Ah, the "new deal". What about Saul's conversion to Paul? Create a crisis and solve it with your new insurance plan. Brilliant.

__________________
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91 Vette with 383 motor
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06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
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Old habits die hard? What can I say...I may need to read up on that one again...

If I remember correctly, God wacked him down and he converted. Some people are like that...they need a little LCM (Life Changing Moment) to "see the light" or so...

Sorta' like the drunk in the gutter or the gambler in the parking lot with the busted fingers after he loses his job/family and gets caught cheating...provided they survive what put them in the predicament they're in...

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

Also sorta like the mafia that "talks you round into seeing things their way"? So the deity created a crisis and fixed it. Well, nothing like drummin up a little business is there? Like if I owned a body shop in a small town I go scratch up your car so you need my services?

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Not really the "mafia" so much as it is the Devil. Remember the OT? When God kicked the rebellious angels out of Heaven, he did give them dominion over the sky and earth below. The Devil is in the details of our lives. It's US that decide whether God is going to replace the Devil or not.

Henceforth, the sin in our lives is always there...we just have to turn from it.

Some are better at it than others.

Some of those "others" make the news. Way too much.

And, good news doesn't sell papers and make ratings.

And I work, .... where? I'm part of the problem...

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

If the bible is right, didn't he create the problem by blinding him first and then "fix" it by sending that other guy? How is that different from a doctor breaking your leg first then offering his services to fix it? Would you agree with your doctor doing that? If so, why is it god can get a pass?

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
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Why the old and new testament? Not to be sarcastic but why could it not be done all at once?

__________________
Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

God makes the rules...we only get to play the game I guess.

And I believe, God, at that time, may have been protecting his own...after all, Saul did have the "winning hand" during that time...God, maybe, saw it as a simple "trump card" that needed playing and it seemed to have done the trick.

If God REALLY wanted to make things rough for Saul, he could have just turned Saul into a pile of dust like he did the poor guy who pulled out of his wife/concubine and spilled his "seed" - I believe God toasted that loser's buns for him...but that was OT, not NT.

But, in this case, he wanted to put Saul in a difficult position and leave him there for a bit to think about what was really wrong in what he was doing.

Apparently, God took the right approach. Saul changed his life and name the and rest is history as we know it.

With some people, you need a bit more than a stick to get their attention.

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

My take is that the OT is harsh and shows too heavy a hand and the NT is "The New Deal" that is kinder and gentler like an iron first wrapped up in velvet.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
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03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
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I'm not sure on that one...I would venture to guess that in order to make a pot, you first have to form it.

Then you have to let it dry.

Then you fire it.

Then you color it and bake the color in (maybe two, three steps here).

And if it looks/comes out OK, you put it on the shelf or use it.

Or...you smash it and start over (Ark/Flood/40-days-nights stuff)

2nd attempt (NT)...

I'm babbling now...tower not included.

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

And don't forget the pat-on-the-head or kick-in-the-ass at the end! /



( I ALWAYS like the happier endings to all stories! )

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

Two scenarios. Which one will have more negative impact to Al Qaeda?

1. Send a sniper to Afghanistan and put a bullet between OBL's eyes
2. Force him to come here, repent his ways, plead for forgiveness and renounce the organization he created

Kiilling Saul would have done nothing but put another guy in the queue. Converting Saul would be a huge bonus and a tactical advantage to take the wind out of their sails.

I'm glad you see that some people need more stick to get their attention. Will you see it the same way when someone tells you that you need their "insurance" to prevent a disaster? Somehow I think not.

OT to NT. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

And it could be also argued that we were getting along fine then until it was decided that we were progressing too fast so Daddy had to shut us down and now we have squabbles.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
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And hence why I don't really respect someone who manipulates us.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

You read, but do you understand?
Assuming your question to be a serious one....
The Bible is a "progressive" revelation, meaning that it contains God's revelation ( "revelation" means "God telling us something that we could not otherwise know) of Himself to His people over time. Sort of the way that all subjects in schools are taught--the first time a child studies American History, it might be limited to stories about Geo. Washington as the father of the Country. They next time that student studies American history, maybe there is some reading of the Declaration of Independence. Another year, and maybe they read some of the other writings of the Founders. A few years later they discuss, and put all that information into a context. You wouldn't start out a child with readings of the rational philosophers that formed the philosophical basis for what became our governmental system, but eventually, you would need to teach that.

The Bible is also a historical revelation, meaning that God's dealing with His people over time became part of the revelation, itself. IOW, The book of Judges, records how the people of Israel conquered and settled in the promised land. It records God's providing of leaders ( Judges) and the cycle of Israel's behavior--success, arrogance, forgetting God, and ignoring His laws, judgment-in the form of military defeats, God providing a new leader, success...etc An early form of lather, rinse, repeat.


That is one answer to one aspect of "why".
Now, if you are asking "why God did it this way, and not some other way?"--I can't tell you.

__________________
1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Some more grist for the mill. This from an article reporting on the bankruptcy of the famous Crystal Cathedral.

an excerpt only..... ( bold is mine)
Schuller, Warren and other new-style evangelical preachers, who focus on
this-worldly improvement rather than otherworldly salvation, have not
sold out Christianity in favour of secular self-help. They have simply
reappropriated those bits of evangelical Christianity that cycled
through the secularisation process and emerged as therapies, having in
the process acquired the veneer of science.

So if you wonder why Americans are, anomalously, religious it is because
we have evacuated religion of all content. There are of course
theological doctrines on the books, which church members tick off, in
the way that they agree to accept screenfuls of conditions for
installing new software. But most have no serious interest in these
theoretical matters. Whether signing on for a new therapy or self-help
programme, trying out a new diet or a new church, they are looking for a
bag of tricks, a collection of gimmicks and recipes that will get them
the material prosperity, perfect health, beautiful bodies, ideal
relationships and complete happiness to which they believe they are
entitled.

I never understood the appeal of these programmes, whether religious or
secular: they claimed to produce plain empirical results but were never
empirically confirmed. For all the cheerful platitudes and possibility
thinking, the Crystal Cathedral was bankrupt.

Beyond that, as a religious believer I was disheartened. Was this all
religion was: Cheerful platitudes and advice for successful living?
Recipes for doing well in this world and the next? A pleasant place to
pass an hour or two: an uplifting programme, brunch in the Welcoming
Center and a stroll through the grounds?

I thought religion was a window into heaven, into another world of
power, glory and intensity, to the contemplation of divine beauty. When
I got religion, I never imagined this flat, dull evangelicalism.

__________________
1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags