You criticize the Bible because God caused a donkey to speak? Yet, what do you believe, O atheist? Are you preaching that life arrived on earth via an asteroid (ala Neil DeGrasse Tyson)? Do you believe in talking rocks? If not, what else do you have for the foundations of life? You have water - and rocks - and supposedly, without aid of intellect or creative force, you wind up with ice cream cones, rush hour traffic, and a group of atheists criticizing what they, over and over, denounce as absurd? Know that God can cause a donkey to talk. He can even work with the likes of you! Christ died on a Cross so that, just by asking, you may know Him. Either that, or rightly be tried for treason against the Almighty. Heaven is real, but so is hell. I write this in the hope that you will not wind up there. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
Guess you know everything then? Of course that would make you God, infallibile and perfect, never in error, and omniscient Do you see the irony? FYI it's a metaphor, the Bible is a Lunar Zodiac, Lion of Judah, Leo, Virgo, the Virgin, Libra, the scales of Judgement, Aquarius the Cup Bearer or John the Baptist, Pisces Fish, Moses Aries, Abraham Taurus, the Golden Calf. The teaching was to do the opposite of what is taught, it says don't eat pork, but they ate Pork, it said don't eat shellfish, but they ate shellfish, don't drink the forbidden Pomegranate Wine of Communion, but they did drink it, Redemption through Sin, a tradition of rebellion against authority But you're the experts 🙄
Talking animals are illustrative of how the Bible is a collection of fairy tales, not to be taken literally, but possibly imparting some ambiguous moral lessons along the way. For instance: The story of Balam and the talking donkey shows us that anyone claiming to speak for God is talking out of their ass.
I told my wife that. I was criticizing Christianity and told her there was a talking donkey. I said " do you know where else there's a talking donkey...Shrek"
it's interesting how God have no problem appearing & chatting with a non-Israelite prophet in this story & that didn't took away his free will, so God should have no problem appearing to us right now, but he doesn't & we're left with more excuses from apologetics.
exactly , that needs a meme doesn't even need the last line, just the first two and then have God and the slaves looking at each other in like the third or fourth little square of the meme lol
@@CommonSense_Skeptic God: Oh, you must mean the Israelites! Slaves: Yes, but also us! God: Oh right, Israel, you're free now! Slaves: What the hell? Don't forget us!
@@Neku628 i'm looking at it more general (as in God doesn't want anyone to hit the donkey but doesn't mind if people beat their slaves) even though God has lots of people wipe out all the livestock lots of times lol
We thoroughly enjoyed Aesop's Fables when we were children. These fantastical adventures were engaging. They were exciting. They were fun. The moral of the tale was easy to grasp. We saw no problem with talking animals and supernatural creatures & magic. Then again, we were not forced to accept these stories as doctrine, or kneel before Aesop under pain of eternal torture.
@@tomsenior7405 The two donkeys aka stars in Cancer, play important roles in myth. Dionysos and Silenus were riders of the two stars. This is the same pair of donkeys that Jesus rode on into Jerusalem. This Jerusalem is the summer solstice in Cancer. Six months latter Cancer will be in position at the winter solstice. The baby sun will be placed in the Manger/Crib aka the Beehive Cluster in Cancer.
@@harveywabbit9541 I don't do star signs. I do not even know what mine is. Why are you telling me this and what has it got to do with my enjoyment of children's morality tales when I was an infant? Did one of these donkeys drop an iron axe in a pond and lie about it to geta silver axe? Is this how you spend your time? Don't answer, I do not care.
Mindshift doesn’t even know that the serpent of Genesis 3 was a seraphim. All he is a lackluster subversive preacher that doesn’t even know basic doctrines besides breaking them.
@ I have watched the whole thing. He’s just a whining soft boy that casually goes over on “what does God have against this man” and then Baalam incites to poison Israel by fornication and Idolatry. Your preacher is simply a fool.
Just like Adam and Eve, sinning (by doing something that wasn't even immoral and was integral to us becoming truly human according to the Genesis narrative) even though they had no concept of right or wrong. I don't even think the authors of Genesis intended for it to be taken literally, I think they knew they were creating an allegorical myth. It's bizarre how there are so many people in the 21st century that take it literally.
In the church I was in, they liked to say: "God can use anything as his instrument, look, he even spoke through a donkey." I was not popular when I pointed out, shortly after I left the church, in a meeting with the pastor and his wife, that God NEVER spoke through a donkey, according to the bible he just made it possible for the donkey to speak, as himself, not as God.
I heard one preacher who didn’t deny Trump’s moral shortcomings but he did say “god spoke through a donkey so god can speak through trump” They’ll accept anything that furthers their agenda
Well, he is an ass . My dad's favorite joke: "Did you know that people back in the Bible days had rubber skin?" "Yeah, Moses tied his ass to a tree and walked a mile" 🙄 I didn't say it was good 😂
In reality, despite what they try to claim, evangelicals typically hold themselves and their allies to the lowest standard while holding nonbelievers to the highest.
What reason do you have to reject their agenda other than completely subjective feelings and “Nuh-uh”. Where’s your same fervour against Islam which is even more insane?
I have always struggled in my family with this talking donkey story. Most of my extended family absolutely believe it occurred. I have a 49 year old sister who will mention it to me with a look that it’s absolutely true and act like it’s a given that I should nod in agreement. I struggle not to roll my eyes so hard that they get stuck backwards.
The other bizarre story that Christians ignore is when Jesus is resurrected, "good" dead people walk out of tombs. Yes, it is Night of the Living Dead, the Jesus story. Matthew 27:51-53
Seriously! I expect people with a medieval mindset to buy this sort of nonsense. But do "liberal modern Christians" _really_ believe in it? How do _they_ sort between what they what to dismiss as "allegory" and "parable," and what they have to blindly accept as "real miracles? Another critical part of the story that Christians ignore or gloss over is that the religion rests on the belief in the efficacy of the primitive and barbaric practice of human sacrifice to appease a blood-thirsty god, no different from throwing a virgin in a volcano or ripping the beating heart from a living man atop an Aztec temple, EXCEPT that Christians believe that, for it to be effective, you have to be sure to sacrifice the right person. This is, for example, why Jesus is called the Lamb of God; it's why they say they are "washed in his blood" or "redeemed by his blood." I expect people with a medieval mindset to buy this sort of nonsense. Do "liberal modern Christians" _really_ believe in it? Another critical aspect of the story that Christians ignore or gloss over is that the religion is as polytheistic as any other ancient religion, with _at least_ as many greater and lesser gods as the Greeks, Romans or Egyptians. The conceit of "monotheism" is just an attempt to paint their religion as superior to other ancient religions. They have a Father god; a Son god; a Mother goddess: the "Holy Ghost" god; Satan, the god of evil; Satan's minions; the dozen or more archangels; the countless other angels (the cherubim and seraphim); all living eternally in the supernatural realm, all with the ability to intervene in nature and in human affairs. I expect people with a medieval mindset to buy this sort of nonsense. Do "liberal modern Christians" _really_ believe in it? I don't think that believing in lies like religion, even if "for all the best reasons," is a very good reason for believing lies and nonsense. Especially when god beliefs have played such an awful role in much of human history.
@@scrider5493 Except that the Romans were known for their meticulous historical writings. Surely something like that would have caught the notice of some scribe somewhere! Also the Temple Veil, the big heavy fabric that hung in the temple, split down the middle at the moment Jesus died. And wasn't there an earthquake and darkness across the land as well?
There is obviously so much absurdity within the book, that it leaves one crippled by choice anxieties to select one to highlight as an example of utmost absurdity. But to the points made. I do personally find that of it all, the _most_ absurd thing is the notion that: _THE_ creator of existence itself. The alpha and the omega, wanting _all_ of his created worshipers who were, and all of his created worshipers who were yet to be, to receive _the_ single most important message he has for them all... Decided the best method to communicate the _most_ important message to _all_ of the created worshipers that would evet be... Was to pop in for and visit a tiny bit of the planet for three and a half decades, once, to personally deliver it and... So spectacularly fail to make an impact, while visiting, that of the truly, epically comical, tiny percentage of the entirety of humanity, who were blessed with living in _the chosen_ time and place and encountering god personally, while living (fkn god himself people!) In that special time and place selected as the best to deliver _the_ most important message for humanity... The people didn't care so hard that there was only ever enough word of mouth hype, for a few residents from local towns, to try and see/ meet him. Literally less than one human being for every year God was here, could even be arsed to write about it, and even then they waited until after he'd gone to pen irreconcilably contradictory accounts and claims about it. And all of that is so ridiculous, that it just becomes absolutely farcical when Christians claim, with a straight face, that the most important message, delivered by god himself, is just so much evidenced and undeniable, that its inexcusable for anyone to deny it... The literal god, with the greatest, most important message of all time failed to _personally_ be convincing enough for even word of mouth hype about the _possibility_ of meeting him, to go viral while God was physically here. But this book of absurdities, 2000 years later, asserted as inerrant, by the same liars who insist they know which words God _meant_ to use. They know the way to _correctly_ frame the verses, to convey what God _actually_ meant, they know better than God what God _actually_ meant in God's word, and message? And this is supposed to be treated seriously? God is so absurdly inept that this is the best way to convincingly convey the most important message, to all of his created worshipers? Farcical, nonsensical, absurdity, I think this is most comedy gold claim It is beyond satire.
@@bartstewart8644GOD snapped His Fingers and He created a solar eclipse out of the blue. Of course we believe that a solar eclipse can only happen in very special conditions that we believe to be able to calculate precisely. But GOD also stopped the Sun in the skies to allow His people to kill more Babies and to rape more women
I'd sooner believe in a talking donkey, than in a GOOD God who commits genocide, spurs his "Chosen People" to do the same, demands bloody sacrifices, punishes the innocent for the sins of the guilty, etc, etc.
