Habakkuk: God Is Questioned About The Problem Of Evil | Secular Bible Study (Episode 35)

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Happy SBS Day! Thanks for being here.

[@theunclejezusshow8260]

Omnipresent Greetingz cuzinz 🌠

[@thedesertwarrior7447]

Hello brother. I had to reply directly under your pinned comment under yet another excellent SBS. My "faith" in a circuitous deity who is "right," even when dead *wrong,"* is way past dead; it's mummified. Brandon, after this particular study, I was deeply troubled in my heart. I would LOVE to hear this deity's explanation for a very specific evil being perpetrated by an empire allegedly founded in his name (🙄). This "godly" empire is not working alone, but has a military *10 times bigger than the next 10 biggest military forces combined.* I need to share this scientifically proven evil, which is ubiquitous, thereby inescapable. If Habakkuk were alive today, not even *he* would accept "Yaweh's" pitiful braggadocios bs. Keep the studies coming, Brandon. They are more relevant now than ever, and people NEED to know the truth. Thank you, my friend. If I died today, I would die a happy woman because I kept my promise to my other dear friend, *Dane Wigington.* kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZCxioGqZq5pY7Msi=eivFEZGHrm0dsSQh - The Dimming (Documentary)

[@mr.c2485]

38k subs! Congrats! Going for 100…won’t take long.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

So crazy to me, man. Thank you!

[@integrationalpolytheism]

Brandon, have you looked into the Habakkuk Pesher from the dead sea scrolls? It's an ancient interpretation of this book which might also interest you I know you're just doing the books of the bible, but if you did a similar video on the Habakkuk Pesher, I think it would be a great companion to this video.

[@yacaattwood2421]

Having grown up with abusive parents, I experienced the following: - “I brought you into this world; I have absolute control and say over your life as a child, and even when you’re an adult, you’re obligated to me, to do what, I the parent, think is the right thing” - “I don’t have to tell you anything; I don’t have to give you a reason - Because I Said So” - I can punish you any way I please and take out my anger and frustration on you: scream insults, beat you with belts and electric cords to raise welts, put you down - Because I’m The Parent” - “I don’t have to give you anything; be thankful for what you do have” “I don’t have to concern myself with your mental or emotional wellbeing” Other adults: “Obey your parents even if they’re abusing you’ “ You have to do what they say” “Children must be seen and not heard; children must be obedient” “Spare the rod, spoil the child” Sounds hauntingly familiar to the attitude and relationship of God to humankind and Christian apologists: “how dare humans question God” One is left off-center - the “loving, kind, giving Father “ is also the same Being that kills people because they dared to keep the Ark of the Covenant from falling (I guess those transporting it were supposed to let it fall), has one of Its prophets kill 40 young people by bears because of their making fun of his baldness, strikes people down for the least infraction , but is a “healer” (would be nice if this Healer came to my oncology clinic). Would be nice if this Being ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING about disease, natural disasters, etc. would have been nice if 70-80 MILLION PEOPLE didn’t DIE in WWII, many in particularly horrific ways Would be nice if those that say they follow this Being weren’t some of the nastiest, cruelest, racist people on the planet Thanks again, Brandon

[@suicune2001]

And to top all of that off, nothing they did was considered a "sin" according to Yahweh. It blows my mind how people can say someone who committed genocide is "loving" in ANY sense of the word. You can't lovingly genocide the entire world. If you were to ask someone "describe loving behavior" unless they were messed up in the head, things like physical abuse and murder wouldn't be on the list.

[@berkah6240]

Right! They aren't giving life freely if they retract all autonomy.

[@krembryle]

Yes, I feel you. Christians will say that we are misguided, that our views on the world are wrong, because we've been abused and if we had grew up in just the right Christian community we would have the true, correct opinions. I say we have seen both sides of the coin. And we are not blinded by the "good side". I honestly feel like people who have been abused know more about the world than those who's lives have been just a series of happy little accidents. You can see it on the men who ask "why don't women just report the rape right after it happens?". Well...had that happen to you...maybe you'd understand.

[@suicune2001]

@@krembryle It's also very possible they HAD reported it and was ignored. Heck, if it's a repeat offender then they could have reported it several times or were threatened with even worse violence. But it's hard to have empathy when people are raised feeling so superior and entitled with a blame the victim mentality. Remember, domestic violence only became kind of illegal 30 years ago here in the U.S.. It is FAR more recent than I care to acknowledge women were/are considered the literal property of men. And since a good chunk of cops are extremely conservative bible-thumping men....yeah, many don't give a crap about a woman's well-being.

[@berkah6240]

​@@krembryle And I don't see how it's not God's fault if he didn't give some people an environment that would allow us to have the correct understanding of him.

[@survive323]

Simply put God created evil for his own pleasure. good story

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Pretty much

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

Since the books of the Bible were written/concocted by people is it any wonder every question posed to God is answered with, "Who are you to question me?" and "if I told you you'd never believe it" and "Ya gotta have faith" etc ... in other words "SHUT UP!"

[@anita10674]

right, the words of a human being who refuses to be held accountable or responsible for their actions!

[@christophergibson7155]

@@anita10674 "human being who refuses to be held accountable or responsible for their actions!" The irony of your comment. It certainly is sinful mankind that refuses to be held accountable before a Holy, Righteous, and Just God. We are born rebels who are enemies of God in our own minds. Jesus said that He was the light of the world. And that whoever follows Him should not walk in darkness but have the light of life. (John 8:12) But so many will not come to the light because they love their sinful ways. "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19) When someone sees the gravity and seriousness of their sin, they can then humble themselves and come to The Lord Jesus as a little child: dependent and trusting. Jesus will not turn away from a broken and a contrite heart. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

[@DavidRichardson153]

Habakkuk is ultimately just an extension from Job. It really does once again boil down the answer to "Why is the world, that world that you, God, created, like this?" being God saying "Because f^^^ you." It does not change these facts - and this is even of we operate under the assumption that the Bible is accurate and true: 1) God created the world in a way to let it be or become messed up. 2) God allowed what would mess it up to happen. 3) God saw the initial messing-up incoming and chose to do nothing about it. 4) God's response to the initial messing-up was... to punish the first victims of that messing-up. 5) God not only has done nothing to correct the initial messing-up, but added more and more and more of his own messing-up to it - all of which was deliberate. 6) Despite - or more likely because of - these repeated "efforts" from God, as repeatedly shown in the Bible (even before books like Deuteronomy and Leviticus, but even more often so afterwards), not only did they never correct his "chosen people"'s course, but they made the "chosen people" even worse off than before each time. 7) Going back to the starting assumption of this listing, God is _still_ messing things up, _still_ deliberately and now even more so, *_to this day._* 8) Every time God has answered the question of why, it has been "Because I can, so f^^^ you." Is it really any wonder why one of the descriptions of God that appears to be growing in popularity is that of an office temp with a bad attitude who, in an actual decently run existence, would have been thrown out onto his "all-powerful" rear long before we got to this point?

[@OGRivals573]

My favorite thing about this channel is your excellent punctuality, thank you Brandon

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Ha, i do try! Thanks

[@Johnmhatheist]

That's so true. He almost never misses, and the rare times he does, it's understandable and we still love his channel. ​@@MindShift-Brandon

[@DrakeTimbershaft]

In Habakkuk and the prophets proceeding him, Yahweh seems to understand vengeance and punishment, but he doesn’t seem to have a handle on justice and compassion, despite his claims of having those principles.

[@michaelhenry1763]

I agree with you. I also think the prophets link love and anger to actions. When they say YHWH loves, I think it means nothing disastrous has happened to them yet. When they say “ slow to anger” , I think it means nothing bad has happened to the other nations.

[@bobbybailey4623]

As you point out so clearly, the god of the Bible is a killing machine rather than a loving machine. Look at the flood along with the destruction of his own chosen. Then look at the other nations he used to destroy other peoples. Always willing to destroy rather than forgive; even the very righteous shall scarcely be saved. You would have to be insane to even think about serving a god like that.

[@jon.skeptischism]

Apparently the only tool in his toolbox is a hammer and everything’s a nail.

