Bible verse by verse

[_maklelan]

http://www.evolutionnews.org/2010/01/se ... 30831.html

No examples are given. It promises to do so in the blog's second part, but there's no link to part 2. Do you have that link?

[_LittleNipper]

http://www.evolutionnews.org/2010/01/se ... 30831.html

No examples are given. It promises to do so in the blog's second part, but there's no link to part 2. Do you have that link?

There are spots you can click onto in this article. This posting is dated 6/24/14. Hopefully in a month.

[_maklelan]

There are spots you can click onto in this article.

Yes, I clicked on them. I saw no examples.

This posting is dated 6/24/14. Hopefully in a month.

So you're saying we've just now discovered the first out of place fossil, and it will be reported on shortly, or just that you don't want to do any further researching?

[_Bret Ripley]

This posting is dated 6/24/14. Hopefully in a month.

No, the date-stamp you're looking at just shows today's date (why they put that there, I don't know). Under the title you'll see that the article was actually posted in 2010. A little digging turned up Part 2:

http://www.evolutionnews.org/2010/02/se ... 31061.html

[_maklelan]

This posting is dated 6/24/14. Hopefully in a month.

No, the date-stamp you're looking at just shows today's date (why they put that there, I don't know). Under the title you'll see that the article was actually posted in 2010. A little digging turned up Part 2:

http://www.evolutionnews.org/2010/02/se ... 31061.html

Thanks for digging that out. Still no examples, though.

[_Bret Ripley]

Still no examples, though.

Nope, no examples. Maybe he had so many examples at his fingertips that he couldn't decide which ones to reference. Or maybe he was rushing to meet a deadline and forgot about the promised examples. Or maybe ...

[_ludwigm]

There are LittleNippers everywhere...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28010234
.

A Nigerian man has been sent to a mental institute in Kano state after he declared that he did not believe in God, according to a humanist charity.

Mubarak Bala, 29, is said to have been forcibly medicated by his Muslim relatives, despite being given a clean bill of health by a doctor.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union say a Lagos-based group has asked a lawyer to take up his case.

Kano is a mainly Muslim state and adopted Sharia (Islamic law) in 2000.

The IHEU says that when Mr Bala told relatives he did not believe in God, they asked a doctor if he was mentally ill.

Despite being told that he was not unwell, Mr Bala's family then went to a second doctor, who declared that his atheism was a side-effect of suffering a personality change, the group says.

Mr Bala, a chemical engineering graduate, was forcibly committed to a mental institution, but was able to contact activists using a smuggled phone.

IHEU spokesman Bob Churchill said the group was concerned about his "deteriorating condition" and called for his "swift release".

[Guest]

2 Kings 2:1-23

When God was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” Elisha said he could not will not leave Elijah as long as he lived. So they went down to Bethel. The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” Elisha replied that he already knew and for them to remain quiet.

Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But Elisha remained steadfast and went with Elijah to Jericho. The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?" Elisha replied that he already knew and for them to remain quiet.

Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But Elisha yet remained steadfast and went with Elijah to Jordan. 50 men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.” As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and parted the two of them, and Elijah ascended to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.

Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. “Look,” they said, “we your servants have 50 able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”

“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.” They persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent 50 men, who searched for 3 days but did not find him. When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn't I tell you?”

The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.” “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” The water remained pure to the day of this recorded portion of scripture, just as Elisha had said.

Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. “Go up (like Elijah did in the chariot), baldy!” they said. “Go up (as Elijah), baldy!” He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the boys. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

Young's translation
1 And it cometh to pass, at Jehovah's taking up Elijah in a whirlwind to the heavens, that Elijah goeth, and Elisha, from Gilgal,

2 and Elijah saith unto Elisha, `Abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me unto Beth-El;' and Elisha saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they go down to Beth-El.

3 And sons of the prophets who [are] in Beth-El come out unto Elisha, and say unto him, `Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, `I also have known -- keep silent.'

4 And Elijah saith to him, `Elisha, abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho;' and he saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they come in to Jericho.

5 And sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho come nigh unto Elisha, and say unto him, `Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, `I also have known -- keep silent.'

