Sophiee1 wrote:
I can't help but wonder how you, Mark, would have reacted to Pharaoh's magicians duplicating Moses' turning a staff into a snake?
I don't know. If I was there, and if I was an Egyptian, I would probably be looking for every possible reason to believe what I wanted to believe. And so would you. Praise God that He did not count us among them.

Sophiee1 wrote:
Many of these emotion filled experiences are from the group hysteria...

This discussion is taking a very interesting turn.  There is a very distinct note of... well, "meh" (the proper theological term) coming from your replies.  I mean, really, was Isaiah's "emotion filled experience" in Isaiah 6 the result of "group hysteria"?  Or again, was this just allegory, mere poetry?  More to the point, Sophiee, is there really such a thing as the supernatural?  Is there anything out there that really impresses you, or have you "seen it all"?

Sophiee1 wrote:
They surely believed in Baal with all their hearts.  They had supernatural experiences.
Exactly.  Witness! Tell me, Sophiee, exactly what kind of "supernatural experiences" did Baal produce for them?

Sophiee1 wrote:
You are ignoring these "supernatural experiences" while trying to convince Jews that yours is special. 
I haven't mentioned anything about my own experiences, and I'm not trying to convince you of anything you don't already profess to believe.


Arikm7 wrote:
So are you suggesting that whichever "healer" or "prophet" that comes along and produces the best miracles and best displays is actually the "real god"?
No.  But it's a moot point, since I'm guessing you've never witnessed any miracles done in the name of Jesus. As far as any other gods are concerned, if you can direct me to some evidence, I'll gladly check it out.

Arikm7 wrote:
In essence you're reducing the supposed miracles of adherents of other religions as "nonauthentic"
No - really, I'm not. What I'm saying is that there is truly no longer an expectation of the supernatural - and that includes the majority of Christianity.  People of all religions offer up very pious sounding prayers that affect almost no visible results - and we're okay with that - as long as nobody else is producing results either.  Can you name even one supernatural manifestation, apart from Hebrew scripture, that you can honestly say you believe?  Or is it all merely "emotional experience"?

Arikm7 wrote:
if that prophet/healer/dreamer/charmer induces one to worship another god other than the G-d of Israel, he is to be executed
We've covered this so many times... but again, Jesus never "induced" anyone to worship any god but the God of Israel.  Agreed?


Zvi wrote:
The difference is that the entire Jewish nation had a supernatural experience
Yes, we all agree that Hebrew scripture is full of the supernatural miracles God performed for Israel before the days of Jesus.


Note: Forum rules require me to make the following disclaimer.

This post is not Jewish teaching, rather it is Mark's personal opinion as a non-Jew.