[@literallyanything3497]

Right! It actually blows my mind how the god of the Old Testament who was just a polytheistic war god evolved into what we hear in the churches today. Complete opposite

[@kylert30]

The flood is the main thing that made me question my faith, I’m not an athiest, I would still consider myself a Christian but I’m really struggling to understand the God of the Old Testament. The flood to me makes no sense, first of all, Christians can’t even decide what’s happening in Genesis 6, whether it’s Fallen angels or just human men taking wives. If it’s fallen angels, I have a big problem with that. Then the fact that only 8 people were saved and all just happen to be in the same family. Like mathematically that doesn’t even make sense. I’ve heard people say that there could’ve been millions of prop on the earth at that time but the Bible claims that only 8 people believed in God, to me that’s seems impossible. You’re telling me not a single man or woman out in the world at that time believed in God. I just really struggle to understand that but I’m still open to having a wrong understanding, I just want to be as realistic as possible.

[@bobbybailey4623]

@@kylert30 it’s not just the flood that’s wrong, it’s the ark and the enormous amount of animals that would be on the ark and what they would be fed. Seven pairs of clean beasts changes the number exponentially. Obviously this god didn’t care if the unclean beast survived with just one pair. Then you have the problem of him not needing the ark to start with; he could easily have just remade them. If you put things in perspective, how many people would say they believe in aliens and yet god is an alien and the angels are aliens. So, is believing in aliens the same as believing in god. Is one as far fetched as the other. You have to make up your mind what atheism is to you.

[@MatthewsLivingAdventures]

Its so crazy how some of these books iv NEVER HEARD of! Sometimes I think "are you using the same bible i was indocterinated with?". Then I realize that you are, but the church i came from avoided many of these books probably so we dont question truth or reality of life as much against them.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

The cannon is really all anyone needs to deconvert.

[@markproud8559]

Oh man! I was just thinking the same thing!

[@MatthewsLivingAdventures]

@@MindShift-Brandon The verry thing responsible for conversion is the very same thing responsible for a "third degree burn, red skin SLAP in the face" Deconversion

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

@@MindShift-Brandon One can justify anything though to keep believing it.

[@michaelhenry1763]

I did not know how to even pronounce the book until recently.

[@jenna2431]

Leaving a communion wafer for the holy invisible god Algorithm.

[@existenceinquestion.]

May the holy Algorithm guide more people to this channel 🙏 Amen

[@QuestionThingsUseLogic]

Yes, all praise to the holy algorithm!!

[@swagpenguin2151]

Respectfully... Capitalize G!

[@QuestionThingsUseLogic]

@@swagpenguin2151 yes, all praise to the God Holy Algorithm!!

[@AnodyneFaust]

An exhaustive group study of Habakkuk didn’t mark the beginning or end of my deconstruction, but it was the moment I first consciously held the Bible in contempt. In the narrative, Habakkuk asks reasonable questions. For his long wait, God replies, waxing long about cock-strutting through the mountains waving His laser fingers with an entourage of diseases at His heels and when Habakkuk insists, “please actually answer me”, God shrugs, rolls His eyes, and tells Habakkuk to simply seethe quietly against Israel’s occupiers until He bothers to punish them, for something He influenced them to do, no less. Having to write paragraphs of study reflections for every verse of Habakkuk, it became irrepressibly clear that the literature reflected Israelites who were worshipping their own dogmatic personification of shifting fortunes and not an immutable God that existed independently of human culture.

[@johntiggleman4686]

In your second paragraph, that sounds like what is somewhat common vernacular "dick waving." 😁

[@andreatheherbalist]

The wicked does surround the good people... "behold i send you as sheep amongst the wolves." Ummm, ok.. thanks. Why would anyone do that?

[@MightyWeeks]

My favorite books of the Bible when I was as a minister were Habakkuk, Jonah, Ecclesiastes and Job. Looking back, I realize it’s because these bring out the deeper questions of why the world is the way that it is and men wrestling with why things happen with no really good answer. Always love learning from you Brandon.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

I get that completely and thanks!

[@swamprat22]

thankfully god answers all of these questions and brandon sadly is misinformed in what hes talking about

[@sundayoliver3147]

@@swamprat22Well god is clearly not answering all those questions in this book.

[@swamprat22]

@@sundayoliver3147 in habakkuk he explains everything that he needs to, if you want all of the answers then you need to read all of the bible

[@piousmutilator4513]

Hey Brandon! Thanks so much for all your videos. You’ve helped me so much through my deconversion journey

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Thrilled to hear it! Appreciate you being here.

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

Christians will just say that we always deserve swift and awful punishment, so if good things happen to happen, that's actually just evidence of God's patience and mercy! So no matter when bad things happen, God is in the right.

[@johnwalker1058]

The most common rationale I've heard for this is that since they believe that we all literally deserve an eternity in hell for being sinners (The Fall of Humanity tracing back to the Garden of Eden story + Doctrine of Original Sin and all of that), anything less than the most excruciating suffering for all eternity is technically mercy from their god. If a person believes that any human literally deserves nothing less than the most excruciating torment for all eternity, than any suffering in this world pales in comparison and can be construed as an act of mercy that the person did not go through suffering that was conceivably even worse than whatever they might have gone through. This gives them the leeway to justify any horrible thing in the world or in history as divine mercy and rationalize that their god is somehow still good, because he at least gives them the chance to "believe on him" in order to get the golden ticket out of hell in the afterlife. (This is also why I believe that the Doctrine of Original Sin and their teachings of hell are the most harmful and awful teachings in their entire faith. I believe so many of the worst beliefs and practices of Christianity ultimately stem from those awful teachings.)

[@sundayoliver3147]

@@johnwalker1058I so agree. And they don't have to be taught in a "hellfire and brimstone" way to achieve those awful practices and beliefs; I grew up in a fairly intellectual church-- but the stories and the gaslighting are the same. I remember first reading a simplified child's version story of Abraham going to sacrifice Isaac, and the odd queasy feeling I got when the conclusion was how merciful god was. I knew I was supposed to believe that. I've spent a lot of my life unraveling the belief that I deserve punishment just for existing, that the human race is damned and deserves it, and that any break from that horror is temporary, either avoiding god's wrath or experiencing god's mercy. What a sick way to live; it explains a lot about the state the world is in, if so many of us are living in fear of punishment.

[@riluna3695]

Habakkuk: "God, I just want to know that you have a plan for how to fix all the horrible suffering we're experiencing. I know you can stop it, but will you?" God: "Do not worry, my perfect plan is in place to end this suffering, and it is arriving swiftly." Habakkuk: "That is excellent news, my lord! When will this plan of yours at last end our suffering?" God: "Long after you and everyone you love are dead and gone." Great plan. Excellent work, God. That whole "God works on a different timeframe" excuse is honestly laughable in the face of what they're actually claiming. Are you saying the all-powerful timeless God can't enact his will instantaneously? Is moving faster than once every thousand years somehow beyond his power? For the love of your God, stop nerfing your deity's power every time you run into a problem with the fact that he should be powerful enough to fix everything. "My perfect God can't fix everything because he's not perfect, but at least he's perfect!" I've heard responses that amount to this hundreds of times in dozens of different ways at this point.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

1000%!

[@thing1thing2themediamaniac43]

As much as I still enjoy The Prince of Egypt it's HONESLTY LAUGAHBLE THAT GOD waited 400 years to send Moses to free The Hebrew Slaves and now there's strong archeological evidence that The Egyptians never even enslaved The Israelites

[@thing1thing2themediamaniac43]

That was Ordinary Angels in a Nutshell and I Heard The Bells and The Sound of Freedom The GOD'S NOT DEAD Series and every other Faith Based Movie!!!!!!!

