it's a direct violation of God's command to Noah.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr Well, that is a belief a lot of Christians have, but it's not textually applicable to the covenant of Noah... if there is no category of humans to refrain from killing, then it's a nonsense command to not kill them.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr The covenant of Noah is from Genesis, where it lists the commands God gave to Noah after the flood. One of these is the command to not kill or shed innocent blood. If Christians don't know that, it would only be because they never actually read Genesis. So with this command in place prior to Abraham, the command to sacrifice Isaac becomes a direct contradiction to an earlier command, moving the issue from a purely moral one (which, interestingly enough, Abraham does chime in about that in the leadup to Sodom being destroyed) to now one of positive law also.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr There are 2-3 commands, depending on how you parse it. The one I'm referencing is from Gen. 9:5-6 - "I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind." This is an active prohibition on God's part that Abraham was then required to disobey, hence the di-lemma (which is definitionally "temptation").
I know what Isaac felt like.
I was an only child after a 10 year period of infertility.
My abusive parents were VERY clear when they taught me this story. I was Isaac in this story. They loved me very much after waiting so long to have me, but God always comes first.
Every time I got yet another beating, I often wondered if this time, god told them to kill me.
Because they had already told me they would kill me if they were told to.
🤗 sorry you went through that
I'm sorry to hear you went through that too. But Isaac was a grown man around his twenties who could have overtaken his elderly father who is now about 120 years old. Abraham was 100 years old when he had Isaac, and Isaac is now an adult by the time Abraham was called to sacrifice Isaac. Therefore, Isaac willingly allowed Abraham to bound him for the sacrifice to the LORD. As I explained elsewhere, Abraham understood that God would have to resurrect Isaac because God promised that through Isaac, Abraham would have descendants that are more than the stars in the sky and sands on the shore. Isaac also understood that God could do all things, even resurrect from the dead, therefore he was a willing participant.
I would have done strength increasing exercises. And self defense maneuvers plus offensive moves. Later, I would let them know that you are ready for a battle, if need be. You would have your parents meet G d.
@@statesman6379 Why did Isaac need to be bound? Couldn't he have just lay there? Being bound presents that he was expected to resist. I also don't know if we can argue that Abraham was too old to restrain anyone unwilling at this point. I mean, for one he tells his son that they are going to slaughter a lamb, not a human being, so he's probably taken unawares, and also Abraham lived for another 50-60 years past this, as many humans of the Bible in this age did, so I don't think we can consider his aging process to be the same as a modern human. He'd probably be the equivalent of a leathery-skinned, tough as nails 50 year old of today.
@@maul42 Firstly, Isaac was strong enough to carry the wood for his own sacrifice up the mountain himself. So he could have fought back. Secondly, he didn’t put up a fight, nor did he even utter a word. The entire Old Testament is prophetic of Jesus Christ. Jesus also carried the wood for His own sacrifice to the place that He would be sacrificed. Jesus also didn’t say a mumbling word before Pilate to defend Himself. Jesus was also the Son of the Father who willingly sacrificed Himself at His Father’s will. Jesus actually did resurrect, as both Abraham and Isaac were expecting God to resurrect Isaac in order to fulfill His promise of giving Isaac many descendants. At this point, Isaac didn’t have any children. Isaac was 60 when his sons were born.
Being physically bound represents submission. Jesus didn’t have to be bound either. He said He had all power to call the angels to take Him down off the Cross at any time. Yet, He stayed on the Cross for you and me. And being an adult by now, Isaac would be fully aware of God’s promise to Abraham that Isaac will be having many descendants. They both came to the conclusion that God would have to raise up Isaac from the grave because they knew that God would never renege on His promise.
The argument of “Well it’s ok bcuz God didn’t aaaaactually want Abraham to kill Isaac!” really falls flat when you learn that there are other instances in the Bible where people *do* offer child sacrifices to God, and he rewards them for it.
wrong.....When the walls of Jericho came down is was God's way of mocking deities that do require human sacrifice.
@RonKelmell how stupid!
You have to backup your comment with the necessary quotes. So let me do it: In the bible the biblical God accepted human sacrifices. And that can be proven with the bible. So let me add these verses here:
Judges 11:29-40
"29Now the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. 30Then Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” 32So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and Yahweh gave them into his hand. 33And he struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel.
34Then Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. 35So it happened that when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me. But I have opened my mouth to vow to Yahweh, and I cannot take it back.” 36So she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to vow to Yahweh; do to me according to what has gone out from your mouth, since Yahweh has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon.” 37Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions.” 38Then he said, “Go.” So he sent her away for two months; and she went with her companions and wept on the mountains because of her virginity. 39And it happened at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she did not know a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel, 40that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year."
Here to obtain victory in battle Jephthah intends to sacrifice whoever comes to his doors. And that one was his own daughter. It is also important to note that before he took that vow that the spirit of the biblical God came to him before.
---
There are also other parts of human sacrifices take a look at these quotes here:
Exodus 22:29-30
"29“You shall not delay the offering from the fullness of your harvest and the juice of your wine vat. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30And you shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me."
Here it states that the firstborn of the Israelites children shall be given to him. Afterwards he said the same about the firstborn animals too. What happens to the animals given to him? They were sacrificed. But that is not enough so let's get a bit more Information.
Exodus 13:1-2
"1Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”"
Here we have another quote which states the same. Now let's take a look at what happens to the things devoted to him.
Leviticus 27:28-29
"28‘Nevertheless, anything which a man devotes to Yahweh out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the fields of his own possession, shall not be sold or redeemed. Anything devoted to destruction is most holy to Yahweh. 29No one who may have been devoted among men shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death."
Anything devoted to the biblical God out of all he has, of MAN or ANIMAL shall not be sold or redeemed. It shall be surely put to death. That's human sacrifice. But is there another part in the bible which is a bit more specific? Yes, there is take a look at this:
Ezekiel 20:25-26
"25And I also gave them statutes that were not good and judgments by which they could not live; 26and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am Yahweh.” ’"
Here it is stated openly. All their firstborns were passed through the fire. That's a human sacrifice. The reason for this in context was for "punishment" but it does not change the fact that they were human sacrifices.
---
Deuteronomy 13:12-16
"12“If you hear in one of your cities, which Yahweh your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that 13some vile men have gone out from among you and have driven the inhabitants of their city astray, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), 14then you shall inquire and search out and ask thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the matter is confirmed, that this abomination has been done among you, 15you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, devoting it to destruction and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword. 16Then you shall gather all its spoil into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh your God; and it shall be a ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt."
