Everything Wrong With Numbers 8 in the Bible

[@rcblazer]

The god of the Israelites rewards them for all their gifts and praise with more suffering. Yeah, that sounds about right.

[@TheScotsalan]

Yup. I reckon I would have gone back to egypt by now. At least the egyptions had beer 😂😂👍.

[@katieheys8564]

You know what I most love about this section of the Bible? It's literally teaching you to count. Numbers 1, numbers 2, numbers 3...I mean if that doesn't prove a God, I don't know what does

[@ActiveAdvocate1]

"Such-and-such a group of people are mine.' Because THAT'S never been f*cking ominous in the Bible. Nope. Never had a single bad thing happen alongside that idea.

[@Old52Guy]

Of course God has to make the Levites feel bad. Self loathing and guilt are excellent motivators. My Jewish grandmother had this down to an art form. Did you get sick? Totally your fault. I can still hear her "Oy!" I loved her greatly but I'm sure she made the hospital nurses feel guilty because she was dying from emphysema. She did love her 3 pack a week Virginia Slims.

[@ogg5949]

Catholics and Lutherans are the christian form of Jewish grandmothers and moms. I grew up in a small town populated by.....Jews, Catholics and Lutherans! All us kids are seriously warped ppl.🤣(I'm 56 now but still warped)

[@thelostone6981]

@@ogg5949 You should have grown up Mormon like me! My bishop, as instructed by the church itself, told me that masturbation leads to homosexuality. So for years I felt guilty for touching myself….and very satisfied at the same time! It’s was such a conflict but I’m glad to be rid of such nonsense and the guilt tactics they use to control their members.

[@ogg5949]

@@thelostone6981 i feel so bad for you that you grew up with such evil and I'm so happy for you that you escaped! Those vicious lies will emotionally scar ppl for life! We all know religion is the most dangerous evil on the planet. I'm caretaking for my elderly parents and have to attend my old Lutheran church with them every Sunday now. It's a very liberal church with a gay pastor but the drivel being pushed there makes me sick. The robotic chanting of prayers used to be a source of comfort to me. Now I get so angry that those words are being used to strip away ppñ's freedom. Sickening.

[@thelostone6981]

@@ogg5949 Don feel bad for me. I was very fortunate to be born to my parents and to have the experiences I had. While my dad tried to raise us Mormon, he was struggling with the bullshit himself. Besides, I learned a lot about epistemology from that backwardness and grew from it. Don’t get me wrong, I still get pissed when I think about the people who’ve suffered from a repressive religion, can go on and on about the church’s financial situation and getting annoyed at their political influence here in Utah. But I just laugh at how nonsensical it is and the stupid shit they believe. I’m glad to be done with it directly. That sucks for you though. How often do you have to go to church? And if nots too personal, why?

[@Old52Guy]

@@ogg5949 AMEN!

[@dragowolfraven3806]

I can't help but think the Bible was a bunch of guys writing a collection of fanfiction together.

[@StaticBlaster]

lol. Very true.

[@debbys-abqnm4537]

"Guys" is certainly the right use of that word in this case! Keep women out of the clubhouse or somebody dies! Probably the woman.

[@terryriley8963]

How to purify the Levites: You put your right foot in You put your right foot out You put your right foot in And you sprinkle water all about You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around That's what it's all about! PS. No innocent animals were slaughtered during this holy purification ritual, only the human beings involved were made to look totally ridiculous by their God.

[@debbys-abqnm4537]

It seems that all the sacrificed (usually male) animals were totally without sin, so maybe that's a warning for nervous (sinful?) humans, even the vegans. Be good and still be tortured to death. Indulge in some sin and, well, learn a lesson. God is always watching...!

[@PaulThomas-qb9cx]

@@natsusatsujinki8342 yeah, maybe Yaldebeoth comes into play here.

[@kevinvorster9777]

@@debbys-abqnm4537 if you don't sin a little, Jesus died for nothing.

[@flowingafterglow629]

OK, I am at the 0:45 part. And I've already smacked my head twice. I don't know how many times I've said this in this whole series, but there are people who insist this is the "greatest book ever written"? "Aaron faced the lampstand in the direction the Lord had ordered." Holy friggin schmidt

[@visaman]

Maybe not this particular book?

[@flowingafterglow629]

@@visaman Well, not this particular book, for sure. But where IS it good? There a few interesting chapters in Genesis, maybe? At least the parts that aren't geneology. Exodus? Again, maybe 3 chapters, but the rest is awful. Leviticus? All really stupid. When does the "greatest book ever written" turn into something that is generally good? It's fairly obvous that anyone who considers the bible to be a great book has never read it, outside of the selected parts. Most of it is just bad.

[@ianbraun271]

@@flowingafterglow629 Those that call the Bible "the greatest book ever written", only read the New Testament. Cause they are all about Jaysus. They don't ever read the Old Testament.

[@flowingafterglow629]

@@ianbraun271 Shoot, not even that, I suspect it's more limited to the gospels only. Are the letters of Paul really that exhilierating?

[@laurajarrell6187]

Friendly Atheist,Hemant, lol, I loved the 'as a brown skinned man', comment. As picky as God is, it said all their body hair, yet they're supposed to have beards. I guess that's later. Ooh, they must've looked funny with no brows. And how laborious. Especially back then! I'm picturing the SNL coneheads. Before your time, lol. 👍💙💖🥰✌

[@brunozeigerts6379]

Reminds me of the old joke about the Head Priest insisting that the bible had been properly transcribed. He goes back to the original manuscript... and starts pulling out his hair. 'No... no... it says 'celeBRATE!'