Strawman argument Guy responds to me with a series of more Strawman arguments, irrelevant to the fact that the ridicule of these passages is based on exegesis, not an empirical understanding of the text It's literally Assumption, which isn't scientific, or rational, but feelings based, ergo a belief Ergo complaining about Christian interpretation of the Bible based on your own is just two Christians arguing about ecumenical matters Which is delicious btw 😋
@@Uncanny_Mountain It is no straw man argument. It points out how believers pick and choose which parts of the OT are relevant and must be followed, and which aren't. How do I know this? Well, if It's the case that Christians do pick and choose, what would we expect to see? We would see Christians disagree among themselves with what is "correct" and what is not, and they would all base it on the Old Testament. And that is what we see. Depending on which sect you choose to follow, either Saturday or Sunday is the sabbath. And depending on which sect you choose to follow, it is either okay or not okay to divorce.
Just so i understand this correctly, is the critisism of christianity youre making with these biblical arguements suposed to be that you're upset that christians aren't bound to the biblical laws, and you believe they should follow those biblical laws?,....even tho you think that those biblical laws are abhorrent? But if you believe those biblical laws are abhorrent, then why would you even want christians to practice those biblical laws rather than following what their own christian doctrine is?
@gregsanich5183 The point I think he's making is that: - Everybody seems to agree that the OT is filled with laws that are abhorrent, but also stuff that doesn't make sense. - Christians do two things about that. One the one hand they say that the bible is accurate in every word and detail. On the other hand, they don't follow it. Example 1: the OT does not condemn slavery, it just tells you how to treat slaves. Common Christian reaction: "Oh, that's the OLD Testament. We don't follow that. We follow the NEW Testament." My take on that: What about wearing mixed fabrics? What about eating shellfish? What about rounding the corners of your beard? What about beating your children at the city gate if they disrespect you? Example 2: Balaam's donkey speaks. Normal people say that this is ridiculous. Common Christian reaction: "Well, we do, too. It's just an old Testament story to make a point. We don't believe it actually happened that way. Plus, we follow the NEW Testament." Commenter's point: "Peter mentions it in his letter and treats it as real in the New Testament." My own take is like the commenter's. Christians pick and choose. Some say the OT Sabbath is Sunday. Others say "That's OT stuff that was done away with. The real Sabbath is Sunday." Others: "Doesn't matter." My own take: at least one of those true believers is wrong. Second example: Some say divorce is wrong because OT. Other denominations allow it. They can't both be right. And It's not just a matter of differing opinions about the OT. Christians differ about the NT as well. Some believe in infant baptism. Others say it is the decision of an adult. Others don't require it at all. Some say there is no unforgivable sin. Others say no. Some say you can be "unsaved" by committing this or that supposed sin. Others say "once saved, always saved." Christians differ on which version of the bible is authentic. Christians disagree on which version of the Ten Commandments is authentic, but they sure have no hesitation about making children read it in classrooms and putting up a version on courthouse steps? (Hey wait, doesn't one of the commandments itself prohibit carvings of anything on Earth or in heaven?)
An interesting thing about this story I never thought about is it seems to endorse the idea that animals are aware of certain supernatural things that humans are not able to see. Like dogs sensing demons in horror movies. I never thought that idea was biblical.
My family was catholic and I remember one time, a priest gave a homily about one time in the 90s when Pope John Paul II visited the US, he decided to go to a particular church to pray and some police dogs were dispatched to make sure the church was safe and no one was hiding inside. When the police dogs got near the altar, they pointed at it as if someone was hiding there, and the priest said what the dogs were actually sensing was the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. A weird inverse of animals sensing evil or demons. Years later I researched the story and found it’s just a Catholic copy pasta and JPII himself and people who knew him never talked about this incident. It makes me wonder how much of what the priests said in church was just based on urban legends or copy pastas they heard or read from other Catholics.
@@pinky9440 yea lol and she's not stopped and asked herself why her god is such an egomaniac that he needs people, angels and animals worshipping him all the time
@@resourcedragon yes also them. I dont know how much verifiable evidence some people need. Its like going back in time and revisiting arguements from centuries ago. I dare say if someone started a rumour that the moon is made of cheese and is all a big conspiracy that it isnt some albeit maybe not very many would believe it.
“I truly believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of god and everything is inspired and true…. Except the parts I find ridiculous, impossible, or against the most common sense of modern times” = EVERY believer! LOL
Most believers are not intelligent enough to discern the difference between what is realistic and what is absurd beyond comprehension.
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@@wesbaumguardner8829exactly, I just told a friend of mine you have to read the Bible with discernment when reading the Bible it has some wisdom and great advice on how to live life, mixed in with a bunch of mythology, allegorical stories that we must decode to get the message. But most Christians take all the stories in the Bible literally
The parts of the Bible proclaimed to be 'divinely inspired ' by the institution responsible for originaly producing the bible to begin with, are 3 of the 4 gospels. They call it the Synaptic gospel mysteries.
Given that he does what the voice in his head tells him to do (even when the voice contradicts itself), the talking donkey might not have seemed so odd, lol.
My recent rereading of the bible made super confused about Balaam. The poor guy only does what god tells him, and gets punished for it. Also the angel is blocking his way after god told him to go???Reminds me of the prophet who was accosted by a false prophet, stayed and ate and then was killed by a lion. How is one supposed to tell the difference between a true or false prophet?