[@christophergibson7155]

You are making "a god" in your own image. One you think should do exactly what you think he should do and when The breaking of the 1st. commandment of the moral law of God. And who are you in the light of your own sinful nature to judge God? That is just hypocrisy. And you who were put in the place, and time that God has placed you are questioning His own wisdom and sovereignty who stands outside of time. It's the story of the piece of pottery saying to the potter..."Why have you made me this way?" We can see the absolute "perfect timing" of God in all that He says and does. "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son," ...(Galatians 4:4) "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth-in Him." (Ephesians 1:10) "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;" (Heb.1:1-2)

[@riluna3695]

@@christophergibson7155 When I judge God, I judge the God that people tell me exists, not the one I think should exist. They talk of a god perfect in all his ways, just as you do, who can do no wrong. One who created this world exactly to his specifications, down to the finest detail. And my "judgement" of this God is simply a question: Does the world as it exists match what we'd expect if such a God existed and did as you say he did? And the answer is a glaring No. It is not hypocrisy to say that a perfect being not acting perfectly is a problem for those who claim God is perfect. I do not have to be perfect myself to understand that benevolent beings do not prefer a world with vast suffering to a world with little to no suffering. And in God's power, such a thing is EASILY created. To say otherwise is to deny him his omnipotence. To say he cannot imagine a better world than this is to deny him his omniscience. To say he does not wish a better world than this is to deny him his love for humanity. Without those things, he is not God. And with those things, the world we exist in would not have ever been created. Since our world does exist, this is unshakeable proof that a tri-omni God does not. It is not pride, nor my own personal desires, that show that this God cannot exist the way Christians claim he exists. It is solely the fault of those who claim things that cannot possibly be true, without stopping to think of the ramifications of what they are saying. And no amount of quoting bible passages of people saying how amazing and perfect God is is going to change the fact that all of reality says otherwise. I will take reality over a book of people claiming wild things any day, and so should you. To treat the Bible as more accurate than reality itself, TRUTH itself, is to willingly believe that which cannot be true of reality. In trusting the bible above all else, even in the face of direct evidence of its imperfections, you forsake all intellectual honesty, and all claim to truth. If you prefer to believe untruths, I cannot stop you, however much I wish I could. But I refuse to join you.

[@franciswalsh8416]

For a long time I didn't think of questioning God because of the very reasons you discussed here. Amazing how cloying the whole thing is.

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

Slightly OT: Just finished up a 10 season/year archaeological dig last summer at Huqoq (former Palestinian village name, Yakuk) in Israel... fun fact, across the major highway from our site is the traditional tomb of Habakuk (from which the kibbutz name of Hakuk is derived from) ... if one visits the tomb you might be amused to see the "eternal" lamp that is lit is a large glass liter size laboratory jar full of oil with a floating wick at the top. What's funny (to me) are the milliliter marks on the side and the "made in Germany" stamp!

[@MindShift-Brandon]

lol, love that, thanks for sharing, and man how interesting!

[@francescaan110]

So cool!!

[@francescaan110]

And funny 😄

[@MrDalisclock]

The prophets always feels like a slog after a while, partially because there's this whole "Our day is coming! Our enemies will be crushed forever!" vibe that is always just beyond tomorrow despite being written thousands of years ago and.... just how many times can prophets be wrong before people stop falling for this stuff?

[@duanethompson8770]

Again thanks for bringing an obscure book of the Bible to my attention.

[@maggienewton8518]

thanks Brandon for pointing out all this good in the Good Book. 🤨

[@SherriCarter-j6t]

I love your videos and learn so much from them. They have helped me so much in my deconversion journey. Your channel is my favorite and I watched and rewatch the videos all the time. It just helps so much knowing that I am not alone in walking away from these toxic beliefs. Thank you for all that you do and your new filming studio looks amazing.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Thank you for that! It is wonderful to hear. So glad to be of help! Thanks for all the engagement.

[@guzmablack8220]

Y’all already know what day it is! It’s SBS THURSDAY!

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Thanks for the excitement!

[@dasbus9834]

Already back then people saw the huge gap between God's promises and the bleak reality. And the answer was just as bad then as it is today: more empty promises and violent threats.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

indeed!

[@stevenpike7857]

God, "If I don't return in 10 minutes, wait longer." 🤣

[@Betttty]

I enjoyed this series so much I hope that you do the small Bible story series as well please if you have the time

[@stevewebber707]

I find it rather telling about what they actually believe about their God, when Christians defend against the problem of evil. If we ask about why God doesn't do anything about evil in the world, I sometimes hear them ask if we would want God to kill all the sinners. Simultaneously limiting what they think their God's capacity in dealing with sin would be, and jumping to death as a reasonable and typical solution, that they think their God would like. While the formal argument of the problem of evil, usually just focusses on the existence of evil, I think it more relevant and important, to look at God's lack of any response to it that we might expect. We can come up with countless ways that evil could be countered, where people could still learn and grow, and make free decisions. Jumping right to killing off the "bad people" as the only viable solution, implies a shallow, and deeply bankrupt morality. Of course for them to show God responding to such issues, they would first need to show their God doing literally anything at all.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Love this. Yes, why is death the only way an all powerful god can help, and if thats the case, maybe he should have killed satan straight away.

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

They also tell me, well what are YOU doing about the evil in the world? As if I can solve it, but their all powerful, all knowing, all good magical God can't or won't.

[@stevewebber707]

@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr Wow, I don't think I've ever heard that response. I think a more sophisticated response in that vein, (very relatively speaking) would be their shifting to the argument from morality. It doesn't really get them anywhere but avoiding the original topic. But if the arguments over defining morality go far enough into the weeds, they can forget that they had no good answer to the problem of evil. Of course either way, it's still what aboutism. And it may as well be an admission that they have nothing.

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

@@stevewebber707 I talk to a lot of Christians in youtube comments. Two people have said this to me.

[@charmolypi999]

@ebber707 It's very telling to the Christian that non-believers cannot understand the idea of God ordaining the freedom of man, mankind freely committing great atrocity, and God using this as a lesson to better man in the wake of his own foolishness. Habakkuk quite explicitly mentions the evil of the Chaldeans as a prompt to send his prophet with wisdom in right conduct and a warning to not believe evil actions can exhaust themselves to material reward indefinitely. It seems the wisdom of God in Habakkuk teaches the faithful that "every L is a Lesson" and reassures them of the futility of evil to protect them from the temptation to give in to evil motivation for its perceived benefits, despite it surrounding them. Would this wisdom be at all teachable to free beings otherwise?

[@GILLARDA1]

"Believers," the ultimate and forever battered child. #CognitiveDissonance fearMeOrElse

[@DannyS177]

Lesson learned from this video is: "God" himself can't solve the problem of evil.

[@charmolypi999]

He did. Just not the way you wanted him to.

[@michaelhenry1763]

Excellent vignette on Habakkuk! Reception: One thing that really popped out at me was the fig tree reference towards the end of chapter 3. I think this is what the author of Mark was alluding to when he created the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree. In Mark, the fig tree narrative does not really make sense. But if Mark believes Judea is in the end times and YHWH is coming back soon, the story as an allusion to Habakkuk makes perfect sense. Thank you again for the video.

[@Chuck-se5hh]

Thank you for this necessary work that you do, an objective critical examination of God according to his own Word. You make it honestly and accurately clear from the Word of God that God has some serious faults - and it is very important and necessary that mankind be made aware of the existence of those faults. It is very clear that the Bible refuses to admit to the existence of its own faults.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Thank you!

[@SeekingTruth2023]

@MindShift-Brandon Hi Brandon! Oh I see Steven Hassan's book in your bookshelf, below the picture on the wall, right? It's a bit blurry, but... it looks like the book! So you finally got it? This book helped me so much. Have you read it already? It explains so well how cults work. Thank you so much for your video on Habakuk. I love the green plant too :) And the orange pen :) I watched so many of your videos again and again (Because they are so good and educational), so your studio begins to look so familiar to me - at the other end of the world 🌍 Happy greetings from Germany 🇩🇪

[@MindShift-Brandon]

I did! I am so sorry. I got so many book recs, i cant remember who said what, but if this was yours, i owe you a thank you. Im planning a bigger video on cults and so gobbled this up quickly. Thanks for all the love!

[@SeekingTruth2023]

@@MindShift-Brandon Yes, it was me :) I am so happy! A video on cults would be wonderful !!! I left 'Shincheonji' after a decade. They are very similar to the Moonies. I am very sure, you will help a lot of people, who would want to leave the cult they are in, but they are too afraid. Oh man, I am soo looking forward to a video from you about cults in general! Thank you!

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

@@MindShift-Brandon I love videos about cults. I will click so fast on yours.

[@ObjectiveEthics]

​@@SeekingTruth2023 I can relate to how you feel. I am the one who recommended that he add a plant to that corner of the room. Brandon even went with the specific strain of plant that I recommended (Devils Ivy 😅). Now when I watch his videos I feel like I have actually added something to his channel and to the people who watch the videos. I also have done a deep dive into cults and that is a fascinating subject. The two cult stories I found most disturbing were the Branch Davidians (because of the Waco Texas massacre) and the Rajneeshpuram. But there are so many highly disturbing cults.