Here you might say that the people getting killed in that city are not human sacrifices directly because you sacrifice their belongings. But you can say that this is an indirect human sacrifice to appease anger. These quotes also give you the possibility to attack people who don't believe in the abrahamic God.
@@RonKelmell How about in Judges, where Jepthah told God that, if he helped him win, he would sacrifice his daughter to him. And he did.
Yup, I wonder what's the logic behind Yahweh being mad at people for offering babies to Moloch but also being mad at Saul for not killing every boy, girl and woman of the amalekites.
If you heard of someone hearing voices in their heads telling them to kill their children, you wouldn't be making stained glass windows in your house telling the story, you'd be phoning the police and getting them sectioned.
Even as a Christian, I agree with you. If someone today thinks they hear God telling them to kill someone, I would guess that they are delusional. If we think God is telling us something, we need to examine it through the lens of God's prior commandments. For example, one time I felt that God was telling me to love Catholics (and I have some beefs with my Catholic brothers and sisters). It was completely in line with Jesus' teaching on loving one's enemies, so I believe it was really from God.
@@PolymorphicPenguin If you are going by the bible (where else are you getting the lens of gods prior commandments?) then I do not see how you distinguish anything. Got killed people and told others to do the same. God told Samuel to kill infant children. God said it was ok to take young daughters as war booty. You get the picture. The person I mentioned hearing voices in their heads could just point to the bible and say exactly the same thing.
Your Catholic fictitious kin "brothers and sisters" would have been able to point to the bible on St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and said, God told us to do this.
Also, loving ones enemies isn't sound advice (nor are many of Jesus alleged teachings). In WW2, we didn't love the nazis, we shot them and put a load of them on trial.
@@PolymorphicPenguinWhy do you see Catholics as your enemies? Do you see people who do not believe exactly as you do as enemies? That's outrageous.
@PolymorphicPenguin
This is not an isolated incident. The Bible is filled with God commanding “his people“ to commit untold atrocities and genocide, specifically instructing that all women and babies be murdered but the virgins should be kept as plunder. This is why so many have concluded that Yahweh is a moral and ethical nightmare and therefore the religion collapses upon itself.
This is the story I've always been most hung up on. Like, I could never understand the "blindness" of this faith, even when I was supposed to believe blind faith was a good thing. They try to cop out with the "sikes, just kidding, just testing ya", but like that's f*cked up, too.
God invented gaslighting.
@benjaminrichmond4227 You don’t understand it correctly, it’s amazing if you look at it with the greater context in the Bible having to do with the crusifixion. Remember how isaac had to carry the wood he would be sacrificed on? Same with Jesus, He had to carry his cross. After everything was done God promised Abraham that He would bless all nations on earth through his offspring, which at that time wasn’t fulfilled. Also apparently God told Abraham He would provide the lamb, then God provided a Ramb instead of a lamb. He decided to provide that lamb later in time. Also after Abraham was finished there he named that place “the Lord will provide” and it says in the Bible that on that mountain it will be provided. That would be confusing without knowing what we know today. But apparently Jesus who is also known as “the Lamb of God” went and carried the wood He would be sacrificed on just like Isaac, and on the same mountain which it was predicted, and since He is the Lamb of God it also means the lamb God told Abraham He would provide was provided thousands of years later through Jesus, and through Jesus all nations on earth were blessed through His death and resurrection on that cross. And that’s how God redeemed man, and used Abraham’s and Isaac’s lives to tell a great story that happened thousands of years later.
@@havablewhat
In the late 50s I played Isaac in a play our church, Assembly of God, put on. I was 5 I did OK in practice with all the lights on. In the performance with lights off except for the spotlight on me and Abraham. When Abraham raised the knife to kill Isaac, I was so scared I wet myself. Not only was I scared now I had to deal with the humiliation of wetting myself. As I've been on my path to freedom from god, I've realized that this and many stories in the bible whether true or not can have horrible effects on children.
The real God/Kingdom is within you.
@@harveywabbit9541 This is what's inside of me: skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and the reproductive system not a make-believe kingdom.
@@harveywabbit9541 that's a later idea likely due to Jesus failed predictions.
Ive asked xtians several times whether they would obey god if he told them to kill their child, and ghe result is almost always "well god would never do that", which is very telling. They know they wouldn't do it, but to admit that is to admit that god isn't perfect, and thats unthinkable to them
Sadly I think it's more likely that they WOULD but just don't want to say it out loud. Look at all the people who refuse medical treatment because religion. Jehovah's Witnesses had kids who died because of parents refusing blood transfusions on the cover of one of their magazines as basically heroes who died for god. They know they WOULD do it but can't admit it
@@edm-london1660Explain how it doesn't make sense?
May I ask, do you think that's a good god to test someone& traumatize them by telling them to take a knife above their only son and murder him, traumatizing the boy and the father alike? Why would God have to test them, if he already knew whether they would fail or pass his awful test?
Let me guess, my questions don't make sense to you either?
@@edm-london1660 gonna need you to elaborate
@@edm-london1660 How do you interpret this passage?
I guess they have never read their bible if they think god wouldn't do this, 'cos he did.
I once asked my mom (while I was deconstructing) what she would have done as Abraham, and it rendered her speechless. I think I gave her a mini crisis, because she said she couldn't wrap her head around a loving god making that particular demand of her. I felt more loved by my mom for a little while after that, at least until she came back to me with some generic evangelical doublespeak (from my dad or her pastor) about "letting go" and "trusting God."
At least she didn’t say that she would sacrifice you without hesitation.
@@mjjoe76 At least! 😂Alas, invisible sky wizard trumps living breathing humans every time, "at least" with some folk
“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.”
― Steven Weinberg
❤here to prove Jesus power 😮 warning it is intense
@@raya.p.l5919 Hun, Jesus was my first imaginary boyfriend. You can make threats all day long but that pony don't go.
This is how I was led to believe abusive relationships w men is normal and my loving them anyway was a sign of my *true* love.
You and billions of others.
Yeah that's the worst part, because people actually are inspired by this and they accept abuse because of it. Christianity disgusts me.
This hit different when I had a son, my only child, and read this and said "hell, no!" It just cemented the direction I was already headed (away from Christianity).
The same god murdered every firstborn son in Egypt over a problem he had with the leadership not every single family in Egypt. But then, god is very, very bad at lodging complaints. Also, he likes to show off his power because "real" power is the kind you have to show off, apparently, not the kind you hold in reserve for emergencies.