Yeah, it’s confusing for sure-another reason not to follow this deity. Yahweh isn’t very clear or consistent in instructions except the weirdly specific stuff about not eating shellfish etc in Leviticus
@@rochelebierhalspereira7106 To be fair, I’m a believer and it’s rather above my pay grade to interpret every story in every book of the Bible, but God loving puns and practical jokes seems to be rather consistent if disproportionate, Jesus for instance, gave Simon the name Peter, which is Greek for rock and told him that he is the rock on which His church shall be built.
One of my particular Christian friends suggests that I'm not thinking 'critically' but of course she's not willing to listen to Brandon's take on the donkey story. How can one hope to reason with people like this?!?! Thanks again, Brandon, for bringing some critical thinking to the bible.
@@justice8718don’t know why, but your username reminded me of an old joke. What do you call a eunuch judge? Justice Cock (I think inspired by the name of an actual judge)
@@ZeruTha4040 The Shroud of Turin is literally right there. That thing itself proves that Jesus is divine as he says he is, and it is the most tested object in the world by people who thought they would prove it to be fake. Your own science has always led you to him. It declares him as God.
I like that the angel explicitly mentions he was going to spare the donkey, as if that would've been the tipping point of injustice at which this would have gone too far.
There's a scene in the videogame Witcher 3 where your horse (Roach) talks to you. Well, yes, it's true that you just drank a hallucinogen, but you're sure she's really talking to you.
the thing that sort of shocked me when i first read these passages was that God was concerned (afraid?) of the curse of a mere human. why would God be concerned if a prophet (magician whatever) put a "curse" on Israel. Being all powerful etc He should be able to override any curse, afterall, they are just words. but He seems so concerned, like if Balaam did curse Israel, God would be powerless to do anything about it.
Let's give it time A whole Christian will give you some BS logic like "Gods plan" or something vivid Maybe like with a "You've activated my trap card" kinda vibe
I love it when he digs into these biblical fables. Since I haven't spent the entirety of my life studying the bible word for word I'm not able to go into the weeds of these stories. It's nice to have someone who has intimate biblical knowledge that's able to break down all the nuances provide insight. Thanks again Brandon!
Because you have not read the Bible then you can easily be deceived. Any born again Christian who has read the Bible will not be deceived by weak arguments and personal opinions.
@@Jesuslordoflords-y4mMost born again Christians have not read the Bible. They listen to their pastors and what they’ve been taught by their parents and thus are the ones open to deception. Brandon is showing us how to critically analyze and think about these stories in a nuanced manner most Christians never would.
@gavinyoung-philosophy Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher then the earth. So are My ways higher then your ways, And My thoughts then your thoughts. If you simply obeyed the gospel and live according to the commandments of God then you would have spiritual evidence that the Bible and Jesus is true when you become born again. But instead you listen to personal opinions of finite, corrupt, sinful minds over the infinite mind of God.
Even when I was a believer I could never understand what is it that Balaam did supposedly wrong. If you take suggestions on stories like this to analyze, I'd love to see the one about Uzza, who tried to reach to the ark to save it from falling and God stroke him dead, and how David shows his very selfish side.
Bronze Age campfire story enshrined as national literature by a smelly group of nomadic marauders to justify their thievery and barbarism because "our god is better than your god."
You are much more polite when discussing such parasites then I am. Kicked out 1300 times from over 109 countries. At some point, humanity needs to say enough is enough
I vaguely remember the story of the talking donkey, but I didnt know what happened after. Then again, I grew up on a children's bible and a lot is edited. I'm reminded of a sign I saw on a church yesterday that said "the Bible is rated E for everyone" that had me laughing and going "Absolutely NO, it's M for Mature." I had a youth pastor in middle school who tried to make the Bible seem cool by saying it's an R-rated book but we were able to read it.
I looked for a RUclips channel who read the entire bible. I cracked up when I saw the view distribution. The common books like Genesis and Revelation had millions of views but the lesser read books had like 20,000 views. 😂 Christians are lowkey telling on themselves.
Thanks for the deeper dive. You are amazing at peeling back layers. I've only ever heard this used as a quick throw away jab in a debate. It's always impressive to hear you dig into these issues and show it's not just the ridiculous nature of talking donkeys but much deeper issues with how God is portrayed and how petty and logically inconsistent he is written to be. The Donkey is just a surface level problem but the there are much deeper issues once you start really looking.
Here's the most important point you missed - let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, who interprets omens, engages in witchcraft or cast spells or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who DOES THESE THINGS is detestable to the lord. Have you picked up on the fact that this verse does not claim these practices are false. We can interpret omens, we can cast spells as Balaam does with god's grace and we can speak to the dead. This verse clearly states we can and that's why it's detestable to god.
I have actually READ the bible, a couple of times, cover to cover, when I was a christian. I look back and wonder how I could have missed the total absurdity of many of the stories. Now I see it as normal for most christians, to also have the ability to ignore the stupid stuff. It's "bible brain". I wanted the truth in every other area of my life, but the bible got a pass.