[@tealx8462]

Atonement for WHAT!!!!!

[@donsample1002]

A couple of chapters back, the Nazarites had to stop shaving in order to be clean. Now the Levites have to shave their entire bodies to be clean. I wish Yahweh would make up his mind.

[@alguno1010101]

God taking the Israelites out of Egypt feels like the Megamimd scene where Titan says "change of management"

[@sidmelucci3675]

There were some 22,000 (male, 'cos girls don't count) Levites. Even after discounting for the under-25s, that's a helluva lot of people to gather in front of the tent. And when you add in the rest of the half-million-plus Israelites laying on hands, you've got a crowd that even our former prez could be proud of.

[@George4943]

What to do with "shaved clean men." My imagination goes places I have never gone to.

[@jasoncarter455]

I'm not sure how you feel about religious humor but I hope you find the following joke humorous Why did the priest get kicked out of exorcism training, he was caught stabbing ice because he was confused about how to make holy water

[@tomsenior7405]

Groan. But, in a nice way. Cheers.

[@skepticusmaximus184]

That reminds me of the rabbi doing his first circumcision. He slipped and got the sack.

[@thelostone6981]

Not bad. My favorite is Emo Philip’s heretic Northern Baptist joke myself.

[@WetDoggo]

I don't get how in one chapter shaving your whole body makes you unholy or unclean and in the next chapter it's the complete opposite 😂😂

[@chasfeger8713]

probably because it's talking about another type of case. Try slicing through the Gordian knot once in a while.

[@WetDoggo]

@@chasfeger8713 talking to a dog about "knots" isn't a good idea 👌

[@stephanhirons3454]

Wow that shaving stuff must be excruciating when you don't have razors

[@GSimpsonOAM]

Maybe they waxed?

[@PaulThomas-qb9cx]

@@GSimpsonOAM ouch!

[@PaulThomas-qb9cx]

Always looking forward to the next Sunday! Hey, looks like I got first!

[@DaveTexas]

I do love any opportunity to remind Christians that they belong to a blood-sacrifice cult. A blood-sacrifice cult that decided HUMAN sacrifice was better than animal sacrifice.

[@kevinvorster9777]

And after the human sacrifice they must eat the victim, four times a year in the form of communion. Eat the bread symbolizing the body of Christ and drink the wine symbolizing the blood of Christ. Metaphorical cannibalism.

[@DaveTexas]

@@kevinvorster9777 four times a year? The church my parents took me to had forced cannibalism twice a week!

[@d.o.m.494]

These verses sound as if written by pampered priests, not an omni everything god.

[@Shermanbay]

You're too kind. They sound like they were written by ignorant savages, or perhaps a scribe with a twisted mind and a god complex. And we all know what a god complex can do, right?

[@drdisrespect5318]

You’re asking about what is called “verbal inspiration”. No - for most Christian denominations, we do not believe that God actually chose and dictated each specific word of the Bible. He inspired the writers in the sense that He guided them to write only true things, and to leave out nothing that might be necessary to salvation - but the human authors chose which words to use and what style to write in. The only places where the Bible records specific words spoken by God are places - where it says, “Thus saith the Lord…” or “And Jesus said unto them…”

[@d.o.m.494]

@@drdisrespect5318 So what you are saying is they made it up.

[@drdisrespect5318]

@@d.o.m.494 No it's the word of God Inspired by the Holy Spirit..

[@d.o.m.494]

@@drdisrespect5318 What sort of spirit? Vodka, gin....

[@nuhumaishanu6944]

They must have had gold and flour all over the place,the way use them at every opportunity

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

They just stole all the Egyptian jewellery, not that anyone noticed.

[@josefj.cfourie198]

@@DavidSmith-vr1nb Yes, never do you hear any preacher mentioning that they robbed the Egyptians of all their jewellery, cattle, etc just after Yhwh killed all their innocent first borns. And why? Because Yhwh wanted to kill some babies. All of it was castrated solely so that he could kill him some human babies. He made it so that the pharo would say no, he actually had to change the state of the pharo's heart to do so, then as soon as he got to kill some human babies, he was happy and allowed the pharo to let the Jews leave... like the pharo would have done in the first place if Yhwh didn't harden his heart. How blind do you have to be to not realize that Yhwh is the bad guy in this fairy-tale????

[@kellydalstok8900]

WTF is a wave offering; how do you wave people in front of an altar? A small baby is doable, but a normal sized adult?

[@foppishdilletaunt9911]

Those golden lamps that YHWH is such a nuge & a mamzer about ? Those are the Israel Lights.

[@NewtonMD]

_"What a spoilt brat"_ lmao that might produce some steam

[@thescoobymike]

If I have to hear "finest flour mixed with olive oil" one more time...

[@kevinvorster9777]

Fun drinking game. Take a shot every time you read that phrase.

[@puirYorick]

You'd expect an all-powerful universe creator could have accomplished all of this minutiae in a simpler more direct way than this endless repetition of a silly game of telephone.

[@robertsandberg2246]

There's a lot of weird, fucked up shit in the Bible, that's for sure....🤔

[@xenon8117]

God loves whimsy and chinese whispers it seems, he’s like a 10 year old.

[@sophiedimitriadis3354]

I love watching you! You are too funny.

[@soyevquirsefron990]

This is the only time I’ve heard all this word for word, but I get the impression that the Levites get a pretty good deal. Yeah polishing the menorah all day would suck, but it’s better than being a farmer or ditch digger. And you know the priests and Levites are eating all the sacrifices on Sabbath while everyone else is confined to their houses

[@warrendriscoll350]

Just have to say that I heard that bathing was an extremely common thing for the people. I believe they found an inordinate number of ritual baths right around where they found the dead sea scrolls. This ritual set likely started after the bible had been written.

[@shriggs55]

Here they are, two-million or so people stuck in a desert with a tyrant,and said tyrant is making their leaders to jump through these ritualistic hoops just to satisfy his ridiculousness. You'd think that there was more important things for him to do.

[@chasfeger8713]

Maybe they were to jump through hoops as part of the Lord's physical fitness test. Don't you want a qualified, healthy person to do the work of the Tabernacle? Like, you ever get a degree? There are always hoops to jump through to get where you're going. Anyway, The Torah is actually a handbook on free will, to empower us to make better choices and decisions in our life. Not the work of a tyrant but of a liberator. Sorry you don't get it, but not all religions are as corrupt as Christianity. so frikkin let my people go. ;-)

[@PaulThomas-qb9cx]

I'm really excited for Lev. 11:6. That's when we get into rabbits. And that's a key piece of evidence that the Septuigent (Greek translation of Pentateuch) was composed ca. 270 BCE, and that the Pentateuch was composed only slightly earlier or even contemporary. See article at Vridar blog from Dec 30 2012.

[@cmecre8629]

mind-numbing gobbledygook

[@kellydalstok8900]

Did the Israelites wash their hands before laying them on the Levites? Otherwise ale their cleaning was pointless.

[@merbst]

Personally my preferred method of getting clean is to jump in the ocean!

[@debbys-abqnm4537]

Sharks like that, too, and they are never sacrificed (at least so far). They're doing something right!

[@lh1673]

Oh my god! I didn’t know god was obsessed in coordinating his room with lamps!

[@drdisrespect5318]

There's a difference between Jewish ceremonial law and God's Moral law. Just because you don’t understand the need for it doesn’t mean that there is not a need.

[@lh1673]

@@drdisrespect5318 What does laws have to do with lamps?

[@peejay2982]

4 days?!?! I need Hemant now, God damnit... Oh, wait. I can watch my favorite episodes of the Friendly Atheist any time. 😉Thanks again, Hemant. You're the best ever. Hugs and kisses.. or, fist bump.. which ever you prefer ☝️😉

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

Elbow bump

[@peejay2982]

@@DavidSmith-vr1nb ☺️👍sounds good to me

[@scofah]

Hi! Thanks for reading this to us. You don't need the background musi though.

[@bertmung]

Soap hadn't been invented yet.

[@chasfeger8713]

duh..the red heifer in numbers is all about the manufacture of soap. Also, these jokes on dirtiness seem to echo the old Nazi propaganda thing like Jews are dirty or smell funny. Personally, I would rather be a righteous atheist than a stereotyping antisemite, but to each his own I guess.

[@grapeshot]

It seems like Yahweh can't do anything unless blood is involved.

[@debbys-abqnm4537]

Vegans might want to take notice of that.....

[@josefj.cfourie198]

It is his lube of choice, just ask any Catholic priest.

[@PaulThomas-qb9cx]

@@josefj.cfourie198 😲 Savage! 😎

[@Craxin01]

I'm not a brown man, but I am a hairy man. I regularly shave my head, and it takes a solid half hour for my face and head. I'm sure it'd take a few hours to shave everything below my neck.

[@GSimpsonOAM]

They would not have been using a safety razor either. I would have been getting nervous the lower they went below the neck.

[@Craxin01]

@@GSimpsonOAM No kidding. Ever shave with a straight razor?

[@GSimpsonOAM]

​@@Craxin01 Perhaps the first circumcision was accidental.

[@Craxin01]

@@GSimpsonOAM Argh!

[@johnronald4461]

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.” John 3:16

[@GSimpsonOAM]

Empty words that lack any substance.

[@anthonyroyer8283]

As it is in numbers four they were counting the Levites who were 30-50. Where as in numbers 8 the Levites from 25-50 where being required to work. One is a matter of counting some who work the other is a matter of who works and does not.

[@PaulThomas-qb9cx]

I let the ad before this video play in its entirety.

[@neilhalieninvader]

Wave offering how many full grown men??? Who has the job of picking them up and waving them around? How long would that take? You'd need someone akin to Goliath for that effort.

[@Malidictus]

It wasn't until the second mention of the Levites being a "wave offering" that I had to wonder about that. Who is waving around men 25 years of age or older? How? What would that even look like? Because the only thing I can picture in my mind's eye is the old "I will beat a motherfucker with another motherfucker" meme image.

[@wintermute740]

Not a single Levite thought to say "Woah! Hold on a moment, God. That whole pass-over thing.. You didn't mention any of this back then, so you're changing the terms of the deal." Not a single one of them?

[@MidnightBreezey]

Wait, what does being a brown man have to do with being hairy? Ive never noticed a corelation between race and body hair. And Ive slept with no small number of men from all walks of life.

[@PaulThomas-qb9cx]

From an archeological standpoint, I'm excited that we might have a hint here of the origins of the baptism tradition among Jewish people.

[@davidbudge8359]

Has anyone else got an image of hairless Levites doing a Mexican wave?

[@josefj.cfourie198]

Not exactly... but I think this chapter might be the reason why later on they changed the rules to "No!! Man not do boom boom with other man."

[@willwaggenspack6411]

We’re the levitate a race of Sasquatch they must be harry

[@drgleisner]

You are doing god's work. Well, you know what I mean. :)

[@alanhilder1883]

2:30 God made them get clean so the dirty hands of all the other people could smear new dirt on them... And God doesn't understand why they are so dirty even after saying to spruce themselves up for the meeting.

[@giorgiol77]

This channel is “hammered gold”!

[@joyceandrews1617]

Did I miss something? I don't remember an explanation of why the Levites were chosen to replace the first born.

[@visaman]

It was one of those retrocon stories of you had to be there.

[@WetDoggo]

Levites as a wave offering??? How the hell would you just wave the Levites around? 😂

[@dwaneanderson8039]

I picture this huge crowd doing "the wave" like fans at a ball game.

[@visaman]

Club Med Style, Hands Up

[@KeriRautenkranz]

With great Skill and Cunning!

[@tomsenior7405]

God talks to Moses quite a lot. Moses never existed. Seems like god has an imaginary friend.

[@chrismassey7563]

I believe you're saying the first person with the name Moses never existed....... Not true.

[@tomsenior7405]

@@chrismassey7563 I believe I'm referring to the Fictional Biblical Character called Moses... True, ture.

[@chrismassey7563]

@@tomsenior7405 Wasn't he the first person ever to have the name Moses? Are you implying that the very first person with the name Moses had an author?

[@tomsenior7405]

@@chrismassey7563You seem confused. I am saying that the Fictional Character of the Bible, referred to as Moses, never existed. The Pentateuch had Several Authors, Moses was not one of them.

[@chrismassey7563]

@@tomsenior7405 Jochebed was Moses mother and Amram was Moses father, Aaron was his brother and Miriam was his sister, was Jochebed Amram Miriam and Aaron all fictional people as well?

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

The usual abhorrent behaviour from Yahweh, but at least no lists! 😁👌

[@Malidictus]

Also - and this has nothing to do with anything - but Numbers (and Leviticus, really) is starting to read like an MMO quest log. You know the kind - where all the names of people and things are coloured and bolded because they have hyperlinks attached to them? Basically, it sounds like God gave the Levites a quest. "You must find 1 *young bull* for a *sin offering* . You must find 1 *finest flour mixed with olive oil* . Then come speak with me again."

[@MsFred58]

Washed their garments? So they were naked in front of the tent!!! OMG!!

[@AmityvilleFan]

Aaron had to be pretty strong to wave group men.

[@chapeljohn9462]

How exactly do you offer the Levites as a wave offering? Do you have them do the Lucky Star dance or something? At least with food it's pretty obvious, you just wave it round, but the Levites? I dunno... sounds like they're gonna have to do a pretty embarrassing dance.

[@garryferrington811]

How come the shaving part got dropped from the ceremonies? Also, if it's wrong to shave, as we read before, how is it suddenly okay?

[@quercus4730]

Wouldn't 50 be old age back then?

[@josefj.cfourie198]

Didn't they reach 800 and 900? So they had about 750 years of retirement.

[@quercus4730]

@@josefj.cfourie198 Sure and one of them walked on water another had a baby without f...king someone all kinds of silly shit.

[@robertshaw4397]

Joyce Meyers tv sponsored this video. Too funny!

[@MoonWomanStudios]

Instructions on how to make soap would have been so much more useful

[@pixel9548]

What did they use to shave all these hairy guys?

[@kellydalstok8900]

A very kinky barber.

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

Late Bronze age, they would have had flint and possibly obsidian for the sharpest blades. Bronze itself will keep an edge for a while. Their enemies had iron chariots not much later.

[@willwaggenspack6411]

Were the levites Sasquatch are they that hairy

[@miriam-english]

But since there's no actual god, this, and other Numbers chapters, detail how the priest class swindle people into providing them with slaves and gold and food forever. What an amazing scam!

[@myszek512__6]

OK Hemant, you missed an opportunity today. *** SCOTUS declared the activation of Sharia Law in the U.S. Yes, just like in the 'good old days'.

[@Malidictus]

"So God told Moses to tell Aaron..." OK, so maybe a dumb question, but... why doesn't God tell that to Aaron himself? He's relaying a design for a physical object. Wouldn't it be much easier to contact the maker directly in order to offer specific instructions. Imagine trying to commission artwork online through a third party intermediary - that's effectively what God is doing right there. Can He not speak with Aaron for some reason? Am I missing something?

[@kevinvorster9777]

Also remember that Moses had a stutter. Everything god commands has to be relayed to Aaron by a guy who can't speak properly.