6 And Elijah saith to him, `Abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan;' and he saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they go on both of them,

7 -- and fifty men of the sons of the prophets have gone on, and stand over-against afar off -- and both of them have stood by the Jordan.

8 And Elijah taketh his robe, and wrappeth [it] together, and smiteth the waters, and they are halved, hither and thither, and they pass over both of them on dry land.

9 And it cometh to pass, at their passing over, that Elijah hath said unto Elisha, `Ask, what do I do for thee before I am taken from thee?' and Elisha saith, `Then let there be, I pray thee, a double portion of thy spirit unto me;'

10 and he saith, `Thou hast asked a hard thing; if thou dost see me taken from thee, it is to thee so; and if not, it is not.'

11 And it cometh to pass, they are going, going on and speaking, and lo, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and they separate between them both, and Elijah goeth up in a whirlwind, to the heavens.

12 And Elisha is seeing, and he is crying, `My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its horsemen;' and he hath not seen him again; and he taketh hold on his garments, and rendeth them into two pieces.

13 And he taketh up the robe of Elijah, that fell from off him, and turneth back and standeth on the edge of the Jordan,

14 and he taketh the robe of Elijah that fell from off him, and smiteth the waters, and saith, `Where [is] Jehovah, God of Elijah -- even He?' and he smiteth the waters, and they are halved, hither and thither, and Elisha passeth over.

15 And they see him -- the sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho -- over-against, and they say, `Rested hath the spirit of Elijah on Elisha;' and they come to meet him, and bow themselves to him to the earth,

16 and say unto him, `Lo, we pray thee, there are with thy servants fifty men, sons of valour: let them go, we pray thee, and they seek thy lord, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and doth cast him on one of the hills, or into one of the valleys;' and he saith, `Ye do not send.'

17 And they press upon him, till he is ashamed, and he saith, `Send ye;' and they send fifty men, and they seek three days, and have not found him;

18 and they turn back unto him -- and he is abiding in Jericho -- and he saith unto them, `Did I not say unto you, Do not go?'

19 And the men of the city say unto Elisha, `Lo, we pray thee, the site of the city [is] good, as my lord seeth, and the waters [are] bad, and the earth sterile.'

20 And he saith, `Bring to me a new dish, and place there salt;' and they bring [it] unto him,

21 and he goeth out unto the source of the waters, and casteth there salt, and saith, `Thus said Jehovah, I have given healing to these waters; there is not thence any more death and sterility.'

22 And the waters are healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha, that he spake.

23 And he goeth up thence to Beth-El, and he is going up in the way, and little youths have come out from the city, and scoff at him, and say to him, `Go up, bald-head! go up, bald-head!'

24 And he looketh behind him, and seeth them, and declareth them vile in the name of Jehovah, and two bears come out of the forest, and rend of them forty and two lads.

25 And he goeth thence unto the hill of Carmel, and thence he hath turned back to Samaria.

[_Gunnar]

23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

There is absolutely nothing anyone can possibly say that would convince me that just and rational God would actually take such a drastic and vindictive action against a group of boys merely for taunting a prophet because he was bald. Those boys' behavior was certainly rude and deserving of admonishment, but not anything as drastic as what God allegedly did in that story.

[_LittleNipper]

23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

There is absolutely nothing anyone can possibly say that would convince me that just and rational God would actually take such a drastic and vindictive action against a group of boys merely for taunting a prophet because he was bald. Those boys' behavior was certainly rude and deserving of admonishment, but not anything as drastic as what God allegedly did in that story.

They were mocking God's prophet and scoffing at the notion of Elisha's ascension. They were saying in essence: "We don't believe any of this foolishness of a fool."

I actually do believe that people who mock God and those He loves have and do reap disaster at times. And I believe this happens, not so much to punish the evildoers, but as a merciful warning to those left behind to repent. Some people will never get it, take the hint, or repent. And they will drag everyone else down with them. But when the followers see that their leaders suffer consequences for their actions, such will often come to a realization that indeed eventually leads to their salvation. They get back on the right path.