[@SeekingTruth2023]

@@ObjectiveEthics Thanks for your comment! How nice, 'Devil's Ivy' :))) Cults are really fascinating. Especially when you have left one and then see how many different cults are out there, around us. Not all of them are dangerous, but most of them are harmful to human well-being and society. And many people don't even realize it... that's why spreading awareness is so important. The development of Brandon's channel is amazing. His viewers are important to him, that's super nice!

[@alexandraparadela9548]

Thank you again, a short one, already looking forward to your Sunday video. Have a great rest of the week Brandon

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Thanks so much!

[@JahHawks]

Hi brandon. Are you ever gonna do the books outside of the canon? The apocrapha for example?

[@MindShift-Brandon]

100%. Ill finish the the protestant cannon, then catholic books and apocrapha and gnostic texts.

[@JDrocks4ever]

Habakkuk 3:17-18 was for me what your verse in Job was for you. It’s how I rationalized God not coming through for me and trusting that he would soon be faithful to me because of my faith in him. Now I’m on the outside, it’s very unhealthy and superstitious. It also grants us to not take the levels of responsibility we should in our lives as we’re waiting for this “breakthrough”

[@charmolypi999]

That verse tends to lack any meaning in light of the rest of the prophecy before it and after it. There are times you are at the mercy of the world around you, and there is nothing you can do about it. Responsibility has absolutely nothing to do with it.

[@JDrocks4ever]

@@charmolypi999 Thanks for your critique. It really helps prove my point about God not existing. I know, I know “only a fool says in his heart…” go ahead and fill in the blank

[@charmolypi999]

@@JDrocks4ever cherry picking at its very finest.

[@JDrocks4ever]

@@charmolypi999 Yes, you’re right as always, God. I’m just a subservient worm that knows nothing. Where would I be without you’re all knowing wisdom?

[@charmolypi999]

@@JDrocks4ever If I had to venture a guess, probably leaving half-baked commentary on another subject you handle with limited grasp. I don't imagine a world where the run-of-the-mill atheist says anything intelligent about Christian faith or history.

[@andreamuggloy]

Every cherry picked verse I've heard is always "God is so great!" when these actions speak so loud, I can't hear a word it's saying.

[@suicune2001]

Religion wouldn't be so bad if people weren't so freaking sensitive and fanatical about it. This happened just a few minutes ago: I sent my friends a little fan-made clip about Alastor roasting Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel with Vicious Mockery and OMG, one of them responded with this giant rant about how we don't question Lord Vader, blah blah. I pointed out how eternal punishment for a finite crime is unfair and inherently evil. I also pointed out how I act more morally than pretty much everyone who has ever told me I'M going to hell. I also REALLY wanted to say, "I don't need a cartoon to tell me how evil Yahweh is. I read past page 3 of the bible" but I knew that would just cause a flat-out fight so I held my tongue. -_-;

[@FoursWithin]

There's a common technique of literature (and rhetoric) for an author to create clever ways to answer a question without actually giving an explicit answer, or even a meaningful one. What's typical in fiction ( and yes, spiritual stories are fiction) is an "answer" with just enough dramatic tension to move the plot along. Often achieved by giving a non answer, a deflection , a non sequitur, a change of subject, even make a big shot character claim divine annoyance , and so on. By studying the underlying structure of fiction writing people would see the Bible for what it is, fictional stories. Studying the psychological aspects of verbal communication could also do wonders in understanding conversations. This can include fictional conversations of religion between humans and "gods". Another way for people to see clearer who's being manipulative , deceitful, and controlling.

[@johnwalker1058]

Funny enough, I saw the Christian god as "kind, just, loving, and merciful" growing up, but when I even just learned a bit of basic psychology in college (an intro course + lots of little lessons and bits online), I realized how much their god's traits and actions match up with those of a narcissistic abuser (particularly a narcissistic, abusive parent).

[@ErikWilbury]

The God in the story or any story can be inconsistent in judgement if that is what the author wants to depict. Additionally the God in any story can do whatever the author decides. When writing a story the author(s) can have characters do whatever the author(s) decides. If, though, there are plot inconsistencies...critics of literature will often point it out...and Christian Apologists, well, they will often not apologize. Often not as in never.

[@mjerelb8659]

Thanks!

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Thanks so much for the support!

[@tobymartin2137]

I know very little about the Minor Prophets, and I'm glad for your insights given the perspective they cast not only on the rest of the Bible, but the world in which these texts were produced. The fear that must have been palpable for Judahites with the ascension of Babylonia and their victory over Assyria and Egypt, and even though the elite were fairly strict Yawhists, one has to wonder about the more polytheistic hoi polloi. What were they thinking during these days as they went about their lives, wondering what might happen to their family and friends. Though they probably couldn't write, like Habukkuk, they would have been looking for answers, but perhaps from other divinities like Asherah or Baal-Hadad. It's a shame so many of these voices are lost to history, but one can speculate.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

yes, great points, and I too love thinking about what the realities would have been.

[@literallyanything3497]

The Old Testament is honestly completely insane and pretty much just the opposite of what the religion evolved into. These are clearly the remains of the ancient polytheistic beliefs that Yahweh itself was taken from. Those gods weren't good at all and the Old Testament checks all the boxes. But when you point this out to the Christians they're like "Oh but this old and now we got the new one". How convenient 😅. Why are the quotes of the "old" cherry-picked in churches then? Thanks Brandon, always a lot of fun to watch your videos.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Thank you!

[@Motosapien46]

Brandon, thanks for another video. You touched on an important point that American "Christianity" seems to turn into a magic word: faith. It seems to mean to them wishful thinking or, as one kid put it, "believing what you know ain't so" which is the way I've seen you use the word. Faith is translated from the Greek word PISTIS which is also translated trust, assurance, confidence bases on evidence. Definitely not wishful thinking or unfounded believe. That's how I see Habakkuk answer God at the end of the book. He says he'll watch to see what happnens and by the end he essentially answers God with "yeah, I see the problem, understand what you're doing and I agree". He does ask good and important questions, don't sell Habakkuk short by assuming he just capitulates at the end.

[@njhoepner]

The truth is that for any religion that claims an all-powerful, all-knowing, and good deity, the problem of evil is insurmountable. The only options are to admit their god is evil or try and change the subject...so ALL apologists choose the latter. Same answer for thousands of years now.

[@user-by3ks9bp5d]

Somebody mad cuz God didn’t give them nuff inches

[@charmolypi999]

Seems like a false dichotomy. There are plenty of sound understandings of the problem of evil. They're all easy to dismiss if you straw-man the religion and impose your own interpretation on it. It's the same way you wind up with creationists and flat-earthers.

[@njhoepner]

@@charmolypi999 I don't think so. The standard christian answers are: 1) "how do you know that what you see as evil isn't working out for good? You just don't have god's perspective." This ends up erasing any ability to know if anything is evil...and even if their god is evil; 2) "you can't judge god," which leads to the same thing more quickly; or 3) "god decides what is good and evil, we humans just have to obey," which once again leads to the same thing. I suppose there is also the "it's all because of human free will" argument, but that only works if one gives up one or more of the three omnis...which would deny the god claim their religion makes.

[@charmolypi999]

@@njhoepner The first three are idiotic arguments, so let's discard them. The last asserts a sacrifice of one of the "omnis" - although I don't see how that argument pans out. If God knows all acts of evil and their outcome, that is still omniscient. If God permits men to freely commit evil, this does not undo his omnipresence. And if God permits evil to occur, it is certainly within his omnipotence to do so. It has been an accepted part of Christian theology for all of its history that God has willed things to happen beyond his direct manipulation to allow for a being (man) to exist in his image, reflecting his personal autonomy. This is called permissive will, and has been thoroughly articulated by St. John of Damascus in accord with the Scriptures.

[@njhoepner]

@@charmolypi999 So basically, the free will excuse. Problems with that include: 1. God doesn't really allow free will in any meaningful way. Any use of it that doesn't align exactly with his every command and whim, no matter how minor the infraction, is punished eternally. That's as much free will as having a gun to one's head. 2. Any evil that happens is either done deliberately by God, or deliberately allowed by him. Either way, all evil is God's intention. There is no way around this as long as god is omniscient and omnipotent. 3. The human free will argument completely ignores evil not done by humans...like parasites that eat the eyeballs of children, or any rampant disease, or deaths in floods (God loves that sort of thing). No human agency involved, therefore no connection to human free will...just god being god, as long as he/she/it/they is/are omnipotent and omniscient. 4. Sin is imputed to every human being because, according to scripture, Adam bit a fruit. All of mankind faces eternal damnation, not to mention present suffering, for that alone...an act no one alive today, in fact no one in "history" except Adam and Eve, had anything to do with. Thus, no free will involved for anyone else. In fact, no possible explanation for it at all, aside from god having a need to get even with Adam for ever and ever and ever.