[@Salt_and_Light_UK]

I think you’re missing that Moses is the mediator between God and man, therefore everything is through Moses. The OT is full of ‘types’ and ‘shadows’ of the Messiah, eventually fulfilled in the person Jesus our Saviour e.g. Moses was the mediator between God and man, and the ‘shepherd’ of Gods people the Israelites. Now Jesus is our mediator and our good shepherd

[@Malidictus]

@@Salt_and_Light_UK What does God need with a mediator? Would it not be simpler, easier and more straightforward to directly tell each of us what He wants us to do? Why rely on fallible humans who are prone to misremembering, misunderstanding and not explaining things well? This is why I used the example of commissioning artwork via third party mediator. Said third party has to form their own idea of what the customer is actually asking for and then give that idea to the artist - creating an unnecessary game of telephone. The only thing this accomplishes is making anything the prophet has to say harder to trust because it's that much less distinct from the prophet simply making things up. I mean realistically - what if Moses for whatever reason just made it all up? The bulk of the laws certainly seem to grant Aaron and his sons a lot of valuables to keep for themselves, so that right there raises some questions. This line of thought didn't even spring from a theological line of thinking. The phrase "God told Moses to tell Aaron..." simply struck me as silly, because the obvious answer there is "Why don't you tell him yourself?" Or better yet, why don't you write it down and give out copies so everyone has first-hand instructions?

[@Salt_and_Light_UK]

@@Malidictus Point 1: why a mediator? Rather than God needing it, it’s that humans need it. God is Holy and described as a consuming fire, any sin/darkness in His presence would be destroyed. It’s also an advocate role just like the High Priest presenting the costly redemption price of our sin (death of an innocent lamb in the old covenant), Jesus (The High Priest) with the glory of God veiled in the body of a humble servant would reveal himself as the Lamb of God, pay our debt and advocate for us before the Father Point 2: isn’t it easier? My initial thoughts would be I guess God using man in this process is valuable in that it enables ourselves to develop in a number of ways and, in the example of commissioning art, it gives us an ability to exercise the God given attributes of being creative but within set parameters. Sure it’d be quicker and easier if a parent was to do their child’s art homework for them, but the child would miss out on the learning experience. God throughout time has used imperfect mankind to be his agents and recipients of grace and mercy, again the OT sets the stage for God making Jesus the mediator. Point 3 - Why prophets? Again it’s God’s process to communicate the consequences of sin. In the garden of Eden God walked and communicates directly with mankind as there was no sin barrier. If you’re genuinely interested here’s a really good article which does a much better job than I am spectrummagazine.org/article/2016/04/28/god-speaks-through-prophets Point 4 - Moses using it for his own ends? Consider the story so far and see if that point stands up. Moses gave up a luxurious and life of power as a prince of Egypt to live and die in a desert ? Aaron’s sons were struck down and he disobeyed God numerous times. Any precious materials were put into the worship infrastructure rather personal wealth. Moses would later be band from entering the promised land. It doesn’t make sense if he made it up. Also its take multiple miracles for a bunch of severely weakened slaves to escape and then destroy the worlds greatest army at the time. Archeological/ geological evidence: Evidence of Hebrews in Egypt - Netflix doc kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJLWpHl_rrF8pKc The exodus - red sea crossing kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYOahmSEYtaqi6s Hebrews in and around Sinai kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3XccqWsntR9bNk The fact that the Israelites still exist in 2022 should get you thinking. Where are the Ammonites, Canaanites and all the other ‘ites’ and any other people group for that matter 3300 years on? What people group/nation as had most persecution throughout human history yet still exist? Please look into it. I’ve been critiquing Christianity pretty much daily for 14 years and it holds water. If it’s true would you believe it? Many don’t want to as that’ll mean giving up sin. John 4:14 ESV Jesus said “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” It’s the best thing anyone could ever do. Get right with God by excepting His mercy (we all have sinned and fall short of his glory Rom3:23) before judgement day and then live in that amazing relationship with Him (see the story of the prodical son. Luke15:11) I don’t know you, but I care for your soul and anyone who’s willing to look into this life changing subject.

[@Malidictus]

