In Reply to: About Abraham & Isaac posted by Observer on November 19, 2005 at 20:50:12:
I agree with therapist insomuch that Berg listened to a lot of preachers, including his own mother.If people say, that he wasn't so original, often he'd just quote what he heard, well, that's correct, but often he'd admit the source...the problem with many of us was, that we took his word as being so unfallible & if a prophecy didn't come to pass, well, then he took e.g. poor Jonas as a way of escape or something else.
But I disagree, that he was so wrong about almost any other issues, where I think, he was just mainstream Christianlike thinking...like we said, a lot he just heard over & over again or read in the Bible...although later he just lived on his poor memory & got the cowdungthing wrong...
Well,in the Onan-episode chances were, it would have led to a child, which IMO Onan thought to prevent :
8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. {displeased...: Heb. was evil in the eyes of the Lord}
Some christian movements are especially mindful to whom & of whom the OT speaks...pentacostal movements apply about anything to themselves in the OT(especially prophecies)...which I personally would warn against.
Nevertheless, we should quote things as they are, the same goes for Abraham & Isaac...why make a different story of it...think of John 3:16 & what that means for you & us????(Í always saw in Abraham/Isaac a foretype of that great unique event)Or maybe it's the sacrificing, that disturbs us????
Here's how they viewed that in NT times:
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: {of: or, to}
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.