Genesis 22:1-2 God Lies To Abraham.

[Miles]

.

The setup:

Genesis 22:1-2
22 After these things God decided to test Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Yes!”

2 Then God said, “Take your son to the land of Moriah and kill your son there as a sacrifice for me. This must be Isaac, your only son, the one you love. Use him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there. I will tell you which mountain.”

The lie:

God told Abraham he wanted him to sacrifice his son Isaac, which god actually didn't want at all. All god really wanted was for Abraham to honestly attempt to sacrifice Isaac so as to prove his faith. God knew that if Abraham was about to truly carry out the deed He would stop him before it could happen. And if Abraham never attempted to sacrifice his son, Isaac would live on anyway. So, either way god had no intention of letting Isaac die, although the lie he told Abraham led the old man to believe this was exactly what would happen if he was to prove his faith to god.

Now, one may pass this off as a white-lie or even a justified lie, but the way I look at it a lie is a lie is a lie. Why? Because when people claim god never lies they never qualify it, ever; therefore all lies are admissible. So just as the Bible shows that god makes mistakes it also shows he lies. So: Nobody's perfect, or are they?

.

[JehovahsWitness]

DID GOD LIE TO ABRAHAM?

GENESIS 22: 2

Then he said: “Take, please, your son, your only son whom you so love, Isaac, and travel to the land of Mo·riʹah+ and offer him up

A lie is saying somethjng that is untrue. God cannot be accused of lying since all he did was give a two part instruction.

1. Take your son
2. Offer him up


Although implicit in said instructions, is God wanting Abraham to followed them, at no time did God state the part He himself would play in the drama. God at no time stated what he wanted the final outcome of Abraham's actions to be, God certainly did not say he would let Abraham go through with it. Thus from the text, as written one cannot accuse the God of the Abrahamic account, of lying.


JW


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[theophile]

.

The setup:

Genesis 22:1-2
22 After these things God decided to test Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Yes!”

2 Then God said, “Take your son to the land of Moriah and kill your son there as a sacrifice for me. This must be Isaac, your only son, the one you love. Use him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there. I will tell you which mountain.”

The lie:

God told Abraham he wanted him to sacrifice his son Isaac, which god actually didn't want at all. All god really wanted was for Abraham to honestly attempt to sacrifice Isaac so as to prove his faith. God knew that if Abraham was about to truly carry out the deed He would stop him before it could happen. And if Abraham never attempted to sacrifice his son, Isaac would live on anyway. So, either way god had no intention of letting Isaac die, although the lie he told Abraham led the old man to believe this was exactly what would happen if he was to prove his faith to god.

Now, one may pass this off as a white-lie or even a justified lie, but the way I look at it a lie is a lie is a lie. Why? Because when people claim god never lies they never qualify it, ever; therefore all lies are admissible. So just as the Bible shows that god makes mistakes it also shows he lies. So: Nobody's perfect, or are they?

.

Not sure if God lied, but it was certainly a test of Abraham's faith, or his fear of God to be more precise. So is testing someone lying to them? Arguably, but tests have value that ought to be considered as well. Certain things that only tests can achieve, like certainty.

Also interesting to consider some parallel examples, like Job, who was also tested in his faith / fear of God. Job's children (unlike Isaac) were actually taken right? Even though Job's own life is spared? Then there's Jesus, who wasn't even given that grace. Which makes me question a bit of your logic here underlying the lie, i.e., that God had no intention of letting Isaac die... Clearly God has such gumption.

[Miles]

.

The setup:

Genesis 22:1-2
22 After these things God decided to test Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Yes!”

2 Then God said, “Take your son to the land of Moriah and kill your son there as a sacrifice for me. This must be Isaac, your only son, the one you love. Use him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there. I will tell you which mountain.”

The lie:

God told Abraham he wanted him to sacrifice his son Isaac, which god actually didn't want at all. All god really wanted was for Abraham to honestly attempt to sacrifice Isaac so as to prove his faith. God knew that if Abraham was about to truly carry out the deed He would stop him before it could happen. And if Abraham never attempted to sacrifice his son, Isaac would live on anyway. So, either way god had no intention of letting Isaac die, although the lie he told Abraham led the old man to believe this was exactly what would happen if he was to prove his faith to god.

Now, one may pass this off as a white-lie or even a justified lie, but the way I look at it a lie is a lie is a lie. Why? Because when people claim god never lies they never qualify it, ever; therefore all lies are admissible. So just as the Bible shows that god makes mistakes it also shows he lies. So: Nobody's perfect, or are they?

.

Not sure if God lied, but it was certainly a test of Abraham's faith, or his fear of God to be more precise. So is testing someone lying to them? Arguably, but tests have value that ought to be considered as well. Certain things that only tests can achieve, like certainty.

Also interesting to consider some parallel examples, like Job, who was also tested in his faith / fear of God. Job's children (unlike Isaac) were actually taken right? Even though Job's own life is spared? Then there's Jesus, who wasn't even given that grace. Which makes me question a bit of your logic here underlying the lie, i.e., that God had no intention of letting Isaac die... Clearly God has such gumption.

Hmmm. Perhaps god did plan on killing Issac if Abraham didn't attempt to kill him; however, I fail to see what this would accomplish, although it would not be out of character for god to carry out such a heinous act. So perhaps I was wrong in thinking he had no intention of letting Isaac die——I sometimes forget how much more moral we humans can be.

.

[theophile]

.

The setup:

Genesis 22:1-2
22 After these things God decided to test Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Yes!”

2 Then God said, “Take your son to the land of Moriah and kill your son there as a sacrifice for me. This must be Isaac, your only son, the one you love. Use him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there. I will tell you which mountain.”

The lie:

God told Abraham he wanted him to sacrifice his son Isaac, which god actually didn't want at all. All god really wanted was for Abraham to honestly attempt to sacrifice Isaac so as to prove his faith. God knew that if Abraham was about to truly carry out the deed He would stop him before it could happen. And if Abraham never attempted to sacrifice his son, Isaac would live on anyway. So, either way god had no intention of letting Isaac die, although the lie he told Abraham led the old man to believe this was exactly what would happen if he was to prove his faith to god.

Now, one may pass this off as a white-lie or even a justified lie, but the way I look at it a lie is a lie is a lie. Why? Because when people claim god never lies they never qualify it, ever; therefore all lies are admissible. So just as the Bible shows that god makes mistakes it also shows he lies. So: Nobody's perfect, or are they?

.

Not sure if God lied, but it was certainly a test of Abraham's faith, or his fear of God to be more precise. So is testing someone lying to them? Arguably, but tests have value that ought to be considered as well. Certain things that only tests can achieve, like certainty.

Also interesting to consider some parallel examples, like Job, who was also tested in his faith / fear of God. Job's children (unlike Isaac) were actually taken right? Even though Job's own life is spared? Then there's Jesus, who wasn't even given that grace. Which makes me question a bit of your logic here underlying the lie, i.e., that God had no intention of letting Isaac die... Clearly God has such gumption.

Hmmm. Perhaps god did plan on killing Issac if Abraham didn't attempt to kill him; however, I fail to see what this would accomplish, although it would not be out of character for god to carry out such a heinous act. So perhaps I was wrong in thinking he had no intention of letting Isaac die——I sometimes forget how much more moral we humans can be.

.

Ha! We're not trying to rule the cosmos either, so lord knows how that may affect one's moral calculus.

But as to what such a test would accomplish, I'd suggest again that it's certainty. It's for all the doubters out there, which may include God, if God has doubts about us, but also others, like the satan in the book of Job who comes questioning Job's goodness. So such tests are ultimately about increasing faith in humankind, and showing that we have what it takes to rule the earth. (That we shouldn't be blotted out as a stain on the fabric of life...)

Hence why such tests escalate in form across Abraham, Job, and Jesus. More is ultimately required to silence those who doubt God's plans for us and to get them back on board. And let's be fair, there's a lot of reasons to doubt God's plan for us, and whether we deserve such a high place God gave us in Genesis 1...