Nah. I have went from this world to that world of heaven. The world I was born into is trash of the lowest of the low, and completely weak, but you fools picked it up and called it treasure.
Critical thinking is very much discouraged in abrahamic cults, so I don't blame any ex-abrahamic for not catching the contradictions and morally questionable things put in their books
@@justice8718 You can throw away your present life if you want because you think it is "trash of the lowest of the low". I bet that it's no fun being you. I LOVE seeing the beauty of a landscape and hearing the sound of the breeze passing through. I love the trees, the birds, and my loyal dog. It IS a treasure and I'm so glad it's all around me . I love hearing my child saying "I love you". Life is rich and full. Wake up! Don't miss it! Life is worth living!
Interesting. I wonder if this story could have been originally sewn together from two versions,, one in which God commands Balaam to go, and one in which Balaam has the conversation with the donkey.
@@MindShift-Brandon There's a couple different theories here. I think the more favored one is that the talking donkey episode was a separate, but popular, tradition that was inserted into the text for preservation purposes. Another interesting theory was that Balaam may have originally been confronting multiple different deities in these verses that were later redacted into being the same deity when Israel become monotheistic.
Many commenters are mentioning Donkey from Shrek. But before Donkey, there were Francis the Talking Mule and Mr. Ed. Although technically, Mr. Ed was a horse, but I digress. I don’t believe in God. But Mr. Ed and Francis were miraculous!😊
An observation: Modern Hollywood films with animals will have statements that the animal action is monitored and that no animals were harmed during filming. It was okay with God to have Baalam’s donkey hit several times - so much for concern about a creature This story also shows that the “canon” of Scripture is extremely subjective - the story of Balaam is more fantastic than some in the Apocrypha or Gnostic writings or books that were deemed non canonical
The reason why the Book of Enoch and the Gnostic texts are deemed as non-canon is because, Christians want to cover up the contents of those books which expose the kind of God they worship. The Book of Enoch exposes both Yahweh and Christ as fallen angels (Azazel/Gadriel and Samyaza/Auza). They are the leaders of the Sons of God that descended to the Earth to sleep with women. The first one taugh men how to make war and taugh women how to wear make-up and deceive. The second one, was the one who came up with the idea and bound the others with an oath. It is said that he was a star that took the form of a bull when he became flesh. The Gnostic texts expose Yahweh as Yaldabaoth or Abraxas. The first is shown to be an evil creator god, the king of all archons (angels) and an error product of the aeon Sophia. The second one demonstrates that God and the Devil are one and the same. It exposes him as the god of warfare and the god of contradictions. He is the totality of all that is created, but cannot rejoin itself with the Pleroma. Both of these appear as the beast and the serpent of old in the Book of Revelation.
That's too bad, because this story in Numbers has several animal sacrifices. Over 40 beasts are made into burnt offerings, sheep and oxen. But I guess they're just dumb animals not cute talking mascots like Balaam's ass. So Lord Jealous had no trouble letting them be thrown into the fires.
One of my favorite phrases describing this kind of godly behaviour is "arbitrary and capricious". Perfectly captures the puerile nature of the supposedly Supreme Being. 😁
I can’t tell you how much less scary my life’s gotten after deconstructing. I’m no longer seeing demons & angels around every corner or as viable explanations for phenomena. It’s relieving. Halloween hit so much different this year! lol
🙂 Fantastic Breakdown... Many Christians want to say that the Old testament don't count, but it absolutely has to count because it's connected to the New testament with characters... So if you can't take one part literal then you can't take any part literal... This all could be simply solved if God would just come back and explain it itself...lol Good job...💯
He doesn’t even have to come back, just put his word into every apparatus humans now carry. Make it the new scripture, make it so it cannot be wiped, updated with explanations for all the questions people have. Should be easy for someone that created the universe……..
One of the most ironic parts of this story is the power that is placed on the curse. Everyone acts like it is a neutron bomb and God even acts like his hands would be tied if Baalam is successful. Think about how laughable that is and how it is basically using witchcraft, which is also hilarious. Your book overview in your Numbers Bible Study is still one of my favorite bits 😂🤣 You bring that book to life.
Fantastic point, like yeah, if the god in the Bible is really all powerful than what the heck is one dude's curse gonna do to his chosen people? Ooooo, very scaaaary. 😂
He asked god for something twice because he didn’t like the first answer. The donkey was meant to teach him not to second guess the entities that he relies on.
So it does make sense that God punished Balaam from a certain point of view. It's an extreme example of narcissism, God told him once not to go along with those people but he asked God again and now it's the narcissistic thing where someone first tells you not to do something, and then after you ask enough times they say "Go ahead" as a trap, fully intending on punishing you if you actually do go ahead with it. It's perfectly in character for the god of the Bible to do that sort of garbage.
The REALITY is ALL RELIGIONS and ATHEISM will NOT LAST on EARTH FOREVER simply because Atheists, Jehovah's Witnesses, SDAs, Mormons, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Born Again Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and fanatics of all kinds of Religions will never be glorified in their make-believe and fairy tale Heaven nor destroyed in their Armageddon and tortured for eternity in their invented and fictitious Hell but just become worthless and useless dusts on earth forever after their inescapable deaths. The BIBLICAL TRUTH is GOD and JESUS CHRIST are opposed and against ALL RELIGIONS and ATHEISM because the loving, kind, and merciful GOD's favor and reward of ETERNAL LIFE and existence on earth without sufferings, pains, griefs, sickness, and death as written in Revelation 21: 3, 4 is definitely NOT for Atheists, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and fanatics of Religions but ONLY for LOVING, KIND, RESPECTFUL, and SUBMISSIVE persons on earth who willingly submit to the authority of Jesus Christ in their obedience to what's written in Matthew 28: 18 and the teachings of Jesus Christ about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" written in Luke 4: 43 and John 11: 25, 26 are obviously NOT for Atheists, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and fanatics of Religions too but ONLY for all the LOVING, KIND, RESPECTFUL, and SUBMISSIVE persons on earth who died recently and thousands of years ago like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Job, Naomi, Ruth, King David, Jesus Christ's Followers and disciples, and many others who are all worthy and deserving of being RESURRECTED back to life in the right and proper time so they can happily and abundantly live and exist on earth forever as submissive and obedient subjects of the "KINGDOM of GOD" and fully enjoy the eternal love, kindness, goodness, generosities, compassions, favors, and blessings of GOD and his Christ for eternity under the loving and kind rulership, guidance, and protection of Jesus Christ as his GOD and Father's Chosen King and Ruler of the heavens and the earth as written in Revelation 11: 15.
The moment you read the Bible without severe brain damage or blind faith...you find there's endless silly, hilarious, horrific, genocidal things in it and it kinda becomes a joke
Some of the apologists who get on here for the sole purpose of trying to condemn the nonbelievers sound so bitter, alone, and lost within their faith because all they live for is to insult people who aren't like them!
Pigs exist, wolves also exist. Therefore, three pigs are real. Here you go, a sound argument for the existence of the three little pigs. In my humble opinion, a Trinity of pigs with three individuals is more credible than a Trinity of one, Check mate, Christian apologists.
Are you not one.... comprised of three...a body, ( physical presence) a mind( cause of action) and a spirit ( that animates and directs the whole)..... unity in multiplicity
In the churches I grew up in, it was KJV only, and I remember as a very young child getting in trouble in Sunday school class because the teacher was talking about Balaam's talking ass.
The two bible asses aka stars have their home in the Cancer constellation. This is also the home base of Issachar aka Bacchus and Dumuzi/Tammuz who have their birthdate of December 25. Remember the ass and her foal that Jesus rode on into Jerusalem. Jerusalem, of the bible, never was down here. It is simply the summer solstice in the Cancer constellation. Zion is the winter solstice in Capricorn. Daughter of Zion is the summer solstice in Cancer. Zion means ship-sun (like in the Argo navis tale). We find Zebulun which is two words of dwelling an un/on the sun aka dwelling of the sun. The standard of Zebulun is a ship and the standard of Issachar (Bacchus) is an ass.
Funny part is that when you actually read the Bible, you see that Satan is a pretty chill dude and that God is an angry, lying egotistical piece of work, who's as inclined to kill you on a whim to bless you because you stroked his ego hard enough.
There are several passages in the Pentateuch that don’t make sense. The crossing of the sea of reeds in exodus is one. Frequently, those passages are cobbled together from two or more different sources: p and e for the crossing of the sea, and p and j for Noah’s flood story in genesis. The talking donkey story, however, is such a confused mess that I don’t see how one could divide it into two stories that each make sense. It’s the story that convinced me that the Bible wasn’t inerrant, and I read the Schofield annotations desperately trying to make sense out of it. Schofield didn’t help.
The first position of the children of Israel in this myth, as ascertained from Numbers 22.1, was in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho, i.e., it was near spring. "And Balak (destroyer = winter), the son of Zippor (singer = summer), saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites " (from amar, to speak = the intercalary days = the dwellers in Midian, the land of strife- the time occupying the last days of winter and the first of spring). And Balak (destroyer), who was king of the Moabites (winter days), sent messengers (astrologers) unto Balaam (a foreigner = leap-year day), the son of Beor (Moon, the day left, after 13 lunations of 28 days each), to Pethor (table = plane of the equator), to inform him of a people just arrived from Egypt (winter), which cover the earth, requesting him (Balaam) to come and " curse me this people” (winter curses the people). Balaam detained the messengers overnight (Num. 22.8) that he might learn the Lord's will in the matter. God told Balaam he could not go with Balak, and that he should not curse the Israelites, for they are blessed, being summer and not winter months. Winter constellations= the cursed and Summer constellations = the blessed.
@@theol64 LOL, the usual "you hate my specific version of god out of the thousands postulated by various religions, that's why you are no longer a believer" line. Pitiful..try again, religious cultist.