[@darbymori350]

So god says to have faith, but that's not going to put food on the table or save you from the incoming conquerors. Faith for what?! That your children, if they live, will get revenge? Why not just protect your chosen people? It supposedly created the whole universe, why not throw up a few god-walls that no one can defeat? Is this god just a character in the MCU with a few super powers and a huge ego?

[@MindShift-Brandon]

such a good point!

[@ObjectiveEthics]

Yahweh doesn't have all the infinity stones yet... 👊

[@charmolypi999]

This argument makes sense if you think death is the worst possible fate, neither of which the Israelites nor Christians think.

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

I remember a mennonite pastor did a series of sermons on the book of Habbakkuk. I wish I could compare his to yours. I bet they're pretty different.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

I am sure. I have thought a fun side series would be me covering these same books but as a pastor might.

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

@@MindShift-Brandon I actually managed to find the files. The audio was recorded. It was a three part series, each are 45 minutes long.

[@tsebosei1285]

3:14 so corruption was there for a long time, another "we are living in the last days -Timothy" busted

[@MindShift-Brandon]

indeed. also it made me think of the end of judges, when it says, in those days there was no king, so everyone did what was right to them. Like, that was clearly still the case even with a king. its all such nonsense.

[@jon.skeptischism]

It’s incredible how this god never ceases to underwhelm and fail over and over again in his own book. Habakkuk: how long shall I cry “violence” and you shall not save? God: I got this, check it out: More violence. Habakkuk: Da fuck? Are you not from everlasting? As you pointed out, Habakkuk himself smells the bullshit! Unbelievable. I wonder what followers were thinking even canonizing such pathetic examples like this.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Right?! Thanks man. Always appreciate you being here

[@ObjectiveEthics]

On the surface this seems very strange to include a book like Habakkuk. If you consider the other elements that are being amalgamated together it isn't strange at all. For a more detailed explanation of how this book eludes to other Biblical claims and historical events they are attempting to synchronize please refer to my OP.

[@celticbabs3105]

Totally. I don't understand how the people who canonized these books of the Bible failed to see the God of the OT is totally nothing like they preach him to be... oh wait...

[@alanhyland5697]

I have to admit, I've only read Habbakuk a couple times. "Maybe Christians follow this bible more than we thought" - hilarious but true.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

No one would blame you. You already read it more than 99% of all christians I'd guess.

[@wolfos420]

Nice.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Thanks!

[@Nkosi766]

I’m in attendance

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Many thanks!

[@Johnmhatheist]

Happy secular bible study day. Another Thursday to debunk Christian myths brought to you by Brandon.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

So happy to be doing this. Thanks for watching!

[@joeleniola9140]

I think the idea of God having a chosen people is belittled. Why would God who supposedly created us all only care for a specific group of people?

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Why indeed. And yet he did…according to the text

[@aheartonfire7191]

For Jesus, I thought that was obvious, and where does it say that God favored Israel more than the other nations?

[@darbymori350]

​@@aheartonfire7191 the whole bible says that.

[@aheartonfire7191]

@@darbymori350 It’s not like God doesn’t care about the Gentiles, after Acts He had His disiples go reach the Gentiles, and the nations before Jesus didn’t want to be a Jew, so…

[@darbymori350]

​@@aheartonfire7191that makes no sense; they didn't get the choice to be or not be a Jew/Israelite. And this mythical god loves to kill, enslave and degrade people.

[@Kattlarv]

It is lowkey funny+concerning how basically ALL bible stories are: "Boss, I question your plan... it makes no sense whatsoever... and we lost half our men, everything is on fire, and we're starving!" -"Questioning me, eh? *CAP, CAP*" -"JIMMY! NO!" -"Anyone else wanna... 'question' me, boys?" -"...No boss."

[@MindShift-Brandon]

lol, spot on!

[@gamingwithmaya502]

Can't really argue how effective it has been for thousands of years. At least I won't get stoned to death for asking questions in my country ATM.

[@Kattlarv]

@@gamingwithmaya502 "Ever since we stopped giving the deaf penalty to people who question god, people who question god has DRASTICALLY increased! ... It MUST be satan!"

[@luizr.5599]

These little prophet books have more to then than I'd have thought.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

They really do!

[@JamesRichardWiley]

The problem of evil is God's problem. Isaiah 45:7 King James Version

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Indeed

[@christophergibson7155]

Incorrect. You have not understood that scripture. Look at Amos 3:6. The word "evil" is the KJV is to be properly rendered "calamity". God sends forth disaster or calamity on disobedient and idolatrous Israel. He does not create evil and never has and never will. It is the sin of mankind produces evil behavior.

[@rcktneo]

​@christophergibson7155 And what does Amos have to do with it?

[@dasbus9834]

@@christophergibson7155 _God sends forth disaster or calamity_ Sounds pretty evil to anyone who isn't brainwashed.

[@christophergibson7155]

@@rcktneo The same word "calamity" that is in Isaiah 45:7 is the same word as in Amos 3:6. And only the KJV of the Bible uses the word "evil" for calamity. The two texts are comparable in that they are referring to The Lord God would be sending His righteous judgments on rebellious and idolatrous Israel.

[@lutek1]

Ahaaaa, now we know why He needs so many apologists. It's because he's so bad at apologetics Himself. Seriously, I am so glad for you that you got out when you did. You, someone who was immersed in it from the start and therefore now so well armed. You will make many many people see the light, for want of a better phrase. (Also, kudos for not once in 35 episodes drawing a parallel between "chosen people" and "upper people" = I'm relaballing that term for fear the YT-bots might react to it, but you know what I mean. The comparison is right there, it's chilling.)

[@Ponera-Sama]

Who knew that there was a book in the Bible that not only asks the common atheist question of "Why does God allow evil?", but gives the same answer the atheists give: "Because God IS evil."

[@MindShift-Brandon]

lol, indeed!

[@omg_look_behind_you]

He admits to something similar to "I am the creator and source of all things, including good and evil." Don't remember the book.

[@Badficwriter]

Is that a picture on the blank wall?? I can't tell if its Atlas or Sisyphus!

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Sisyphus!

[@JoyRBradford]

The advertisement before this video was telling everyone to go to church. 😅

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Lol. Love it

[@sordidknifeparty]

Yeah, KZbin targets atheists with theist propaganda. I wonder if they do the same thing to vegan channels, inundating them with commercials about sausage and how they should eat meat. Somehow I doubt it

[@geraldmeehan8942]

Thank you Brandon. I am realitively new to this channel. Although I enjoy all your videos SBS episodes are my favorites. I have followed the HV, GI, MV, Esoterica circuit for a year or 2, but have just recently come across your channel

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Thanks so much for being here!

[@geraldmeehan8942]

@@MindShift-Brandon no problem keep up the good work!

[@zenmite2525]

When I was doing research for my historical fiction set in Babylon, I discovered the Babylonians big 'sin' was sexuality and worshiping the wrong god(s). From reading the Bible, I assumed they must've practiced child-sacrifice or cannibalism...something truly horrible. But, no. The Babylonians were far more culturally advanced than the Judeans during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Women could own and inherit property and run their own businesses. Like many ancient cultures, they had no problem with homosexuality. The very worst thing I could find was temple prostitution, and even that is questionable because it comes from Herodotus a couple of hundred years later. Scholars also believe the Bible confuses Nebuchadnezzar with a later Babylonian king. If anyone is interested, the book is Demons of Babylon by Paul Curtis. It begins with the exile and follows two (fictional) Judean characters as they are taken to the city itself and encounter the culture of the Babylonians. Most modern Western people would likely find Babylon a better culture to live within. The prophet Daniel is one of the characters, and Ezekiel makes an appearance too.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Love this! Yes, the biblical writers 100% tried to demonize everyone else.