@cgcolin You don’t understand it correctly, it’s amazing if you look at it with the greater context in the Bible having to do with the crusifixion. Remember how isaac had to carry the wood he would be sacrificed on? Same with Jesus, He had to carry his cross. After everything was done God promised Abraham that He would bless all nations on earth through his offspring, which at that time wasn’t fulfilled. Also apparently God told Abraham He would provide the lamb, then God provided a Ramb instead of a lamb. He decided to provide that lamb later in time. Also after Abraham was finished there he named that place “the Lord will provide” and it says in the Bible that on that mountain it will be provided. That would be confusing without knowing what we know today. But apparently Jesus who is also known as “the Lamb of God” went and carried the wood He would be sacrificed on just like Isaac, and on the same mountain which it was predicted, and since He is the Lamb of God it also means the lamb God told Abraham He would provide was provided thousands of years later through Jesus, and through Jesus all nations on earth were blessed through His death and resurrection on that cross. And that’s how God redeemed man, and used Abraham’s and Isaac’s lives to tell a great story that happened thousands of years later.
@@havableyou don’t understand
Guess who's God's son then?
@@ianbuick8946 what
I have seen many Christian preachers, priests and apologists try to explain away why so many are breaking from the Religion/Faith. The reasons they give are mere trivial at best. There are some big elephants in the room they choose to ignore. This sordid tale of Abraham ready to murder his son to show how devoted he is to his god is one of those elephants. The idea of devotion without pause or question. Absolute devotion no matter what extremes are required to prove that obedience. One question is this. Why would God test Abraham's devotion. Would God not know how obedient Abraham was ? These are the issues that leading so many around the World to reject such blind devotion. And leave all religions behind.
I’ve heard some Christians say God’s test for Abraham was to foreshadow Jesus’s sacrifice.
@@briceidycierramarrujosmith4563 Christian look for any possible angle to inject Jesus into a narrative. God was just testing Abraham's devotion. But my question. I f God is all-knowing, How would he not know the lengths Abraham would go to prove his obedience? And to put Abraham and Isaac into such an ordeal, just does not fit with a loving and holy deity.
I think it is very telling that Abraham knew how EVIL, how ABOMINABLE what he was going to do was, that he asked his men to stay back. LIED to them that he and his son would go on to worship. Funny how these negatives are what characterizes God's instruction. There's no truth to the test, no transparency, no goodness. And yet, somehow, we're supposed to take away a life lesson from this story? Somehow, we're supposed to carry on believing that God is good?
This video actually gave me a clarity on an issue that's always bugged me. I'm gay and Nigerian, and in my community, I encounter a lot of stories of Christian parents who turn their backs on their children when they're outed. There are even those who'd willfully endanger the lives of their gay children by calling the police on them. For a homophobic society like Nigeria's, that's the cruelest thing a parent can do to their gay kid. And yet, I know pastors and deacons who've done exactly that. And I've always found it horrible that these parents who claim to love God would throw their children out to the wolves like this.
But then, how can I be bugged by that behaviour, when the god they worship instructed the Bible's first example of a "man of faith" to unalive his own son?
"To follow god is not to be moral." -- Kristi.
Thank you, Kristi. From Tiktok to UA-cam, you have no idea how much your content helps me heal.
I really hope you have loving and supportive people around you who know how awful homophobia is. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to be LGBTQA in a country that is so homophobic. As another person in the LGBTQA community I send you hugs
@@zuglymonster thank you so much. Its a tough existence here, but I'm fortunate to have more love in my life than hate.
@@walterude6323 I'm glad you have loving people around you, I hope one day more people in your country (and everywhere) will stop caring about what gender the person someone loves is and only care about who someone is as a person
And I thought about that too, clearly he knew that his men would think him murdering his son was wrong and might even try to stop him so he lied to them about it
As v12 confirms, it was a test of fear, not of faith.
Brilliant work, as always. Your thoughtful and calm delivery helps illustrate the complete absurdity of these stories. If they were true, it would be some really sick stuff.
It is all and I found out the really hard way but it humbled me greatly
Look how God treats his children. Is it really a surprising request? Bad fathers teach bad parenting.
How else are you supposed to interpret this story?
@@edm-london1660I hate my dad, but he didn't kill people. Your point is weak
@@edm-london1660And humans created God
In context, through faith and reason, my friend.
Lol. I’m imagining YHWH telling Jesus right before sending him down, “don’t worry. Remember how I showed up and saved Isaac at the very last second? I’ll do the same for you too…” 🤣🤣🤣
This is one of the most horrifying stories of emotional abuse ever committed to writing. “Kill your son: go on - kill him, kill him, DO IT! …Wait, only kidding LOL! …What, can’t take a joke?” Said every bully ever. Abraham must’ve been a delusional psychopath, and Isaac was probably gaslit for the rest of his life. The lesson here is one of coercive control.
Just a prank bro!
@@TheAngryPacifist05 Yeah, prolly just bantz.
Wrong lesson but I'll forgive your ignorance.
@@davidkoury7097 well we certainly won't forgive your savage barbarity
That's the best you've got! Way to actually respond to what I said.@@darkmystic9
When I was a toddler, my schizophrenic father tried to sacrifice me using this Bible passage as inspiration.
He tried to put me in a laundromat dryer, but was stopped by my mom & whoever helped her.
Taking these stories literally can lead to people with behavioural health issues to do stupid, often violent things.
I have CPTSD & ADHD that was not diagnosed until I was 50 years old. Christianity almost completely destroyed my life, as I tried very hard to adhere to Jesus' ostensible commands. My family relationships, my physical & mental health, as well as my finances were devastated because I tried hard to be the epitome of a good disciple for decades. I sometimes fell into deep doubt & depression as a result of all of the lies I was led to believe.
A lot of us have been caught up and tied down by those lies. I'm glad you've escaped them, or are in the process. I truly believe that leads to a more harmonious world.
@@sundayoliver3147 Yep.
I can honestly say if I had a father like that, I wouldn't have a father anymore. I mean that literally.
CPTSD is extremely common amongst we neurodivergents (especially those of us who spent our entire childhood undiagnosed). I’m sorry for everything you went through.
Highly enjoy all of your content. I was a Pentecostal Christian for 15 years and deconverted over lockdown here in the UK
Happy you made it free! Cheers!
During COVID, I was a crime victim
..tried to get justice through law and everything else, but nothing worked out...I tried to be closer To God and all I got was deeper depression. I tried to heal while going to church, but I encountered some harassment in my office, fought in the labour office because the management tried to cover it up and in the end, they fired me with a few months additional salary and we 'agreed' it was 'peaceful solution'...the company treated me like I was the villain....the pastor in my church tried to take this Opportunity to glorify God and God had much more beautiful plan for me.