Why is God so wrathful? He literally almost killed Balaam for no reason rather than anger of nothing. Ok, my interpretation of this is that God went on wrath because He already said "no" once for Balaam, and giving the fact that God hates when people disobey Him for the tiniest thing ever and kill the person, He got angered when Balaam asked a second time, which still makes no sense logically since God should fault the enemy nation, not the prophet. And did I hear it right at 7:40? Did Balaam ask God for forgiveness without a sacrifice or Jesus? WTF! Even if Balaam did not sin, this tiny bit says that God can forgive people without a sacrifice, making the whole animal slaughter and Jesus death meangless. Also, Here we can See God is fine with divination as long as it benefits His people or Himself. So wait, Did Balaam sin in the end? and why did Israelites die for that curse? it makes no sense.
This has to be one of the most ridiculous stories in the Bible. As you said, when the donkey talks there's no helpful information. I've always marveled that the first thing Balaam says isn't, "Yikes, my donkey is talking!!". He just answers it 😏🙄
you said you were late to the atheist/skeptical landscape but to me your channel is really important for the people who are at the verge of deconversion and full of doubts. atheists love to make fun of the donkey and i always thought we always could have a in depth look at that story from the perspective of the christian
I love these secular bible stories. Thinking about stories like these was more of a catalyst for deconversion for me than "bigger" issues like the problem of evil. As you pointed out, this god is just nonsensical. His actions in this story are stupid and self-defeating. If this god were real, he's both needlessly cruel and hopelessly incompetent.
Ask this question to a friend who doesn't know much about chirstianity: which character doesn't exist in the bible: a) a green ogre that lives in a swamp, b) a princess that turns into a monster at night, c) a talking donkey, d) an evil tyrant that has a complex about his short height. They will nevel get the right answer. :)
✋ Me! I wasn't raised with Christianity and I got in trouble growing up for going "what??" laughing out loud at the dinner table when my very Catholic uncle mentioned the talking donkey in the Bible for the first time.
Wow. Grimm’s fairytales have nothing on the Bible. I think I wasn’t that gullible because I was never a literalist. But to be fair - on some level I was no better as I tried to believe in the resurrection. Just as bad. Time to check the pride. Thanks Brandon. ☺️
When you "try" to believe something, you do not believe it in the first place. I did the same, but I pretended I believed because I liked one girl who went to church at the same time as me.
@ I tried to believe because my dad and brother were pastors and my entire extended family were believers. My oldest daughter “gave up the ghost” so to speak at 15 telling me it just did t make sense. It took me another 35 years before I admitted she was right! The things we do for love or lust! 🤣
I’m not sure which is the weirdest story in the Bible. It’s a toss up between this one and the time that God just randomly tried to murder Moses for no apparent reason. Or maybe Samson.
We always knew this was a weird story, but cognitive dissonance and fear conditioning not to question the higher ways and mind of God made this seem plausible to us.
Nothing about it was weird. Balaam was arranged to meet and see Jesus and this man throws a fit about it because Jesus arranged and met with Balaam in a very unexpected way.
Life is a wild balancing act on the razor-thin edge between the profound and the absurd. Here we stand in an age where I can video call a stranger in Antarctica while ordering sushi that gets delivered by a drone-all within minutes-and yet, many of us are still captivated by ancient tales of talking donkeys and flaming bushes. These stories, penned millennia ago, are credited to an omnipotent author who, paradoxically, knows everything but still has time for a personal chat with billions of humans about their lost car keys or questionable life choices. It’s as if humanity has hacked reality with quantum leaps in technology, only to keep one foot firmly planted in the primordial swamp of myth. Life is nothing short of a cosmic improv skit where the punchlines keep getting better, yet the audience never stops arguing about the script.
Thanks for being here today!
God kind of reminds me of AM from {I have no mouth and I must scream}
@@MindShift-Brandon I always, I appreciate the time, effort and care you put into these videos. Thanks so much.
Mike wingers got his work cut out for him on this one.
@@moderncat1279 Helluva story by Harlan Ellison!❤
You criticize the Bible because God caused a donkey to speak? Yet, what do you believe, O atheist? Are you preaching that life arrived on earth via an asteroid (ala Neil DeGrasse Tyson)? Do you believe in talking rocks? If not, what else do you have for the foundations of life? You have water - and rocks - and supposedly, without aid of intellect or creative force, you wind up with ice cream cones, rush hour traffic, and a group of atheists criticizing what they, over and over, denounce as absurd?
Know that God can cause a donkey to talk. He can even work with the likes of you! Christ died on a Cross so that, just by asking, you may know Him. Either that, or rightly be tried for treason against the Almighty. Heaven is real, but so is hell. I write this in the hope that you will not wind up there. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
There were lots of talking Donkeys the last time i was at church, the loudest one stood up the front.
Lmfao
Guess you know everything then?
Of course that would make you God, infallibile and perfect, never in error, and omniscient
Do you see the irony?