@@Salt_and_Light_UK Point 1: That still doesn't seem convincing. God is supposed to be Omnipotent. Surely he can appear in human form without killing people if he so chose. Indeed, didn't he wrestle with Jacob as a man in an earlier chapter? I'm just looking at this from the perspective of logistics. God wants things done. For whatever reason, He doesn't want to do it Himself, so fair enough. But why make the process more complicated than it needs to be? This goes into Point 2. Why create the ambiguity by which man will follow God's orders incorrectly? The longer your chain of communication is, the more room there is for misinterpretation. And considering God has been known to kill people who do things wrong or not exactly as He ordered, does it not stand to reason that it's simply more practical to communicate directly? Simply appear to Aaron as a burning bush, or a wrestle him as a man, or simply speak into his mind and tell him what he needs to do. Even if I were to give the Bible the benefit of a doubt that it's all true, the God it paints just doesn't come across as very practical. Rather than a powerful being acting to accomplish a goal, He appears to just be playing around. I remember arguing in a previous chapter that God could easily have built the Arc himself out of stainless steel and plastic, such that it would be like nothing else man has ever seen or is capable of producing, as well as ensuring that it never tarnishes or decays. If I were a god and wanted to demonstrate my glory, this is the path I would go. Give people objects that they simply cannot explain or produce. Point 4: I don't find martyrdom to be a compelling argument, personally. Remember the old saying - "it's better to rule in hell than serve in heaven?" I'm not saying it's true, merely that people throughout history have believed it to be - cult leaders especially. Look at the likes of Jim Jones, Charles Manson, Shoko Asahara, etc. Time and again, awful people choose to leave civilised society and live in hermit communities with followers who obey their every command. Time and again, they use religion of some fashion - made up or otherwise - to keep their flock in check. Sometimes it's God, sometimes it's aliens, sometimes it's something in-between. Remember, Moses is the only source of information we have for pretty much any of this. He is the one who goes away to speak with God where nobody else can see or hear Him, then comes back with rules which consistently invade the Israelites' privacy, bodily autonomy and autonomy of thought. What if he's lying? What if he made it all up, or at least made some of it up. This wouldn't be the first time that a senior member of a cult embezzles from said cult. Look at Jehova's Witnesses and their Watchtower Society. Hell, look at the Catholic Church and their problem with child abuse. Time and again, powerful men portend to speak with the authority of God, yet do little more than amass power, cover up wrongdoing and run their flock like their own personal slave cult. I'm not saying that any of this is provably correct, obviously. I'm just saying that if you don't start with the presupposition that everything in the bible is exactly as it seems, there are a large number of aspects to it which appear quite suspect. Yes, you can explain them retroactively in much the same way as something like Kingdom Hearts constantly back-fills its own narrative with ret-con lore, but the retroactive explanations rather stand out - at least to me. It feels like hammering a square peg in a round hole. Hammer it long enough and it'll fit one way or another, but it doesn't seem right. "The Israelites still exist": I find this particularly uncompelling. Egypt predates the Israelites and Egypt still exists. China predates both and that still exists. Depending on how you want to define "still exists," that could also apply to the Roman Empire, either existing as modern-day Italy or modern-day Greece. I obviously don't mean to diminish the horrors of the Holocaust - that stands as an absolute atrocity in recorded human history. I'm just saying that it doesn't really prove God. In fact, it shows the retroactive justification I mentioned before. You start with the presupposition that the Bible is true and God is real, then interpret historical events from that perspective. And yes, some of them fit this narrative. I joke in another thread about worshipping a "Watch Tree" as God, and someone retorted with how Watchtowers or Clocktowers would then be seen as monuments to the Watch Tree. If you start with a presupposition, you're almost guaranteed to prove but you're begging the question.

[@justinwillard76]

Why are you so upset about the ritual not getting them physically clean when it literally says it’s ceremonial?

[@merbst]

2³=8

[@stephanekjean]

The Bible is soooo wrong

[@josefj.cfourie198]

Do you think this part reads a little differently in Latin? With only minor changes, it could describe the Catholic priests' immoral behavior precisely.

[@Malidictus]

What, the "clean-shaven oiled young men" bit?

[@josefj.cfourie198]

@@Malidictus Yes, the stripped naked, smooth-shaven, young oiled men bit.

[@kevinvorster9777]

Everything these priests make up as god's instructions goes along with a burnt sin offering, even if the people did nothing wrong. They're trying everything they can to get free food.

[@shriggs55]

What nonsense!! And why did I believe this book at one time? Well,it's because.....never mind.

[@fornamnefternamn1532]

I focking hate the wave v offering. It's so ridiculous! I cannot stand it! 😆

[@ΘάνατοςΧορτοφάγος]

Mono theism is so boring

[@josefj.cfourie198]

Be patient, they will be adding other gods halfway into the story. They will deny it, but that doesn't change the fact that they did. That's why they don't say "Yhwh", "Jesus", "Mithra", (who knows who else)... they only use the common noun god. Okay, they do say Jesus, but he was a human, not a god and his name wasn't Jesus.

[@josefj.cfourie198]

@IgtheisticPerspective It's the "god of the gaps", not the "god of things that make sense". That would be a very different story book.

[@PaulThomas-qb9cx]

Also, if you go back to the earlier books, it was pretty exciting... lots of murder, genocide, vengeance, wrath, fury, horror, animal slaughter, blood getting smeared everywhere... pretty intense.

[@omarawtravel]

Why do you usually seem to target Christians and not other religious groups?

[@anthonyroyer8283]

I would like this if you presented arguments of logic instead of plain opinions. I see people saying they'll use this series to teach. I hope not for logic and true argumentation are not used here!

[@GSimpsonOAM]

It opens up a discussion for which the comment section is open to. If you have some valid logic, please present it.

[@chrismassey7563]

Here is a fact, the author of Adam and Eve is telling you exactly who He is, therefore no one who can read the Bible should be referring to themselves as an atheist.

[@smochygrice465]

I can read friend, I just dont see a reason to read the bible books in the first place. Hope you are well brother.

[@lh1673]

Exactly! God is telling who is He, which i didn’t know and was indoctrinated for years not to know who He really is! Thanks to all wise human who was/is theist also atheist for inventing technology, especially internet! It helped me to research what this book is all about! I can just click and find the facts of this book!

[@chrismassey7563]

@@lh1673 Have you ever decided to just sit down and read the Bible for yourself?

[@chrismassey7563]

@@smochygrice465 The author of Adam and Eve is telling you who He is.

[@lh1673]

@@chrismassey7563 I regret I didn’t! I was just accepting and listening to the charlatan pastors talks, spoon fed by those cherry pick scriptures and being in a fantasy world! That is why I thank human inventions, I can think critically now! Do you think God had foresee that technology will bring more debates in his words!? Or decided not to, as he didn’t to Adam and Eve’s behavior! Isn’t he known as all knowing?