Nope
..I decided it's time to turn my back to this God that would like to keep giving me challenges
The poor kid definitely needed therapy after that incident. Nobody notified child protection services either. The father should have been arrested at the very least. Terrible example of morality, my Son is now 33 and he also feels most of the bible is pure BS. I didn't raise him to use the bible as a guide for anything. Our Family knows the truth and religion is no longer part of our life thanks to people like you. I love watching your channel grow. Keep up the good work. Big hug from Rienzi Mississippi 😎
He wasn't a snowflake
I couldn't agree with you more 🥰
@@jamieostrowski4447 No, he was human being with feelings. You probably aren't.
@@juanausensi499 Do you think you are?
@@jamieostrowski4447 Do you think i'm not?
Hi Kristi! Ive been deconstructing for about two months now. You were one of the first videos that came up when i first searched the term "atheism" into UA-cam. You have been an enormous help! Keep it up 😊
That's so awesome! Congrats on breaking free
I highly recommend the channel Mindshift if you haven't seen his stuff yet, he's currently running through the OT bible book by book looking at the broad themes, and how evil God is in most of them.
@@ziploc2000 wow, that sounds like something I would enjoy. I'll check it out. 😁
@dannioutscore4387 I'll check it out too. Would like to find more atheist perspectives than the few I follow. Only issue with this girl is she's not educated in anything related to language or culture or history and doesn't use any authors or other atheist takes. It's just a younger lady who remembers a few stories and they don't come from her time or culture so the lens is too opaque for me to cling to. I wouldn't want to learn any other material from someone who has such little expertise in the field. It's more like putting all your eggs in the basket of one person in a class who doesn't get straight As. Other people at least cite sources to back up their arguments. Just in this opening I'd question her logic on how she should just be able to read the Bible and know everything it means or it isn't the word of God because not all people can access a history professor or a theologian. Well, no one could read at all when this was written, this was considered history to them and the theologians kept the stories on scrolls and read them like a classroom. Not everyone nowadays can read the same levels with the same comprehensive take away, see the SAT score distribution if you need an example. If she wanted to have more influence she could at least refer to Hitchins or Dawkins one time in any video but it is merely her, thinking from a 21st century young persons mind with zero attention paid to anything or anyone else but her thoughts. Would you take any other class from someone like that and feel like you could pass the test?
@@DH-rs6cq Kristi has a unique take because she's a young lady who de-converted no so long ago. She doesn't need to reference Dawkins or Hitchens to have her own views.
Paulogia, Prophet of Zod, Viced Rhino, Telltale, Ember, Planet Curious, Logicked, there's dozens of channels out there all looking at different aspects of religion (though usually Christianity because they're usually US or Canadian), you can take your pick.
I like how God personally told Abe to kill his son, but when it came down to stopping him after he passed the test, God sent an Angel down to do that part. Like God didn't want to be there as a witness if Abe was s little slow at stopping the knife.
Growing up in the 60s, I remember this story in Sunday School and never gave it a second thought. They told us how amazing it was that Abraham had so much faith and we should strive to be as strong in our own lives. We could have confidence that God would never actually make anyone go thru with such a dastardly act. It took decades to review this story from a similar angle that was presented here.
Now, its horrific to think of the indoctrination that I fell for back as a kid and even more, how long it took to see the story for what it really is. Great point made about the fact that Isaacs feelings were never considered or mentioned in the text. I never had much empathy for others, growing up. Something I've really worked on, over the last 20 yrs. Now I believe I know the reason for my early lack of compassion. Stories like this and the way they were taught to us.
I remember as a child working hard to see this story as something wonderful and redemptive, and shoving down other feelings about it, because otherwise then I wouldn't be "good". And, underneath that, I'm pretty sure the fear was that if I wasn't good, I'd be punished by this god who had the power of life and death over me. Not that I consciously realized that until much, much later, because I was shoving down those feelings as hard as I could.
I hadn't thought of these stories as being something that tamps down compassion, but I see what you mean, now you've said it. Because if you have to shove down one feeling, you have to shove down other feelings, too.
I just wanna say I have been watching you from TikTok to UA-cam for the past 6-8 months and I have to say I love the growth of your YT channel (which is crazy cause I swear you was at 10k not too long ago 😂❤) and your talking points and arguments are so well articulated and logical 🔥💯 You never come off hostile or condescending like the church folk I run into who condemn me to hell with the simplest of disagreements lol. You are one of my favorite people to watch whenever it comes to these topics because I myself was raised up in a religious household and gracefully left Christianity at 17 (now 24).
Keep doing your thang miss 🤟🏾👏🏾 you have my support!
I really appreciate your support
❤here to prove Jesus power 😮 warning it is intense
Reading it Honestly for and by ourselves without anyone else telling us what it's supposed to mean Breaks the Spells of Indoctrination.
Excellent Kristi, Well Done!!
You have to learn to read a text synchronically rather than diachronically.
@@TBOTSS Ahem
Kristi does this so well. I hope many many people will benefit from her explanations.
This channel is exploding 💥. It'll soon smash through 50k subscribers and 5 million views. 👌
Kristi continues to produce high quality content that is causing enormous cognitive dissonance amongst Christians who dare to venture here. Keep up the great work Kristi! 👍
Good video. You're getting at what I consider to be the fundamental moral flaw of the Abrahamic religions, i.e., that morality can be based on the concept of sin, which is doing what is against the will of God. Abraham avoided sin by showing his willingness to do what God commanded, but what God commanded was clearly immoral. And that's the basic problem.
And god commands -- and does-- a whole lot of immoral things in that book.
The fact that Christians don't see anything wrong with Abraham's actions towards his sons makes me extremely scared of the average Christian
YOU GOT IT. ANYONE who reads this FILTHY TRASH BOOK and is COOL with any of it is a PSYCHO MORAL MONSTER. THAT'S ALL FOLKS
that their not bother by YWH GENOCCIDE of babies, pregnant woman, animals, insects, YWH SLAVERY LAWS, sell your daughters, COMMANDS GENOCCIDE, take innocent woman and children, STONE LAWS, This is but a little. How can anyone be cool with this FILTH
They are absolutely fine with Jesus murdering billions of people in the future when the angels start blowing trumpets.
And it's certainly ok that nonbelievers are tortured with scorpion stings for 5 months - where you can't die so you have to suffer for the whole time.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr Read Revelations.
Tends to happen in cults.
Specially ones with origins in, or deference to, blood magic and ritual sacrifice - violence tends to get normalised.
I was never taught to look at that story critically or from Isaac’s point of view. It was always about “obeying god” when I was taught this story. And now - this story is absolutely horrific. It doesn’t matter that Abraham doesn’t ACTUALLY kill Isaac in the end. The point is that he was going to kill him and that he had no issue with killing his own son. Ah yes - what a WONDERFUL story to get inspiration from.
When I was younger, I was told that only people with the Holy Spirit inside of them could understand the Bible. Looking back, that was just a way for people in the church to disregard the thoughts/opinions of the Bible from anyone who wasn’t a Christian. That and a way to pull people in (ie. “You want to know the truth of the world? Well, you have to join our religion to be able to get it).
As an atheist now, the Bible feels more and more horrible to me every day. I am very glad I have long since disregarded it as a source of morality.
The Holy Spirit aka warm wind is also a fart. Beware of the Unholy (wet) Spirit.
I have always found it strange that people find ‘hope’ in the Jesus crucifixion story in which a loving father allowed his son to be tortured and murdered, shedding blood as a way to forgive the sins of future generations. Sins that the same god invented. Then people take up the cross, a horrible torture device, as a symbol of purity and hope. Pretty sick reasoning in my book.
Exactly couldn't have said that better myself people are delusional in their beliefs 0 critical thinking
I’d like to correct your statement. It’s important.
Jesus died only for those who sinned under the first covenant.
See Hebrews 9:15, Galatians 4:5,Matthew 15:24 , Romans 5:13 and Romans 9:4.
That’s no one alive today.
@@josephrohland5604 = delusional
@@josephrohland5604 Well, there are a whole lot of present-day preachers telling their present-day audience, "Jesus died for your sins." Seen it in many UA-cam comments as well.
@@sundayoliver3147 The bitter pill of truth is that no one has been saved nor redeemed for nearly two thousand years. The “church today” has been in a massive error; a complete hijacking of ancient Israel’s exclusive and fulfilled redemption narrative, the Bible.
Kierkegaard was so obsessed with this story that it seemed to him that faith couldn't possibly make sense -- yet was not necessarily a bad thing to submit to -- which he describes as paradox but to me reads like a sort of insanity. He even points out that, in the moment Abraham chose to sacrifice his son and obey God, he was a murderer (in intent); yet he is not reviled as a murderer, but revered as a father of faith. Kierkegaard (or his pseudonymous authorsona for Fear & Trembling) saw this as something profound, but one can easily just agree that yeah probably we should not consider Abraham a righteous person if the only reason he wasn't a murderer is because God stopped him from doing something he had absolutely resolved himself to do.
Walter Kaufman said of Kierkegaard: "If it really were axiomatic that God could never contravene our conscience and our reason - if we could be sure that he must share our moral judgments - would not God become superfluous as far as ethics is concerned? A mere redundancy? If God is really to make a moral difference in our lives, Kierkegaard insists, we must admit that he might go against our reason and our conscience, and that he should still be obeyed." Some might see this as edifying of faith, but to me it just shows the problem with it. God should be able to persuade you, and has no right to command you; only a being unworthy of the title God would command anything like this.
I think this is the time and place to quote Voltaire in a not literal, but analogous translation:
“Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire ‘Questions sur les miracles’ (1765)
Story confirms that Mental Health issues have been around for a long time, Abraham is no exception
Thanks so much for putting the time and effort into making these videos. I find it very comforting listening to them. I was always troubled as a kid being forced to go to Sunday school and go through all this when none of it made sense and as you say you only get shut down if you question it. Your approach is very thoughtful and genuine with a true emphasis on love and kindness towards others. Looking forward to more of your work.
I wish that Sunday school teachers would take a different approach and not shut down questions. If our teaching doesn't stand up to questioning, can it really be true? I believe that God wants you to explore your questions.
The story of Jephthah had him sacrifice his daughter to win a battle against Ammon in the Book of Judges. So if Abraham did kill his son and sacrifice Isaac, it still would completely in line with the Bible.
God never told Jephthah to sacrifice his daughter; Jephthah made that foolish vow on his own. Judges 11:30-31 "And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, 'If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering.'"
@57cactus1 And God could have stopped it but he didn't. Don't see that as a strong counterargument if God truly despises human sacrifice.
@@robby7499 Presumably God truly despises the murders and rapes that occur throughout history, yet doesn't lift a finger to stop them. Just because God doesn't stop an activity doesn't mean he approves of it.
@@57cactus1 Not to mention all the wars and genocides that god incites in the bible, and the mass slaughters god performs himself. Apparently it's cool when he wants it.
you have such a gift for communicating these things. thankyou and I always look forward to your next video.
thank you for your ironically loving take on this story, and emotional injury to a child not even considered, a narcissist God's feelings more important than love
As a little kid i don't recall being shocked by that story in Sunday School, maybe because of reading about other violence in the Old Testament and fairytales about cruel stepmothers, parents trying to get rid of their kids, a kid-eating witch or giant, etc., in Grimm Brothers Fairytales, Hans Christian Andersen, and the Thousand and One Nights. My parents were hypocrites who had been baptized into the church and felt the need to appear religious, so we always attended weekly services and sometimes Sunday or Wednesday evenings, although at home they almost never talked about "God" or prayed. At that time i still thought they really had faith, so their silence on the subject was bewildering and made me wonder whether they didn't care if i and my sisters never got faith and were sent to eternal torture in hell. If so, it was only logical to speculate that they would think nothing of slitting our throats. 😱
I've heard atheists here on y-tube breaking down many curious stories from the bible. You are the first one I have seeen tackle this paticular story. Human beings are an irrational species. Your perspectives might just bring some people to their senses. Your work is very important, and you are doing it very well.
Love your work. Hello from Winnipeg.
hello! :D Thank you for watching!
