Nungali

Dear Cobie , Dont forget I have been an anthropologist for over 45 years . (and that I have a wicked sense of humor )

Which 'Book of Enoch' . I am assuming the 'traditional' one ? ( However , and I have run into this before , some have first come across some type of New Age 'channeled ' version .)

The Lord works in mysterious ways .

There is a novel Idea ! Maybe you could go and preach there ?

Why cant you answer a simple question, without trying to divert with some made up sentiments you then try to project on to me ? Its a simple question . Why cant you answer from your OWN religious perspective , just as Cobie could . Note, I am not saying as Coby 'did' . I am saying Coby can DO it , but you , it seems , can not do it . Instead you make unrelated projections in a passive agressive attack on the questioner . Thats rather 'telling' .

I will refer you to the other thread about King Solomon's temple . In that lecture Dr Finklestein has a special chapter devoted to answering the critics of this evidence . We even see how some previous critics had come over to his 'side' after more research was available . I dont know why you bought Dever in to support your anachronistic views ... let's have an equally quick glance at Dever then : "In retirement, Dever has become a frequent author on questions relating to the historicity of the Bible, criticizing many scholars who deny any historical value to the biblical accounts. ( Note ; so does Finklestein, thats VERY clear in his lectures ! ... note the word 'any' above ) " However he is far from being a supporter of biblical literalism either. Instead he has written: I am not reading the Bible as Scripture… I am in fact not even a theist. My view all along—and especially in the recent books—is first that the biblical narratives are indeed 'stories,' often fictional and almost always propagandistic, but that here and there they contain some valid historical information. That hardly makes me a 'maximalist.'[11] ( again, same as Finkelstein ) " and Archaeology as it is practiced today must be able to challenge, as well as confirm, the Bible stories. Some things described there really did happen, but others did not. The Biblical narratives about Abraham, Moses, Joshua and Solomon probably reflect some historical memories of people and places, but the 'larger than life' portraits of the Bible are unrealistic and contradicted by the archaeological evidence. " You are welcome to put up any evidence you have of Biblical literalism being a valid approach in your own thread elsewhere, but I am dealing with the history of a religion here and the construction of a story . IE this is NOT faith based . I am not hunting for validation at all , actually, when I came across it I was pleasantly surprised . Here are some of the reasons I appreciate the work of Dr Finkelstein ; Israel Finkelstein (Hebrew: ישראל פינקלשטיין‎; born March 29, 1949) is an Israeli archaeologist, professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University and the head of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa. Finkelstein is active in the archaeology of the Levant and is an applicant of archaeological data in reconstructing biblical history.[1] Finkelstein is the current excavator of Megiddo, a key site for the study of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Levant. Finkelstein is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities an associé étranger of the French Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres,[2] and International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Finkelstein has received several noteworthy academic and writing awards. In 2005, he won the Dan David Prize for his revision of the history of Israel in the 10th and 9th centuries BCE.[3] In 2009 he was named chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, and in 2010, received a doctorate honoris causa from the University of Lausanne.[4] He is a member of the selection committee of the Shanghai Archaeology Forum, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Among Finkelstein's books are The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts (2001) and David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition (2006), both written with Neil Asher Silberman. Also he wrote the textbooks on the emergence of Ancient Israel, titled The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement (1988); on the archaeology and history of the arid zones of the Levant, titled Living on the Fringe (1995); and on the Northern Kingdom of Israel, titled The Forgotten Kingdom (2013). Other books deal with biblical historiography: Hasmonean Realities Behind Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles (2018), Essays on Biblical Historiography: From Jeroboam II to John Hyrcanus (2022), and Jerusalem The Center of the Universe (2024).

Yep .

What if we take water out of the rising oceans and flood land now below sea level ? This is an interesting article with some good images ; https://unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com/p/seaflooding Not that I am one to ordinarily advocate messing around with these things ( eg , what happened to the Aral Sea ) , but this claims to be mitigation for a problem we already started . Top up the Read Sea ? " Build a pipeline from the Mediterranean or the Red Sea to bring the water. We know how to build pipelines. Because it is below sea level, we could generate electricity from the flow of the sea water. We might as well take some of that water and turn it into fresh water for irrigation. The electricity to desalinate the water can come from the dam and, if needed, from additional solar energy, which is cheap here because there’s a lot of sun and not a lot of rain. If we want to reduce the amount of salt, we can either expand the salt ponds or pump brackish water back into the sea. All of this would create a much bigger sea where algae could grow, fish could feed on the algae, and birds could feed on the fish. Plants would grow on the shoreline with the added moisture, and more animals would come… It would transform a desert into a new Mediterranean. This, of course, would not just create a thriving biological environment. It would create amazing economic opportunities for more agriculture and more tourism. These would justify more infrastructure, which would further increase the wealth of the area. "

You see , you actually have a religion and a philosophy ( and you are not nuts ) , so the question was easy to answer . (Without ranting a whole paragraph at him of unrelated BS ) I asked that question as a little kid in school during indoctrination lessons ... I mean in the subject of 'religion' ... at least one period of 'religion' every day . There was a place called purgatory , where babies and innocent unbelievers went . It was vague and undescribed , but we where assured little babies where taken care of there . I mean .... if you work hard and save and buy a nice car , after all that , shy should the guy next door get one for free ? But I like this new idea better . maybe one day the church will decide we all go to heaven but the benefit oif being a Christian is to live a Christian life .... and no need for the threat of annihilation being the motivation if you are not Christian . That would be good . people being nice without the need of threat of punishment or promise reward ... ie. for 'the sake of it' itself .

I already told him that but mere facts aren't gonna get in the way of this one . He is on a roll now ! 'Holy Roller' . general meaning ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roller Special meaning for Coby ( when she is bad ) ;

Imagine what this post was like BEFORE the edit ! ... WOW!

Tough titties ..... burn in Hell !

'Saved ' from what ?

But that would be perfect for you would it not ? Why waste time writing a post ... and then deleting it , why not write an entire thread ... and then delete it .... I mean , if 'delete' / deleting is your 'thing' .... think of the time you would 'save ' .

Like this one ^ ? It appears you didnt read the first post in this thread ... and Cobie forgot what she said / invited us to do . How could one 'troll' a thread where you are invited to write what you want and then delete it ? And then take advice of daniel that it might be being trolled ... and then consider moving it to a PP where empty deleted posts can be hidden as they are an annoyance Youse guys are classic ! ... thanks, I got my morning belly laugh ... thats a good start to the day .

Edited

..... I got a counter attack surprise for them ;

'Project Habakkuk . ' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Habakkuk WEll its hard to blow up an ice burg .... torpedoes and bombs just chip off exterior chunks , so ......

Well, you could have 'thundered down ' on him from a pulpit ..... here I will give you a start on the art ; " ... and in Hell, there will be a great gnashing of teeth ! ,,, " Old Man calling out from up the back ; " But I ain't got no teeth ! " " ..... well then .... ummmm ..... The Lord shall provide teeth for those that do have them so they can be gnashed ! " (I know, I know .... this isn't the joke thread ...... but its a Christian joke ! )

and edited is to detide .

Today's contribution is .....

For me , if I want to know about something I want an answer to, what happens us , I dont just think about it .... there is this thing called study and research ... thats the first stage ; getting information - knowledge . Then it has to be applied and fit in with everything else in my knowledge / experiential base - understanding . The I look at it s effects on me and others and decide what oir if any of should be implimented - ' wisdom ' . That is my preferred process .