Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s


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Diana_P is offline Diana_P Post #1  October 16,2011, 8:47am
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Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s

Let’s go back in time to when our Heavenly Father All Knowing and All Powerful was walking amongst us in the flesh as Christ. God, the Creator of All Things, or Christ, the Son of the Creator of All Things, or both depending on how you choose to see Christ walked on earth with us! How fantastic! Christ possessed the sum of all of man’s knowledge, past, present, and future. He was and is aware of every triumph, conflict, catastrophe, epidemic, natural disaster, etc., that has or will occur. He knew of the coming advancements in science, medicine, and technology, right? So why did Christ not share any of this knowledge with us when He walked on earth?

For example, why didn’t Christ tell us that the bark from a willow tree could be used to treat a fever? Why didn’t Christ share with us how to increase the yield of our fields, how to fashion a fair government, or how to sustain a healthy economy? Of course, we would not have understood if Christ had tried to explain the internal combustion engine, or nuclear fission, but the people of His time were dabbling with medicine and could fashion tools, weapons, and clothing so any technological help could have prevented untold suffering and greatly improved the human experience. Was Christ not interested in alleviating the suffering of his time through advancement or was Christ just not interested in helping us advance technologically? God is purported to be omniscient therefore Christ as God on earth must have possessed the sum total of all of man’s present and future knowledge. Why didn’t Christ share any of that incredible social and technological knowledge of the future with us?

Could the answer be found in this statement: “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and to God the things which are God’s”? Can this popular biblical passage be interpreted to mean that God is not interested in or impressed by the dogmatic, ideological, scientific, or mechanical contrivances of man? Christ raised Lazarus from the dead with words not a defibrillator. “Lazarus, come out!” Christ said. Does this mean that science and technology belongs to man and not God? Or is the fact that God as Christ on earth did not avail Himself the opportunity to impart His superior social and technological intelligence upon us further proof He is not a deity?

If you are like me you’ve probably never given this any thought before but I find it devastatingly interesting! Thanks for reading and now let’s discuss!
 
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Diana_P is offline Diana_P Post #2  October 17,2011, 2:50pm
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How would it have changed the world if Christ had shown us how to harness the power of electricity?

What if Christ had shown us how to make flying machines? Birds know nothing of lift, thrust, weight and drag, the four basic principles of flight. However, implicit in their ability to fly is the suggestion that their Creator does possess such knowledge. So why not give us a “leg up” so to speak?

We always say how if aliens came to earth they would seduce us or bargain with their superior intelligence, right? Well GOD, the most intelligent being that exists, walked on the earth. Why didn’t He share any of His superior intelligence with us instead of letting us meander through trial and error to reach the meager understand we have now?
 
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AudioDad is offline AudioDad Post #3  October 17,2011, 5:16pm
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You're over analyzing the title of the topic. Once you understand the political context of the time that particular passage was written, you'll have your answer. It had nothing to do with technology, or inventions or devices in general. It had everything to do with politics and taxation.
 
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Reverse_Dragon is offline Reverse_Dragon Post #4  October 17,2011, 6:38pm
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Well said AudioDad.

Diana, as to the larger topic... you answer your own question.

"is the fact that God as Christ on earth did not avail Himself the opportunity to impart His superior social and technological intelligence upon us further proof He is not a deity?" - Diana_P

Yup.

Furthermore, from a purely historical point of view their is very little evidence that the man known as Jesus of Nazareth actually existed as described by christian texts.
 
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harnomygirl is offline harnomygirl Post #5  October 18,2011, 10:24am
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AudioDad wrote :
You're over analyzing the title of the topic. Once you understand the political context of the time that particular passage was written, you'll have your answer. It had nothing to do with technology, or inventions or devices in general. It had everything to do with politics and taxation.
He could have taken a political stand about taxation then and didn't. He just wasn't interested in secular politics.

Edit: I think Paul would have been if he'd been in charge at the time.
Last edited by harnomygirl; October 18,2011 at 10:27am.
 
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AudioDad is offline AudioDad Post #6  October 18,2011, 1:55pm
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harnomygirl wrote :
He could have taken a political stand about taxation then and didn't. He just wasn't interested in secular politics.

Edit: I think Paul would have been if he'd been in charge at the time.
He didn't take a stand because he didn't actually utter those words. In fact, there's almost no evidence to support the assertion that a man named Jesus actually walked the earth, nor uttered the words ascribed to him the Gospels.
 
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harnomygirl is offline harnomygirl Post #7  October 19,2011, 3:11am
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AudioDad wrote :
He didn't take a stand because he didn't actually utter those words. In fact, there's almost no evidence to support the assertion that a man named Jesus actually walked the earth, nor uttered the words ascribed to him the Gospels.
That is one possible explanation.
Last edited by harnomygirl; October 19,2011 at 11:37am.
 
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notamaninpower is offline notamaninpower Post #8  October 19,2011, 1:54pm
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AudioDad wrote :
In fact, there's almost no evidence to support the assertion that a man named Jesus actually walked the earth, nor uttered the words ascribed to him the Gospels.

So maybe he really was just the main protagonist in a fear and xenophobia-inducing, fictional novel (as I like to call their "good book")???

Of course, they would then all proclaim that I (or WE, all non-believers), for even thinking this, will burn in agony, for all eternity (whatever THAT is?), in a VERY BAD place.
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Diana_P is offline Diana_P Post #9  October 20,2011, 6:11pm
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notamaninpower wrote :
So maybe he really was just the main protagonist in a fear and xenophobia-inducing, fictional novel (as I like to call their "good book")???

Of course, they would then all proclaim that I (or WE, all non-believers), for even thinking this, will burn in agony, for all eternity (whatever THAT is?), in a VERY BAD place.
I have entertained the notion you present. Here is the problem I have with your premise. Logically, if the Bible is indeed fiction that would make “fiction” more powerful than God, right? Are there any other works of fiction that have influenced as many people and to such a degree? If the Bible is only a clever contrivance why has no man been able to produce anything as compelling since?
 
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AudioDad is offline AudioDad Post #10  October 21,2011, 6:53am
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Diana_P wrote :
Are there any other works of fiction that have influenced as many people and to such a degree? If the Bible is only a clever contrivance why has no man been able to produce anything as compelling since?
Ask that question of Hindus. Or Muslims. All whom vastly outnumber Christians. If you're going to use the argument from numbers approach, then that means the sacred writings of those two religions alone have influenced a FAR greater number of people, and thus are more compelling and/or true than the Bible.

The takeaway here: ditch the logical fallacies and adopt a less ethnocentric view.
 
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