Jehovahs witnesses absolutely argue that you need to listen to god no matter what even what it sounds crazy and that they are constantly being prepared to listen to the governing body no matter what they say or how crazy it sounds as they’re basically the voice of god. It’s legit terrifying
Holy Moly, Kristi - you really chose the doozy of doozies to unpack in this video! I don't know if I've told you this in a previous comment, but my father was a preacher's son, and my father's father was so heavy handed with his religion that my dad and all his siblings totally rebelled against religion and became either full-blown atheists or agnostics, like my dad. So, the family environment that I was raised in was kind of like a post-deconstruction thing; above all, my parents wanted me to be free to choose my own religion according to the dictates of my own conscience. Anyway, I am kind of speculating or inferring here, but I guess that the reason I was never told the story of the binding of Isaac by my parents when I was a child was that my parents thought it would be too disturbing or traumatizing to me - and they were probably right, since I was, and still am, a quite sensitive individual. Here's proof positive that the Old Testament God is autocratic and abusive - and then he says, "I was just kidding!" And so, I learned about the whole binding of Isaac thing when I was an adult, and that's also about the time that I learned that this event is also celebrated and commemorated by Muslims as the holiday of Eid. Just think - "Islam" means "submission to God" and nothing shows submission to God more than a willingness to sacrifice your own and only son. But Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, is cut from the same cloth as an authoritarian and patriarchal religion.
Christianity, Islam and Judaism are all Abrahamic religions that can't agree on a doctrine.
If one is wrong they're all wrong
I'm not sure if I thought of this when I was a kid or if it came from my feminism studies back in the day: The story gives me the idea that in its culture, children were not valued as people; they were simply possessions. Abram "loved" Isaac because he was a gift from god to Abram that he thought he would never have, a son. When god said, "ok, now give it back," Abram thought "the lord giveth and the lord taketh away, so I'm being unselfish by not holding onto my gift." At no time was the child considered as anything other than a prized object. All this certainly doesn't make to story any better. Just different awfulness.
Yeah, Job's story backs that theory up. God had Satan kill all his children to try to break him, and at the end he gave him new ones. Didn't bring the old ones back, just replaced them.
I love your videos! Thank you so much for making them in such an honest and clear way. I was not raised in a fundamentalist church, but I was born and raised in Brazil. Christianity here is really interwoven with our culture, custumes and morality, even though our country is supposed to be secular. I went to a catholic school and I was really upset and confused with these stories. Even as an 8yo I thought "If god knows everything, why does he need to test people's faith? And why does he test it in such cruel ways?" Not only I never got a straight answer but also was seen as problematic for questioning his teachings.
You were wiser than I when young. And Christianity is in a lot of supposedly secular countries, including the US. The first Western European education was frrom monks and nuns. The whole religious story is embedded in that system -- and so in professions, laws, social customs.
I love that you seem so relaxed and content since becoming free. 😊
Thank you for putting into words what I’ve thought since I stopped going to church.
Glad I came across your channel recently. Lots of informative truths being revealed.
😂😂😂 you gotta b kidding me.
I don't know if you are going to cover this later but there is another guy in the bible who did the same thing with his daughter. Judges chp. 11: 30 - 40. His name was Jephtah and he made an oath to god that he would let him win the battle Jephtah would sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house. So when he got home the first thing that came out was his daughter. He cried over it but he wanted to honor the oath. His daughter wanted him to honor the oath too. So after a couple of months he took her into the mountains and sacrificed her. God did not show up to save that one.
Jephthah made a rash promiise that God had never required. According to Leviticus27 he did not need to "sacrifice" her, She could have been redeemed by a payment of money.
@@ChrisSmith-xh9wb and Jephthah did not think of his daughter as being a person but rather a possession a thing. That makes it worse.
Still after all that was said and done this supposedly loving god should have stepped in and saved her but he did not.
@@ChrisSmith-xh9wb That's an excuse. It doesn't matter whether it was required or not - it matters that it was DONE. The desperate and pathetic efforts to excuse it away or claim it didn't really happen, no matter what the words are always disgusts me. I'm going to suggest something she does not - ACTUALLY STUDY, not the book, study theology, history, archeology, anthropology - faith groupings in the Levant, etc. These two are among other hints that survived into the modern day that are horrific, immoral and monstrous. The God who would PERMIT these things, or command them, or test people with them is a monster, an immoral, unworthy creature. I do NOT accept that because something has more power than I do means that it is good or moral or has any right to command my service, my worship, or my respect. Power? Hell? Those things are the tools of an abuser. If an abuser has enough power, then so be it - but I will not say that these things are acceptable or right, or moral or that a being who would do such things is good in any way. There was a significant early Christian split that believed that the God of the Old Testament was actually evil -- things like this pushed that movement. Human sacrifice is WRONG. Killing your child is WRONG. One hundred percent. A god who would permit or command such things is not worthy of respect or worship from a single person. I by the way am a person of faith - but I know that the Bible is simply myth.
And to add one more twist to this story. In the Quran it is Ishmael and not Issac being Sacrificed.
Coming home from church one Sunday I asked my dad if he would kill me if god told him to. Without skipping a beat he said, "Of course I would, as would any good christian man."
😳
🙉
Geez👹👿
That’s depressing. Sorry that happened to you.
Yes good Christian men mostly are the mass killers and serial killers in Merica.
I'm enjoying your deconstruction of the the bibles stories that make no sense to many of us. I was born into a Baptist family so at a very young age I would question Sunday school stories such as Adam and Eve. My grandmother would say "you can't question the Bible" so that made me question it even more. I think one of the key words often found in many of these stories is the word OBEY, all religions are about controlling people, what they think and do. Why do you think the term "God fearing" exists, it is to scare people into conforming. Why would anybody fear God? Please keep up your work, it nice to hear a voice that puts answers to many of my questions.
It's amazing how some preachers will turn this story around and say, "This wasn't for God. God didn't need to learn anything. God knows everything! No, It was for Abraham. He needed to know that he was willing to do anything, sacrifice anything for God," when the text says clearly, "Now I know," not "now you know."
I am so new to this topic. My brain is literally swimming right now. I was baptized Catholic and went to 12 years of catholic school and church every weekend, but was still a very secular person. After high school I stopped going to church. I had always had my doubts about Catholicism in particular because it seemed to go against what the Bible said. So because of the myriad of questions I had starting in my preteen years that I never felt comfortable asking for fear of judgement, I decided to walk away once I turned 18 because my mom decided the moment I turned 18 she didn’t have to be my parent anymore and “make” me go. I was brought back to faith as a baptist about 2 years ago because that’s how my husband was raised, although he is not devout by any stretch. We decided we wanted to give a foundation of faith and morals to our kids by introducing them to the Bible and church. But over the last two years my journey has been as follows: getting swept away by the charismatic movement and feeling loved, moving on to going to a local baptist church and feeling the conviction from fire and brimstone preaching, and circling back around to where I was nearly 15 years ago in terms of having a crisis of faith and deconstructing again. God’s personality changes from the old to the New Testament and it’s something I felt when I was a child and still feel today: which God am I going to get today? The loving one or the wrathful one. Thank you for addressing things I’ve been struggling with for two thirds of my life.
