1 Sam. 15:23 says, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry..." Does this mean that all who do not worship Jehovah are witches, and that all stubborn people violate the Ten Commandments?
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ANSWERS: 10
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It means that it's the opinion of Sam and that he has the right to have his moral high horses... It think that if you want to consider everything that is said in the Bible, Torah or Coran (whatever your flavor) then there is no way you'll get anywhere else but Hell... Back to what Sam says..; it's an invitation to be a sheep and folow the heard. Rebellion and stubborness are both dangerous to the established order... And religions love order (theirs preferably)
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Chicagoan Indeed. The Bible is a work of fiction - and poorly done. It's nothing to get worked-up over...
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To answer your question, it's a simile comparing different categories of sins. Comparing. Not equating.
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You should take the Bible seriously rather than literalistically, by which I mean that you figure out what the original author intended and what the original readers understood as the meaning. If they are using metaphor, as when Jesus referred to Herod as "that fox," you take it that way. If it is a simile or comparison, such as a parable, you take only the point of comparison--Jesus praised a certain dishonest manager for being prudent about his future, not about his dishonesty. When you have an entire book like Revelation that's a code book in every respect--almost nothing in it means what it says but rather refers you to someplace else in the Bible--you don't take its numbers as literal, but find out what they refer to. But when a book is written as sober history and the author obviously intended his numbers to be literal, you don't say that "a day in the sight of the Lord is like a thousand years" and change all the chronologies to whatever you feel like.
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Chicagoan
Actually, the Bible is a work of fiction, and nobody has ever proven otherwise. It's a poorly written cult book, and It's really nothing to get worked-up over...
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Pure fantasy. Sounds like something off of Lord of the Rings, I enjoyed LOTR more than the scripture.
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Chicagoan
100% correct.
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Interesting thought, AntigoneRising, though I laugh when I see this verse since the word "witch" actually has it's origins in Welsh... not from Greek or Hebrew. There are a lot of bogus "interpretations" of Judeo/Christian scriptures in an attempt to conquer and control a religion or spirituality beyond their reach. Disgusting, really. Ever wonder where they get the idea of a "red devil" with a pitchfork and horns? It was an attempt to demonize one (or more)of the old deities in Western Europe. Sometimes, dogmatic fanatics try to generalize people into categories so they can explain them away. The verse you just quoted is an example of viewing the world through "colored glasses" (if one wears pink glasses, the world appears pink to them).
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8-18-2017 As you can see from the answers you got, it is not reliable to let people tell you what the bible means. Many people will make up stuff because they don't know what it says, and many will make up stuff because they wish it would not say what it says. You just have to read it for yourself. If you don't understand something, the first thing to do is keep reading: it will usually be explained. If that doesn't work for you, then write your question on a paper and put it in a safe place. In the fullness of time God will send understanding and then you can retire the paper. Here is a study tip: you can go to many online bible sites and search a word to see how it is used in other verses, like this: https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=witch&qs_version=KJV
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RareCatch
Excelent Aug. 18 2017 -
Jenny The Great ⭐
Many so-called interpreters do not know what they're talking about. If a blind man leads another blind man, they will both fall in a ditch. LOL -
Chicagoan
Yet you are one of the self-proclaimed know-it-alls about the Bible. Funny how everyone says that very same thing - "don't listen to THEM about the Bible and jesus, they're wrong. But OH! You should sit next to ME and let ME explain, because I am right!" You're no different - and you are just as wrong as everyone else - just with a HUGE, self-important ego. And what's REALLY hysterical is - it's a work of FICTION, and nobody has ever proven otherwise. All this hype and hoopla over a fictional, nonsensical cult book.
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The Bible quote you posted to justify your claims is a double-standard. Worshiping the name Jehovah, which is a Pagan inspired name is no different than sorcerers and idolaters rebelling against God.
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Chicagoan
You prove exactly what I said about you, above: You're no different - and you are just as wrong as everyone else - just with a HUGE, self-important ego. And what's REALLY hysterical is - it's a work of FICTION, and nobody has ever proven otherwise. All this hype and hoopla over a fictional, nonsensical cult book.
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No. It's saying that they are comparable...not identical!
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Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft. Sorcery the word in Greek is pharmacia. The word literally means to use drugs and to enslave others using drugs. Now not every single person that does not worship Jehovah is a drugger. But the grand majority of those people that do not worship Jehovah they either use tobacco they drink alcohol they smoke marijuana or they take even stronger drugs. The word rebellion means to turn back to be beliel. Otherwise known as belzebub. Which has the connotation of worthless one! Rebellion means to turn back to worthless behavior! As I said not 100% of everybody goes back to using some kind of drug. But really what is the difference if you behave in a worthless manner as if you were drugged out you're not fit for Jehovah's service
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So it's saying rebellion is the sin of witchcraft, meaning that witches do not rely on God and so rebel, then follows and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry, which again means that man refuses to rely on God, and so relies on himself which is classed as idolatry. So what this means that all who do not worship God are rebellious and idolatry through their own stubbornness.
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Creamcrackered
The God of the bible The Most High. No, I think if an atheist debates a Christian long enough, with the willingness to challenge his own beliefs as well regarding everything (because that would be the only way to permit intellectual honesty), then yes I believe that it is possible for you to experience God, but it won't be what or how you are currently expecting, the questions you ask now will appear foolish. I can say this, as I was a militant atheist for years, and argued that I didn't just believe God doesn't exist I knew he didn't," but it was with that mind-set, and that to question everything I'd been told, I made my way to becoming a theist. And this was on a brilliant question and answer site that sadly became Ask.com. I wasn't the only one to experience something profound. So long as atheists and Christians debate, it brings about a reaction that can effect either person, and I see it as a process of searching for truth, by chipping away at the other, the only way to polish a diamond. How can one experience God when his own ego is in the way, you know everything right, what need do you have of God? You are god? Yes? Do you believe in everything Darwin wrote?
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