[@charmolypi999]

For an "advanced" culture, they didn't last very long compared to the Abrahamic faith. I wonder what makes one conclude it was so "advanced" after all.

[@zenmite2525]

You're comparing a religion to a nation and its culture. Apples to oranges. My point is that most modern people would regard many aspects of their society and culture as superior to the supposed God-chosen people of Judea during this time. I'm happy to share the specifics: Increased Legal Rights for Women: Compared to earlier Mesopotamian civilizations, Neo-Babylonian women had greater legal rights: They could own property and conduct business independently in some situations. They could enter into contracts and participate in legal proceedings to some degree. Divorce was possible for both men and women under certain conditions. Education: While not widespread, there is evidence of some women entering the scribal profession, indicating they received some level of education. Other Advanced Cultural Aspects: Emphasis on Literature and Scholarship: The Neo-Babylonian period saw a resurgence of interest in literature, astronomy, and mathematics. They actively copied and preserved older texts, contributing to the preservation of Mesopotamian knowledge. Advanced Architectural Techniques: The Neo-Babylonians were renowned for their impressive architecture, using innovative techniques like glazed brick decorations seen in the famous Ishtar Gate. Development of the Babylonian Calendar: They refined the sexagesimal (base-60) system used for timekeeping and mathematics, influencing later civilizations. Overall, the Neo-Babylonian Empire displayed some advancements in specific areas like legal rights for women, education, and intellectual pursuits. The Neo-Babylonian Empire, while not as widely renowned for scientific breakthroughs like the ancient Greeks, did leave its mark on the development of several key scientific and technological fields: Mathematics: Refined Sexagesimal System: They built upon the existing sexagesimal (base-60) system for timekeeping and mathematics, influencing later civilizations like the Greeks and Romans. This system laid the foundation for modern-day timekeeping with 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. Advanced Calculations: Neo-Babylonian mathematicians developed sophisticated methods for calculations involving fractions, squares, and cubes, demonstrating a strong understanding of numerical concepts. Astronomy: Detailed Astronomical Observations: They meticulously documented planetary movements and solar and lunar eclipses over centuries, contributing to a growing understanding of celestial phenomena. Developed Calendars: Based on their observations, they refined the Babylonian calendar, which was one of the most accurate calendars of its time and influenced later calendar systems. Medicine: Comprehensive Medical Texts: They compiled detailed medical texts containing information on diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of various ailments. These texts demonstrate awareness of various medical conditions and attempts to understand and treat them. Emphasis on Empirical Observation: Unlike earlier civilizations that relied solely on magical or religious explanations for illness, the Neo-Babylonians placed some emphasis on observation and experience in their medical practices. Engineering and Technology: Impressive Irrigation Systems: They developed and maintained sophisticated irrigation networks that ensured efficient water management for agriculture, crucial for their success as a major agricultural power. Oh, and they didn't murder their citizens for worshiping the 'wrong' god.

[@charmolypi999]

@@zenmite2525 You had compared the Babylonian and Judean cultures, and highlighted "advancements" in Babylonian culture, presumably as a result of their underlying worldviews. My point is that they died out, and the religion of Yahweh continues to undergird every just and prosperous civilization. I'm just not sure what your measuring stick for "advanced" might be.

[@zenmite2525]

I thought that was clear from the info I posted in the last reply. We have differing ideas about what is just and prosperous. The whole biz about worldviews is another apologetic trope...where you assume your conclusion at the beginning.

[@earlt.7573]

10:38 "Uggg ...... how stupid" LOL, had to chuckle at that. Cause you're right, whole lotta stupid in that book.

[@monoludico6166]

I constantly get in and out of the faith. One month I see myself as an agnostic, the next month I'm searching for god in churches, or by reading the Bible, or whatever. PLEASE HELP!!

[@AXKfUN9m]

By this point you should've realized that gods aren't there. It's like opening the fridge repeatedly expecting food to magically appear.

[@maggienewton8518]

maybe start by asking yourself why you feel you need god/religion and start addressing those issues. It's like a bad spouse...why do you need him? Well, you don't, you need to know you can do far better without him.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

I hope you get many helpful replies. But you might want to step back and examine that statement alone. You have obviously sought god, you went to his house and read his book. It seems you were sincere and what did you get back...confusion, doubt, fear, etc. Maybe you got your answer. This god either is not real or does not care about you. Theres so many good reasons to rule this religion out even on top of this. Just keep learning, focus on if the bible is reliable. If that crumbles, typically the rest follows.

[@suicune2001]

If nothing else, reading the bible should get you FAR away from the Abrahamic religion. Page 2, he lies to his brand new mentally 3 year old children. Page 3, he curses all women to be the slaves of men for all eternity. Page 6 he kills the entire world. Then you have Leviticus 25: 44 where it's blatantly said people can have slaves and beat the crap out of them all they want as long as they don't knock out a tooth or eyeball. Then you have Yahweh torturing a baby for SEVEN DAYS before killing it and condemning it to hell. According to the lore, 100% of people went to hell before Jesus showed up. Babies, mentally disabled, genuinely really nice people, didn't matter. To hell with them. In the same story, Yahweh commands innocent women to be raped. Which not only violates free will but is by definition unjust and therefore evil. Jesus said you should kill disobedient children. (Matthew 15) Jesus called a woman begging for his help a dog to her face and declined to help her while she was literally begging on her knees. It wasn't until she stroked his ego did he finally help her cleanse the demon that was possessing her daughter. (You know, the demons YAHWEH created so therefore it's his fault) Romans 1 says you should kill gay people. And then Jesus supposedly erased all sins but giving birth still hurts like a mofo, snakes didn't magically grow limbs, hell supposedly still exists, and we're still kicked out of the garden. So sins were supposedly forgiven but women are still property of men and none of the curses associated with sin were removed. So WTF was the point? Just remember slavery, rape, murder (in MANY cases), and physical abuse are not considered sins. People who aren't messed up in the head are already VASTLY more moral than this "deity of love." who NEVER shows any actual evidence of being loving. Anyone who worships it worships it out of fear. That's it.

[@monoludico6166]

Thanks for the support.

[@artemis_studios6555]

This is like Mother 3

[@TheRatzor]

The biggest issue with the BIBLE is it gives more question than answers!

[@celticbabs3105]

And it pisses me off the more I read it

[@charmolypi999]

It's a great way to show somebody they don't know half of what they think they have a clue about.

[@kettei7743]

Overall good summary I think, thou i hoped to see more of how this books has been taken in jewish literature, more than just "this is like christian apologetics" kind of remark

[@MindShift-Brandon]

The jewish take though is just more if the same excuses. This god can punish as he wants so we better fear him and stop sinning.

[@kettei7743]

@@MindShift-Brandon Thats very reductive, considering that the jewish tradition has a much more marked sense of 'struggling' with God than other tradition. Especially for recognizing that this book doesnt have perfectly satisfying awnser to evil

[@MindShift-Brandon]

I may be over generalizing as I of course cannot speak for an entire people group. And the fact is so many people of any religioug sect disagree with one another. But the prophetic books in the Jewish tradition, at large, are seen as warnings of what happens when we dont follow gods laws. @@kettei7743

[@noracola5285]

If people studied the Jewish religion and history as intently as that of Christianity, a lot fewer ignorant things would be said by everyone.

[@ObjectiveEthics]

If your interested I provided more of the context and historical basis for the book in my OP. I don't want to rewrite it all in this response to you but you can check out my comment to this video. If you want to discuss any of the points I've made or need further clarification please let me know.

[@ARMIV4]

Yahweh really reminds me of Dutch from Red Dead Redemption 2...

[@jashinsdisciple8512]

So close to NT!

[@MindShift-Brandon]

I know! So excited

[@PittPens6866]

I heard that a lot about God, be patient he's working in the background. So in the meanwhile i decided to learn more about Christianity which resulted in my not believing in god 😂

[@MindShift-Brandon]

If only god had been a bit quicker, lol.

[@PittPens6866]

@@MindShift-Brandon I look at that verse from Habakkuk the same as the one from Jeremiah, where Jeremiah was told by "God" that he has plans to give you hope and a future, it's out of context and has nothing to do with everyone. I mean, if God's plan was for someone to get eaten by a shark I'll just take my chances without God lol

[@CB66941]

When humans make better apologetics than god...

[@jackskellingtonsfollower3389]

These videos make me enjoy Assassin's Creed more.