[@istvansipos9940]

and the lawrd said all this with magic. since he (he?) is immaterial, he had to. And then crissschunz don't believe in magic :- )

[@sweetjackson8035]

As an atheist why spend your time reading the Bible? 🤔

[@canbest7668]

Similar to why someone reads other texts - to learn and impart ideas. How can we criticize something without knowing something about it?

[@sweetjackson8035]

@@canbest7668 Why criticize something you don’t believe in? It’s a lot of energy spent on something that’s being opposed to. One could not criticize a God that one has never been experienced. God is not just a text. God can not just simply be read about. This is the first mistake with mankind trying to make sense of God. One can read all there is to read about God and that would never equate to having experienced God for one’s self. It’s kind of like reading reviews on the food at a great restaurant. The reviews may be wonderful and enticing but really they do nothing for your appetite until you’ve tasted the food yourself and have experienced the service first hand.

[@canbest7668]

@SweetJackson If you have a principle that it’s important to believe in real things rather than fantasies it’s important to criticize them. Especially if people believe in fantasies can impose their beliefs on you. That’s why

[@starofjustice1]

Well Jacky, let's leave out the question of whether Christ is real for the moment. Because whether or not Christ is real, Christians sure are. Shaping societal policies for everyone based on their beliefs. Hope that helps.

[@canbest7668]

@starofjustice1 well said

[@aqsaseemab8062]

I request you to do some research on Quran and tell us the facts

[@drdisrespect5318]

For a non believing group, you sure do spend a lot of time denying someone you don't believe exists. God lives rent free in your heads.

[@starofjustice1]

Oh look, another guy who thinks "why do atheists spend so much time thinking about God if they don't believe in him" is a profound question.

[@drdisrespect5318]

@@starofjustice1 Enlighten me.

[@starofjustice1]

@@drdisrespect5318 Why? You've mastered it. I said it was a profound question didn't I? Bonus points for "lives rent free in your heads". That's a classic. And by classic it means overused.

[@drdisrespect5318]

@@starofjustice1 Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it the a fruit salad.

[@starofjustice1]

@@drdisrespect5318 A warped barrel is a fool's frustration.

[@elimartin4107]

Oh boy listening to an Atheist explain the Bible is like listening to a Mechanic explain a book on biology 🤣.

[@TBomb39]

That's because Hemant read it word-for-word and didn't sugar-coat it like the theists do. It's not his fault that the buybull is horseshit.

[@elimartin4107]

@@TBomb39 Thats all theists do is read it word for word. But we also know that historical context and biblical context matters. Understanding Scripture is the same as understanding anything else you must get foundations before understanding the full picture. But the Bible is a bit different as well in the sense that its a tool for born again people to further understand the Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit. So an unregenerate person cannot fully understand it. That's why listening to Atheists is so painful because they are far off the mark with Scripture. Being saved is essential for understanding Scripture. Because the start of wisdom comes from a fear of God. Without that you dont have even the beginning of wisdom. So not only are Atheists not wise but Scripture says they are fools because they say in their hearts there is no God. So in summary we have unwise fools trying to interpret a word from God without God inside them helping there understanding. And to make matters worse they dont sit under pastors to learn from to even begin to try to make it understandable. But you could know what this says beyond reading plain words and using your very flawed presuppositions. But you need to humble yourself before Christ repent of your sin which we all commit and trust in Christ for forgiveness of those sins. Because if you don't not only will you never grow in wisdom and the truth but you will die and go to hell in your sin as we all deserve.

[@TBomb39]

@@elimartin4107 Telling an Atheist that they're going to hell is the emptiest threat in existence. It means less than nothing to me. It's akin to being told that Santa Claus is not giving you presents. Also, "sin" is a religious construct to serve a religious agenda. "Sin" does not apply to me. I have no "sin." As for the buybull, it's ancient papyrus scribbling from the Bronze age. It's full of errors and contradictions. And atrocities. You can't sugar-coat slavery, genocide, megalomania, racism, rape, blood magic, misogyny and hate. "Out of context" and "special interpretation" are lies told to further an agenda. This is fantasy.

[@elimartin4107]

@@TBomb39 You have broken the 10 commandments as have I you are guilty and need a savior. Repent of your sin of disbelief and trust in Jesus or you will die in your sin and go Hell. Btw in your world-view there is nothing wrong with those things you listed. You think we live in a fictional unguided universe with no purpose and our ancestors were fish. Who cares what one evolved bag of space dust does to another. You have no justification for your stance at all, those things are only bad if you have a moral, absolute, objective standard above you that says that is evil and you have nothing. So I would ask you to stay consistent with your world-view and not steal from mine. Also please learn the Bible from someone who knows what it says and can teach you so you dont continue to go woth error on what it says. Stop turning to atheists to teach you something they know nothing about. You dont go to a painter to teach you how to build cars. Or a fry cook to teach you how to be a dentist. If you are going to make a valid argument against something then you need to make sure you understand it in the first place.

[@kevinvorster9777]

@@elimartin4107 this god doesn't want people to have wisdom. He kept Adam and Eve ignorant by prohibited them from the tree of knowledge. It was the serpent who gave them freedom with knowledge and for that they were punished. The church has kept scientific research back for thousands of years. Even in modern times the church wants its members to be stay ignorant otherwise they know sensible people will put two and two together and realize its all bullshit. And nice threat of hell at the end just because we disagree with you.