Love your videos Kristi. I have really found freedom in them.
If someone told us God had told them to do that, i think one of our arguments would be, "God wouldn't say that." And yet he did
If this story is actually true, imagine the massive dynamic shift this TRAUMATIC event would have created between the father & son. If my parent had bound me up, raised a knife to me, and almost followed through with murdering me, I would be in constant fear of that parent, and I would never trust that parent again. Ever. This is God's "perfect" plan???
This is such a refreshing perspective. You're right about what the heck was going through Isaac's mind when his dad is holding a knife over him. If that was my father, I would probably never forgive him, let alone stay in his house anymore.
No one was harmed in this tale. The Ram that is slain is the Aries constellation. Aries sets headfirst and his horns are entangled in the thorn bush (winter). The Lamb slain is the same Aries at the spring equinox. It was the blood of this lamb that was placed on the door posts to mark those to be spared. One would certainly be insane to think the writer was talking about a real live animal. The Red Sea, that is passed - over dry shod, is the spring Aurora.
OMG I remember studying this at Bible school in a small in-depth session and the apologetics were off the wall. I bought it at the time, Now that I think about it, I love exploring fairy tales and myths, so now I know this is just one of those. I wish I had the courage and knowledge that I have now to speak out about how crazy this story is. Aside: Mind you, I only went to Bible school because it was in Australia and I was in Canada, and my parents were going to fund this 19 yr old to go, so, yeah, I can suck up some religion because the economy sucked and I had nothing else going on in a Vancouver winter, and Australia was sunny. It was a great experience, and solidified my atheism (also, a friend I still have from that 1980s experience is a pastor, so he obviously got something else out of it) .
I find it striking that at the end, after the angel has stopped Abraham, the angel says that NOW Abraham will be rewarded by having a multitude of offspring. But this promise had already been made much earlier, in Genesis 15 and 16. I wonder if this is another instance where multiple different stories about the same person have been mashed together.
I was thought as christian how God is against human sacrifice (despite the only way to gain salvation supposedly is to accept Jesus sacrifice on our behalf).
If this is true, the correct answer for Abraham would be something like "Go away Satan, God would never ask this from me."
But that's not the story... in the story, it's completely reasonable to accept that God ask for a human sacrifice!
Allow me to share my thoughts with you - Due diligence I'm Jewish:
Our POV on things is a modern way of thinking and differs a lot from the ancient one: child sacrefice was a common practice back then in these regions. The children were thought to be the father's possessions and so were the wives. Terrible, but still this was widely spread. The children knew this could happen. And God of Israel always wanted proof of one's faith through deeds... Paul taught you otherwise but the OT is clear - faith alone was not enough. It is crystal clear.
______________________________________________
*The binding of Isaac*
*Genesis 22*
The OT says this: (Chabad)
1 And it came to pass *after these things,* that God *tested* Abraham, and He said to him, "Abraham," and he said, "Here I am."
What could be clearer than that?
How do we know this was a test?
What things happened in the previous chapter ? That is the meaning of 'after these things', to take us back a notch.
*Ishmael and his mother were banished to the desert, thought to be dead by Abraham when all he had was God's word that Ishmael will be a nation*
Now look at what God asks Abraham to do:
2 And He said, "Please take your son, *your only one,* whom you love, yea, Isaac, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you."
*If G-D would have told Abraham that Ishmael is still very much among the living this wouldn't be a real test.*
It is repeated here:
12 And he said, "Do not stretch forth your hand to the lad, nor do the slightest thing to him, *for now I know that you are a God fearing man, and you did not withhold your son, your only one,* from Me."
*It was just a test.*
*It wasn't even a sin sacrefice.*
*It is not 'a foreshadowing' of anything.*
*God abhorres human sacrefice.*
_______________________________________________
@@PazPinhasRahamim9220 Thank you for sharing, and allow me to retort why this "just a test" is a failure for both Abraham... and God as well.
Abrahams failure is to put obedience above moralality and/or knowing God and his character.
As you point out, it's understandable, he's just a human, he assumes his god is just like every other god out there.
He's a man following the conventions and the lead of the people around him.
And he is ready to sacrifice the life of his kid to appeace his god.
Why would ANYONE worship a god who demand human sacrifices (or sacrifices at all, for that matter)?
As a jew, you might be offended by what I'm about to say, but to breed a people from that genetic material is a setup for failure.
But as for God himself, we can't give any justifications... he's supposedly all-knowing and unchanging, which would include the character and morality.
You say he abbhore human sacrifices... yet he REWARD Abraham for being willing to perform it!
He doesn't value a relationship where you both know each other, he doesn't value a moral character... he value, above all else, obedience at the expence of everything else, to the point he reward someone willing to do abbhorent things for him.
Why would anyone worship such a character?
The most, or even only, moral thing you can do with such a character is to search for some kind of a god-killer sword and put that rabid thing down!
I have always had trouble reconciling the conflicting messages of the Bible. Especially the story of Abraham and Isaac compared to this verse -- Matthew 7:11 -- "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him." The thought that Abraham had the knife raised, ready to plunge it into his child Isaac, always horrified me. In my life, Christianity has been a dysfunctional construct that was more about obeying the "rules" than about loving other humans.
Exactly my take on this troubling story, and so SATISFYING to hear it articulated outside my own head.
Thanks again for another bit a truth. Nothing evil about what you are sharing. Its refreshing but people I have shared you with are afraid to hear it, as if listening to truth were evil. Keep up the Good work.
I'm a father of a 5 year old beautiful boy and if I heard a voice from above asking me to sacrifice him to show my love I would seek psychological therapy. I dispise religion but I do believe in a superior entity and it would never ever ask me to commit a heinous act. Its disgusting and disturbing story that is just one of many.
Thank you for your videos.
Along with your enlightened perspectives, they are to me a welcome summary of the bible, that most harmful of books.
Greetings from Belgium! ❤
I really love what you do.
I am extremely impressed in the way you present your videos, with a very soothing voice. Your smile alone can light up a room.
I have always been a skeptic in my life since I can remember; I was always the kid in Sunday school that spoke out and said that doesn't make any sense.
Thank you for your insight, you have a way of taking my thoughts and putting them into words.
Look at you leading the way through deconstruction for so many people. I'm so proud of you 🌷
Thank you so much!
