Ann... I went to the quiz sight and from the beginning realized it was not a true quiz to determine what we know about the Bible but how much someone wants to demean the belief of those who follow the Bible as the inerrant word of God. I do mean inerrant too!!! The quiz was a slander and joke obviously written by someone who does not believe in God!

The other site you listed also is a joke because it doesn't believe in the possibility of creationism but is strictly a evolutionists point of view. I can refer you to many sites on the net that are pro-creation vs. evolution but that is just showing how I believe and not what is absolute truth. I do not believe in the big band theory and think evolution is an escape for people who can not believe in something they can not see to idealize HOW man came into being what he is today. This is not an open minded discussion because through these last two links you posted for us to look at, it is apparent you also are not open minded. You do not believe in a supreme omniscience creator so how can we expect that you would be open minded to the idea that there is, just as believers are positive their is a creator and that we have not evolved from apes!

As for the Bible being full of contridictions..... anyone can take something and get it out of context and make it sound like it is a contridiction. It's the age old game of having someone at the beginning of the line say something and by the end of the line it is not what was originally said. The references you stated were exactly that... verses taken out of context. Let me show you what I mean!
What you quoted....
Exodus 20:5 "For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." (Repeated in Deuteronomy 5:9)

the correct quotation...

Exodus 20:5 "You shall not bow down to them or whorship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me... Exodus 20:6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.


your quotation....
Exodus 34:6-7 " . . . The Lord God, merciful and gracious, . . . that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation."

The correct quotation...

Exodus 34:6-7 (6)"And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, (7)maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.

Meaning behind these verses....
The Israelites had just come from Egypt, a land of many idols and many gods. Because each god represented a different aspect of life, it was common to worship many gods in order to get the maximum number of blessings. When God told his people to worship and believe in him, that wasn't so hard for them... he was just one more god to add to the list. But when he said, "You shall have no other gods before me, " that was difficult for the people to accept. But if they didn't learn that the God who led them out of Egypt was the only true God, they could not be his people - no matter how faithfully they kept the other nine commandments. So God made this his first commandment and emphasized it more than the others.

Considering that in Exodus 34 we are talking about when Moses was commanded by the Lord to bring two stone tablets to Mount Sinai and the Lord was going to reveal himself to Moses there is information there that needs to be understood also. God knew the people were struggling.

So you want to know why the sins of the parents would effect even the grandchildren and great grandchildren? This was no arbitrary punishment. God is Holy.... so Holy that he told Moses that if he saw his face, he would die. Because no one could look into the Holy face of God and live. God knew there were going to be those who would not give up their idols and other gods. These dire consequences of sin were not limited to the individual family member but would influence the generations to come.

Let's consider.... How do children suffer the consequence of sin in their parents lives today? Many children are abused physically, sexually, emotionally in todays society. There are other sins that are not so noticeable such as selfishness and greed. These are all things that can be passed on to the next generation. How many adults are suffering now because they were beat when they were kids, they go to counseling because they were living in dysfunctional homes, they do drugs or have elicit sexually encounters looking for happiness or a way to escape pain. We all see it. These are all results of the sins of the parents. God is gracious though that he does forgive and is quick to forgive to the repentant people. I for one can see the result of faithful parents in my life. I thankfully do not have to deal with a lot of the garbage that some of my friends deal with.


vs.

Your quote...
Ezekiel 18:20 "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father."
Deuteronomy 24:16 "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin."

The correct quote...

Ezekiel 18:14 and 17-20 (14)"But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:... (17) He withholds his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest he keeps my laws and follows my decrees. He will not die for his father's sin; he will surely live. (18) But his father will die for his own sin, becasue he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people. (19) Yet you ask, 'Why does the son not share the guilt of the father?' Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. (20) The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be chared against him."

God is giving the ability of the sins of the generations to stop. In Exodus he is showing that the sins of the father can carry onto generations to come as far as three and four generations. I know in my life the things that my Great Grandfather did that effected even my generation. I also know that the cycle stopped when my parents broke the cycle and repented. God is just and is willing and able to forgive us our sins if we acknowledge him and turn from our evil ways.

There are no contridictions in the Bible if it is taken in context. If it is taken out of context then you can come up with 100's or maybe even thousands of contridictions.

I must say that in the last few weeks I have noticed that most of your posts have hostility associated with them in some way or another and you claim that it is in the name of a healthy debate. I think there are debate sites out on the net somewhere but also don't think that Pet Talk is where you should be venting your negative comments. I was always told that if you don't have something nice to say then don't say anything at all.

I will pray that the Lord will touch your life in some way and that there will be a possibility of him revealing himself to you. He does reveal himself to me everyday... even if it is in the soft gentle blowing of the wind. Because I know for certaintly in my heart the "Just like air, God is there!!!" That may be the problem here. You are trying to comprehend the vastness of God in your mind and not in your heart.