[@Daniel-cz7kd]

Hemant or friendly atheist Interesting that you’d get one thing right and then get another thing wrong with this chapter, as I don’t find any details of the Levites feeling bad in any way. In case you missed it Hemant, there’s no mention of bull’s blood anywhere with the water for cleansing of the body. Hemant, don’t you remember what you read? Why should you be so bothered by what the Levites do during their retirement? You wanna use your retirement on yourself, go ahead, but don’t think you have any right or authority to tell the others what they do with their retirement.

[@brunozeigerts6379]

Interesting that you focus on a joke and ignore all the messed up stuff in this chapter and all the ones before this.

[@debbys-abqnm4537]

Missing bull blood? So the bulls were abducted and slaughtered by aliens, who left behind the bloodless bodies where, in most cases, farmers/ranchers can find them (even if bodies are stuffed into cabins or dropped into trees). So maybe outer space aliens are using the bible as an instruction book, too.

[@josefj.cfourie198]

Please explain to all the theists out there that THEY DO NOT have the RIGHT to tell others what to do. You get upset when Hemant contemplates over people who have been dead for thousands of years, but I guess you are okay with Christians trying to control other people's lives while they are alive? It is called "thinking for yourself", we (atheists) usually tend to think for ourselves instead of just blindly believing what a pedophile preaches out of his "holy" book. So we tend to be bothered with different aspects of a story since we are individuals with each the ability to focus on the part we want to.

[@sauloftarsus3351]

Why is the life of Christ not valued like how it should be?

[@patelk464]

Why should it be? Even if real, he did not retract any of the statements from his jealous, murderous,, misogynistic, homophobic, partisan father. Nor did he show any scientific knowledge beyond what was known by the Greeks and Hebrews at that time. So there is nothing to celebrate.

[@josefj.cfourie198]

You are correct, Christians put way too much value on the life of a person who lived 2000 years ago and accomplished nothing worthwhile. "Ooo look at me... I'm being crucified" as if it was not one of the most common things back then. They put even more value on him now that he is dead... well they say they do, not that they really value any of his so-called teachings (copies as they might be) and they care even less for his "father's". So on recapping... seems like not theists nor atheists value Christ at all... so it is as it should be.

[@alguno1010101]

If by "how it should be" you mean as a footnote in history books, then the reason it's because a sizable number of people is born into fanatical cults obsessed with the mythology surrounding him, like the Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant Churches.

[@TBomb39]

Are you kidding Chrissy? All you theists ever do is brag about your precious Jesus. You people value this Christ guy above everything. What a stupid question.

[@josefj.cfourie198]

@@natsusatsujinki8342 The numbers shows more people are becoming atheists and Christians are being decided... Don't you think that if you were on to something, after 2000 years of preaching Christianity would have been the world wide religion? Instead it is divided and ripe with con-artists, paedophilia, greed, etc and with a past full of violence and ignorance. Do you really think what you are following is a religion of an all powerful loving god?

[@furuleetsaingo]

Damn IDK how to make holy water I can't figure out how to put holes in it says 1 priest to another

[@danielblair4413]

What people don't seem to understand is that we do own each other as property under the title that we use the word "my" for that person. The word "my" means... MY, pronoun. adjective. Belonging to me; as, this is my book. Formerly, mine was used before a vowel, and my before a consonant; my is now used before both. We say, my book; my own book; my old friend. Mine is still used after a verb; as, this book is mine. So, when we say "My wife" we are saying that woman belongs to me as my wife she is my property. When we say "My husband we are saying that man belongs to me as my husband he is my property. When we say "My son" we are saying that man belongs to me as my son he is my property. When we say "My daughter" we are saying that woman belongs to me as my daughter she is my property. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. When something belongs to you it is your property and so from that perspective of things, we do own each other as property. But, despite owning each other as property doesn't mean that property can't still have its freedom, but that doesn't make them any less to be the property of someone else under the title they have by that someone else under the word "my". And just to add to this here's the definition of the word "belong" just to clarify things even more... BELONG', verb intransitive 1. To be the property of; as, a field belongs to Richard Roe; Jamaica belongs to G.Britain. I now rest my case because human beings are owned by each other as property in accordance with our very words that we use.

[@kevinvorster9777]

Is this your attempt to justify slavery? You say that we own each other but we still have freedom. Slaves were kept against their will with forced labour and no freedom. Try again.

[@danielblair4413]

@@kevinvorster9777 says: *Is this your attempt to justify slavery? You say that we own each other but we still have freedom. Slaves were kept against their will with forced labour and no freedom. Try again.* Slavery is often defined as being owned as property, so I standby what I stated in my comment, but despite being owned as property we still have freedom. Besides...God is the master of all things and due to creating us he owns all of us as his property, but he allows us to have our freedom despite being his property due to creating us. You may NOT understand the concept of being owned as property, but still allowing us to have freedom despite it, but that doesn't make it any less true.

[@kevinvorster9777]

@@danielblair4413 tell that to slaves in American history (as an example), although it happened in lots of countries. They were kept as property by slave owners. The slaves were forced to do hard labour without compensation, and if they refused, they were whipped and sometimes hung. In the last few chapters covered in this video, the Levites must carry the whole tabernacle with everything in it whenever they moved. This is forced labour and if they refused, god will kill them. No matter how you try to spin this, slavery is immoral, just like your god.