Yesterday you had 32.1k subscribers and today 32.5k subscribers.. I love your videos and I think. you have a really good heart and try to explain things and look at things as objectively as you can. I hope you eventually get to 500k+ subscribers you have the best deconstruction videos and seem like a genuinely good person. I used to to always see the best in people.. after years of getting robbed.. shot at.. screwed over.. reputation ruined.. and now am basically alone other than my dog and my mom, and grandfather when he isn't disappointed in me.. i have mental issues i struggle with.. bipolar 1.. anxiety disorders.. he doesn't really understand but my mom does. You also seem to have empathy for that sort of thing and so i really do wish the best for you and for your channel you deserve it. I lost my other dog to cancer a couple months ago and i think that was the final straw and now I am deconstructing. Waking up to my innocent, perfect, Molly who did nothing her whole life but love.. waking up to her dead, laying against my leg, she had medications so idk if she was suffering.. she didn't act like it.. we took her to the vet and talked about whether to put her down or let her pass in my bed, with me, not scared and confused on a cold table.. and 2 days later she passed.. and I have had my grandmother who raised me die in front of me, saying "I'm going to hell".. then not saying anything else for 2 days.. she raised me before my mom was mentally ok and could fully be there for me.. my nana on my dad's side also died from cancer and i wasn't there for her and i regret it.. my mom told me i would regret it.. but i chose to drink and live that life and i woke up hungover to a phone call that she had passed.. those 2 deaths combined.. were nothing compared to my dog.. idk how a loving God could do that.. what could possibly be "part of the plan" for that/??????
feels like sanity listening to you ❤
They had me singing Father Abraham in Vacation Bible School🤦🏾♂️
😭😭😭😭😭😭
Me too
I am so grateful to you for making these vids and sharing your experience. You are a great help to me
The value of the Bible is that it raises a lot of questions about human behavior. Both normal and abnormal. Thanks Kristi.
You nailed the human sacrifice issue in one. Yes, it's messed up. Always was, always will be. Christianity needs a new understanding of the whole story of redemption. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
The moral I get from this story is that no one should trust anyone who follows that god, because they will happily kill you if it means not questioning their faith.
4:25 -- Every time I think about the stories in the Torah and/or the Tanakh more broadly, I become more and more convinced that the version of God depicted in those texts actually *wasn't* supposed to be as omnipotent/omniscient/etc. as modern-day theists (especially Christians) tend to think. I even think I've commented on a previous video about how one of the rabbis I know did a whole sermon about how stories like the one of Abraham and Isaac should be taken as cautionary examples of how you *shouldn't* blindly follow God/your faith/etc. even if you do believe. Still one of my favorite sermons/textual deconstructions to think about to this day.
(I say especially Christians, but other religions aren't exempt, either. I definitely know other Jewish folks who will say, "Well, it might not be okay for humans, but it's okay if *God* does it" when I point out God as acting petty and vindictive in certain stories. I'm just *also* more likely to encounter other Jewish folks who are like, "Oh, yeah, totally. And while we're at it, let's point out instances in our texts when God out-and-out admitted that he made a mistake.")
Kristi, in Catholic School we were taught that Isaac was much younger, too young to understand what was happening. So as a very young child Isaac was not traumatized.
babies are traumatized in the womb sweety... Of COURSE ,HE WAS TRAUMATIZED !!!
There's some longlasting myth that young chldren don' t feel things, because they're not mentally developed like an adult. But the reverse is true: young children feel deeply, and take in EVERYTHING as truth (brain in theta state does this). Being traumatized as a very young child is the kind of trauma that's really hard to get rid of. As a child, were you unaware of how your parents felt? Because children are sensitive and pick up these things.
I’ve heard sermons praising the willingness of Isaac and that we should be “willing sacrifices” for God.
It’s also crazy how they tell you the stories and how you’re supposed to interpret and feel about them as well. It’s so controlled, they leave no room for free thought. I knew this, but I didn’t realize how insidious the control is until now.
You have no idea of the impact and encouragement you create. I really appreciate your perspective. I relate so much and you bring up so many points I didn’t even think of.
I am the ram in the bushes in this story, and I endorse this video.
The Ram was/is made of Gold. He got fleeced.
I love your stuff, Kristi.
Onward.
Backward never
In my deconstructing, I began to see god as a sadistical mob boss figure. It’s precisely stories like this, and the story of the crucifixion that first got me thinking. It took me a long time to leave. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when my wife told me that if one of our kids turned out to be gay, and if I told that child they would go to hell for being gay, she would be done with me. It would be over. I did a whole lot of research after that and finally because an atheist.
Just found your channel today and pretty much immediately subscribed. We need more people like you calling out the bs that is the "holy book" or ironically the good book. lol. Keep up the good work.
I had all of these thoughts and questions as a young boy. I told my father that if I was Isaac, I would never have trusted or spoken to my father again. I would have also rejected his screwed up God. These are terrible stories to tell a thinking child.
My kinder teacher (in a Protestant school) who was teaching Bible class told us that "Isaac was perfectly calm and obedient to his father" was he was being tied down and about to be slaughtered. I didn't learn that that teacher added that commentary and it's not, in fact, in the Bible many years later.
They really love adding to the stories, lol
The Ram (God), that provided the sacrifice (himself), is still in the night skies. Can you guess which constellation he is?
Best “realistic” representation of Abraham and Isaac story is a ten year old video by nonstampcollector here on UA-cam. It’s titled “Yahweh’s amazing test”. I recommend checking it out if don’t already know it. It’s just a cartoon but really brings home the horror of the story.
@lapetusStag We were told in church that God caused a kind of "sleep" to come over Issac (like a hypnotism) and therefore the child was NOT aware! (Spin, spin, spin!)
❤here to prove Jesus power 😮 warning it is intense
Kristi, I strongly encourage you to do a sequel to this where you google to see if there are traditions where Isaac was sacrificed. You may also wish to note that Abraham tells Isaac that "The Lord will provide the sacrifice." Christians often use that phrase as foreshadowing Jesus.
Most evangelical people just don't want to admit they would do the same thing if they truly believed God wanted them to kill their child.
I had a hard time reconciling a God that knows everything but, continuing to do stupid things and tests, like destroying Job's life.
And in that case, a god that is so insecure that he could be baited by another simple creation of his own.
Job is planet Earth. Now, who could be destroying Job's life??????
A similar story happened in my city a long time ago. This woman took her kids in a gas station bathroom and stabbed them because she claimed the voice of God told her to. It’s so sad and traumatized me so much to the point that i will never go to that gas station to this day. It happened when i was in middle school. I’m turning 27 this year.