[@tagair211]

"God" in the OT sounds like a maniac most of the time, but here it's like an insane anime villain with an evil plan for Good that implies a lot of Bad !!!

[@harveywabbit9541]

God, the Sun, is good during summer (productive season of the year) becomes evil Satan during winter (non productive season of year).

[@hamobu]

Have faith for God is not testable and verifiable.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Right!

[@CatDaddyGuitar]

I would have been here earlier but I had to finish my dive into another channel that told the story of the Palantiri (Seeing Stones) in Middle Earth, another story of fiction where the waring tribes and nations have more honor, do not take slaves and are honest about what they are fighting for, including the antagonists. Also, way more moral as well as creative. God isn't very creative in his answers or motives within the OT.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Sounds like the world would have been better off using that story, or almost any other story for its basis for morality lol.

[@CatDaddyGuitar]

@@MindShift-Brandon I agree. Tolkien improved upon his god's storyline lol

[@CatDaddyGuitar]

@@MindShift-Brandon it also reminds me of a quip by Sam Harris about "his children being able, apparently, to write better books.."

[@andrewferg8737]

Wait... evil always results in more evil??? That's not realistic at all. Shouldn't God who is Truth make it so that evil is pleasant and meaningful? "Hey Bob, how comes when I'm diggin this hole here, it keeps on getting deeper? That just ain't seem fair to me. I can't even get outta here now!"

[@survive323]

Our God is a selfish God He reigns from heaven above with confusion and Hatred for love our God is a selfish Gooood!

[@MindShift-Brandon]

lol, rewriting christian lyrics to make them accurate is great fun!

[@YeenMage]

Harsh roasting.

[@cyrillrusso1481]

Heyooo, do you knwo something about revelation and how apocalytic texts like these were written? Just askiing bc would be intereseting

[@merarifreethought]

If it’s not delayed then where is the messiah? - oh we can’t even begin to understand what god means by delayed. So if the god was speaking in such incomprehensible ways to get the vague truth out then why didn’t god just say don’t own slaves. If people couldn’t understand it, it would be just like every other part of the Bible.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

Love this point

[@prophecyempresslerena358]

God reminds me of a politician in this video. Person in need: How will you help us? God: Just wait. Yeah. Definitely just as vague as a politician. God has to make things needlessly convoluted in standard politician fashion too.

[@ObjectiveEthics]

Habakkuk is another example of revisionist history and Hebrew apologetics. Consider the fact that Abraham is believed to be a Chaldean. The Chaldeans were a people group that were associated with both Assyria and Babylon. When Babylonian Chaldean leaders took control of Judah (after the fall of Israel) they planted their own rulers. The Jews were trying to go back to this time in history and synchronize those events with their current political and theological position. Thus they claim that Abraham the Chaldean eventually became a Hebrew and was therefore the righteous leader that Yahweh had sent (predicted of course by the prophets*) to deliver the Hebrews from their Babylonian and Assyrian oppression. As Brandon has so eloquently pointed out in numerous videos; the Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Israelites, Judeans and all other people groups in between were literally and equally cannon fodder for Yahweh's apparent amusement. * Note: The events were written after the time the actual events took place. They are presented as "prophetic" texts but they are actually post dated to the events they describe and are in fact revisionist history. * Habakkuk is set around 624 bce and the reign of King Josiah. * The actual dating of the book is likely during the Babylonian exhile period around or after 586 bce.

[@charmolypi999]

I'm quite sure you have misunderstood the semantic range of "prophecy" as it does not always indicate a future prediction. This is a bit of an unfair criticism.

[@YeenMage]

If you read St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate on Habakkuk 3:18, he accidentally translated "God of my Salvation" into "Jesus" (which in Hebrew as we know means God Saves) - EGO AVTEM IN DOMINO GAVDEBO EXVLTABO IN DEO IESV MEO It's hilarious though; Jesus wasn't incarnate or born yet, and his "Holy Name" has not yet been bestowed upon him in his circumcision.

[@5h0rgunn45]

Don't be so hard on God, we all lose track of time every now and then.

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

The only thing I remember about the book of Habakkuk is from this verse: Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And the argument is that there is no book of Jasher, that Jasher just means Upright One, and it could be referring to the book of Habakkuk because of this verse: Habakkuk 3:11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. These are the kinds of things flat earthers like me know.

[@Lestat1349]

Had to jump on and read this since it was short, what a let down. Finally someone asking the problem of evil and what a stupid answer, if you can even call it a answer. Also I felt like the third part was kinda added to gloss over how bad the answer was and that he dared to even ask. Weird book. Well hope you are doing good my man :) did the picture turn out good btw?

[@MindShift-Brandon]

You will see in the next episode!

[@Lestat1349]

@@MindShift-Brandon that is so cool! Thank you :) hope you are doing fine and not over excerpting yourself:)

[@theflaggedyoutuberii4311]

5:30 I just wanna point out that if deferring punishment is wrong then. All plead deals, partons, and paroles are wrong.

[@MindShift-Brandon]

I only meant wrong in the inconsistency with this god. He has to smite stick gatherers and ark touchers on the spot but when he wants to abuse the free will of a people group that doesnt know him and use them as battle axes on his own people, then he gets to wait long enough.

[@theflaggedyoutuberii4311]

@MindShift-Brandon ¿So you're mad that God gave a bigger patience and Grace to a million people than he did to one person? I personally would be happy about that.

[@denisebutler5938]

@@theflaggedyoutuberii4311 🤦‍♀️

[@trythelight8319]

@@theflaggedyoutuberii4311This seems to me like a generalized contradiction. Because many Christians (and perhaps one of Jesus’s deals) claim God will leave the ninety-nine to seek and save the lost one, the lost sheep. Tell me what sounds better to you: an evil bunch of Nazis to get away with laying waste to a people group simply because they feel it’s best until [insert day here,] while one person gets blasted to hell because they touched a stick incorrectly? Or, an alternative, the punishment of a bunch of people who’re knowingly committing atrocity after atrocity, while one person who’s trying to do the right thing gets compensated for making a seemingly minor error?

[@theflaggedyoutuberii4311]

@@denisebutler5938 🤦.

[@Billy-rr7re]

who is more evil, the god that does nothing regarding evil and suffering or the people that keep bringing more people to experience evil and suffering without justification?.

[@thing1thing2themediamaniac43]

Has anybody ever watched Ordinary Angels? The true story of a single widowed father who lost his wife to a rare Liver Disease and than his five old daughter came down with the same condition and needed a Liver Transplant in order to survive. Hillary Swank stars as The Alcoholic Stranger who finds out about the condition of the little girl and dedicates herself to raising funds for the little girls transplant and thus beats her Alcoholism in the process. The movie is pretty good not gonna lie. But I'm gonna only watch it once. I never really liked Faith Based movies even when I was a Christian, because the ones that I used to watch in The 90's and 2000's were HORRIBLY ACTED, DIRECTED, AND WRITTEN. It wasn't until The 2010's and especially when Modern HollyWood Cinema went COMPLETELY WOKE that Faith Based Movies started to become better. With that said I'm kind of burned out on Faith Based Movies. Even the best ones have THE SAME BORING MESSAGE Trust In GOD with all your heart blah blah blah. At the end of Ordinary Angels the little girl gets The Liver Transplant at the last minuet. But it actually seems like God is actively trying to deny her The Liver Transplant. The family lives in LouiseVille Kentucky and when they finally get the call for The Liver. The girl has less than a week to live and there's a MAJOR BLIZZARD that has blocked off the roads The nearest airport to the hospital is an hour away in The end volunteers clear a path with a snow plow for a Vietnam Veteran who's a Helicopter Pilot who's volunteered to use his helicopter to transport the girl to the hosiptal because the airport is blocked by the blizzard. I just realised that everything that Christians take as a Miracle from God is just people donating their time, money, and resources But GOD gets all the credit. IT'S FUCKING ABSURD!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway the reason why I watched Ordinary Angels is because my twin brother bought us movie 🎟 for a SECRET CINEMA YOU DON'T KNOW what kind of movie you're gonna watch until you watch it.

[@karenmoody2763]

Look around because these people in Israel still feel like they are special in their god's eye 😢

[@2pacaveli257]

Exactly, even God TV channel supports Israel

[@ObjectiveEthics]

So do the Muslims and Christians. It is an unfortunate but common thread among all three Abrahamic religions.

[@karenmoody2763]

@@ObjectiveEthics Yahweh/Jehovah/Marduk the God of war he loves blood shed,also according to the " holy " book is very misogynistic,vengeful, judgemental, jealous and genocidal

[@ObjectiveEthics]

@@karenmoody2763 Yes that's true. But it's not surprising that the God of the Bible has so many contradictory personalities. That should be expected when you take several different Gods and try to amalgamate them into one Deity. The Hebrews were originally polytheistic and so several different Gods filled different roles just like every other polytheistic religions. Once the Jews adopted monotheism from Zoroastrianism then suddenly the God of love, the Goddess of Wisdom, the God of creation, the God of War etc all became the same God.

[@AmityvilleFan]

Hm... A watchtower? JWs surely at least heared of Habakuk? A real question though: Ezra, Nehemia and eshter does not contain ANY prohpetic speeches. Shoudn't they be "historical" writings?

[@theresemalmberg955]

In the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible) they are considered part of the "Writings". Tanakh is an acronym which means Torah (Pentateuch), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings). Except for the Pentateuch, these books are arranged in a different order than the Christian Old Testament and have a different emphasis. The Christian Old Testament ends with Malachi and the promise of a messenger. The Tanakh ends with Second Chronicles and the return of the Israelites to the land after exile. The Kethuvim is a grab bag of historical accounts and poetry. By the way Daniel is not classified as part of the Nevi'im but belongs with the Kethuvim. However, Joshua, Judges, First and Second Samuel, and First and Second Kings are considered part of the Nevi'im and not Kethuvim. One of the things that Christians find it very hard to understand is that the Jewish interpretation of these scriptures is VERY different from the Christian understanding of them. See Rabbi Tovia Singer's videos on the subject. It is quite fascinating. It is almost as if we were talking about two completely different books. Keep in mind that Brandon is doing his series from the Christian perspective. It would be real interesting if he were to host Rabbi Tovia Singer on his channel or at least do one of his rebuttals to him. Full disclosure: despite my last name I am not of Jewish but Swedish heritage. My interest in Judaism is simply one of curiosity about this Bible and its origns.

[@AmityvilleFan]

@@theresemalmberg955 Both of them are a joke, for example i suspect Chronicles came before Kings were written. Malachi as ending also stinks, it should end with probably Ezra, if not, than Zachariah. Also, you can't rly do a rebutal of Brandon, who is just telling us what the christian perspective is on these books, not his own opinion. He also tells some of the story the books are covering - an aspect that's actualy the focus of MY interrest. Because I piss on interpretation, I mostly care what the text says. The only part I bother with interpretation is the prophetic speeches, and for that I go for the secular interpretations - and they always exist. Plus I'm currently making my own Bible-version, lifting every line I find about promised messiahs, laws, the whole timeline etc. It's a whole thing. PS: none is of "jewish heritage", as the jew ethno-religious-race only exist in the nazi mythology.

[@theresemalmberg955]

@@AmityvilleFan You asked what I thought was a legitimate question, I answered it. If you do not like my answer, which it sounds like you do not, then you are free to reject it. But don't play games. Why bother with these books, why bother using language like "I piss on interpretation", why ask questions when you've already made your mind up on what the answer is? I answered in good faith--these books are only considered prophetic in the Christian tradition, not in the Jewish tradition. Then you start talking about nazi mythology which has absolutely nothing to do with either the question or the answer. Again, you are free to draw your own conclusions. However, I consider your response to my response rude and unnecessarily so. Which tells me that maybe there might be something else going on other than your interest. A more appropriate response might have been, "gee, that's interesting, I didn't know that there was a difference, but I don't accept either version as legitimate."

[@AmityvilleFan]

@@theresemalmberg955 Why everyone jumps to the conclusion I did not like their answer? I appreciated it, though found some elemnts to comment on. That's it. And no, I did not have (and without further investigating what categories actualy exist won't have) an answer, but I will definitely not care for interpretations, those have nothing to do with the answer I seek. UPDTAE: turns out, Ezra-Nehemiah and Eshter are in the "History" category, I simple known wrong they are "prophets".

[@ObjectiveEthics]

Not sure where you got your information from but Chronicles (280 bce during the Greek period) was written long after Kings and Samuel and Judges (560 bce during the Babylonian exhile). The "Chronicler" is also known as the "Redactor".... The author(s) of Chronicle 1 and 2 completely turns the other three books on their heads. As far as Esther is concerned this book is in fact categorically considered part of the historical texts. It is complete historical fiction however. The time period is set during the reign of King Xerxes and his wife Queen Vashanti. We have excellent written records from this time period but there is not a single mention of the Esther character or the narrative outside of the Hebrew Bible.

[@JimmyTuxTv]

Well wanna go hike instead of Bible stuff bouncing around our heads? Spring cleaning means different things now I’m a skeptic!

[@MindShift-Brandon]

For sure!

[@ziploc2000]

Pastor: OK folks, Rapture on Tuesday, end of the world Thursday, and I'll see you all again next Sunday. Don't forget to empty your wallet into my, ahem, the church's collection plate on your way out.

[@suicune2001]

So....Herold Camping. lol

[@Its1a2date]

This is why my father hated religion so much. You would always hear him say to his priest cousin "let your god pay for his advertisement"

[@thegametroll6264]

"He's not their God," After all the research I've done on this channel and elsewhere, I believe I can safely say that this god is not the god of a majority of people that practice the faith. Odds are a majority of people that practice rhe faith are not in fact the "chosen people " group that belongs to it. It is just one of the logical falicies that lead me to my deconstruction. I have no doubt that 99.999999999999999 percent of my ancestors were pagan at some point and I'm okay with that fact.

[@ruvenpeskin]

10:36 “It’s just-ugh. How stupid.” Same, Brandon. Same.

[@OublietteTight]

"You wouldn't believe how great it is going to be." True. Do not believe.

[@neallocke8425]

Psalms 37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

[@Mayan_88694]

Quoting a book of fables is moot

[@Mayan_88694]

Quoting your book of fables is utter moot

[@theunclejezusshow8260]

Gord Almighty playing War games, Haha Yeah

[@dan_goodman]

Habakkuk - the prophet, the strawman.

[@26beegee]

Habakkuk was an oracle. Was he like the Oracle of Delphi at the Temple of Apollo in Greece? This was a role filled by different women from about 1400 B.C. to A.D. 381, this was the medium through which the god Apollo spoke. Seems these women were sitting over a fault line where hallucinogenic gases were emitted; seems to be the source of their “inspiration.” I could never take any oracle or prophet seriously but, learning this really sealed my belief that all religious and psychic stuff is totally made up. 🤣 The god of the Bible was just horrible; cruel, unjust, played favorites, enjoyed his cruelty…if I were to follow any religion it would never be an Abrahamic religion. ⚠️

[@ObjectiveEthics]

Whenever I hear of Oracles I think of the Spartans and King Leonidas. He consulted the Oracles prior to the battle of Thermopolis and went against their revelation and lost.

[@26beegee]

@@ObjectiveEthics Well, he had a 50/50 chance! 😂

[@darbymori350]

Right?! At least the Norse had Valkyries. That sounds more interesting.

[@Jd-808]

There’s some really ignorant stuff here. You’re again not even bothering to imagine the actual context these texts are referring to (if not written in). I think you’ll find that the Israelites had really good reasons to hate the Babylonians and see them as an ‘outgroup’ to their ‘ingroup’…it takes an insane amount of privilege to not see that. You’re asking an ancient text by an occupied people to conform to your 21st century Western atheist worldview. That is, as I tried to explain in your comments about the Gospel of Matthew, what evangelical Christians do. If you don’t want to deal with critical or Jewish perspectives & instead just want to critique a particular interpretation of these texts by using its logic against it, please say so, instead of implying that the Evangelical interpretation is correct, and they just don’t understand it’s an inherently awful text. I mean you’re saying things like “the fact that Christians find anything beautiful in this is absolutely ridiculous to me”. Do you really not see how that sounds??? I’m trying to be as charitable as possible here, but it should make you aware that there is serious problem with your interpretative framework. There is a really healthy way to do this, which is to research critical perspectives on these texts and explain what’s _actually_ going on with the people who wrote & read these texts & why they found them meaningful, and contrast that with the shallow, appropriative, evangelical interpretations you seem to adhere to.