FYI it's a metaphor, the Bible is a Lunar Zodiac, Lion of Judah, Leo, Virgo, the Virgin, Libra, the scales of Judgement, Aquarius the Cup Bearer or John the Baptist, Pisces Fish, Moses Aries, Abraham Taurus, the Golden Calf. The teaching was to do the opposite of what is taught, it says don't eat pork, but they ate Pork, it said don't eat shellfish, but they ate shellfish, don't drink the forbidden Pomegranate Wine of Communion, but they did drink it, Redemption through Sin, a tradition of rebellion against authority
But you're the experts 🙄
Talking animals are illustrative of how the Bible is a collection of fairy tales, not to be taken literally, but possibly imparting some ambiguous moral lessons along the way.
For instance: The story of Balam and the talking donkey shows us that anyone claiming to speak for God is talking out of their ass.
amen
@@AnnoyingNewsletters🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The creativity and use of interpretation is truely heavenly 🤣🤣🤣
Unless this talking donkey sounded like Eddie Murphy, I'm not buying it
He will be in the manger with Jesus.
😂😂😂
I'M MAKING WAFFLES!
😂😂😅😅
ROTFLOL
Talking donkey proves that the Bible is set in the Shrek universe.
I told my wife that. I was criticizing Christianity and told her there was a talking donkey. I said " do you know where else there's a talking donkey...Shrek"
@@hamobu I make waffles. Therefore I am a donkey.
Interestingly enough, the story would actually seem less crazy if the donkey had sex with a dragon.
That's nothing when magic is involved
@dirtypickle77 *Miracles like there are any differences between that and magic
it's interesting how God have no problem appearing & chatting with a non-Israelite prophet in this story & that didn't took away his free will, so God should have no problem appearing to us right now, but he doesn't & we're left with more excuses from apologetics.
Yup!
You can only talk to God though the holy spirit Your spirit dead
@@raycrossley5398excuses
@raycrossley5398 😂😂😂😂
@@raycrossley5398 Your ability to think critically is dead.
after getting tired of Balaam's crap, this donkey would eventually leave him and wander into a swamp, where he became friends with an ogre
donkey hooked up with a dragon right ..but not in the bible..🤨🤔what going on here hmm
Luv a good Shrek reference 😆
No, the donkey was captured by a lady who tried to sell him to Lord Farkwad. Pay attention to our holy biblical ogre movies xD
lol, that was an awesome comment 👍
Ya cut me, Balaam. Ya cut me real deep...
Donkey! Two things -- shut. up!
God - Hey, don't hit your donkey!
Slaves - Hey, what about us?
God - What about you?
exactly , that needs a meme doesn't even need the last line, just the first two and then have God and the slaves looking at each other in like the third or fourth little square of the meme lol
@@CommonSense_Skeptic God: Oh, you must mean the Israelites!
Slaves: Yes, but also us!
God: Oh right, Israel, you're free now!
Slaves: What the hell? Don't forget us!
@@Neku628 i'm looking at it more general (as in God doesn't want anyone to hit the donkey but doesn't mind if people beat their slaves)
even though God has lots of people wipe out all the livestock lots of times lol
@@tussk. I just made a quick meme but I couldn't post it here so I just threw it on my channel under the community tab so I think it's visible
@@CommonSense_Skeptic I've seen it. Cool. 👍🏻
1:34 "Turn with me, if you like, in your Bibles" God, you sounded like my pastor for a second there lmao
Lol old habits
@@MindShift-Brandon Have a great day!
We thoroughly enjoyed Aesop's Fables when we were children. These fantastical adventures were engaging. They were exciting. They were fun. The moral of the tale was easy to grasp. We saw no problem with talking animals and supernatural creatures & magic. Then again, we were not forced to accept these stories as doctrine, or kneel before Aesop under pain of eternal torture.
Well put!
The talking donkey is a star in the Cancer constellation. You will also find the manger/crib of Jesus in this sign.
@@harveywabbit9541 And Christ's Prepuce forms Saturn's Ring (Literally, not metaphorically). Is your point that overlapping mythical practices exist?
@@tomsenior7405
The two donkeys aka stars in Cancer, play important roles in myth. Dionysos and Silenus were riders of the two stars. This is the same pair of donkeys that Jesus rode on into Jerusalem. This Jerusalem is the summer solstice in Cancer.
Six months latter Cancer will be in position at the winter solstice. The baby sun will be placed in the Manger/Crib aka the Beehive Cluster in Cancer.
@@harveywabbit9541 I don't do star signs. I do not even know what mine is. Why are you telling me this and what has it got to do with my enjoyment of children's morality tales when I was an infant? Did one of these donkeys drop an iron axe in a pond and lie about it to geta silver axe? Is this how you spend your time? Don't answer, I do not care.
Your talk was interrupted by an ad for a donkey sanctuary. "And the donkey said to Balaam - Adopt a donkey today!" Perfect timing.
Nah bro😂 that’s way too perfect to be true dude
I've been getting donkey sanctuary stuff in the mail every couple of weeks. 😕
Unless it sounds like Eddie Murphy, don’t adopt it
I was watching axp two days ago and was getting ads that started with something like "the angels were watching Jesus being born " crazy
@@johnmcnair8854 That mental image is a very creepy vibe right there! 😒
And they all lived happily ever after, except the donkey who was burned at the stake for being a witch
Nah. The donkey found his way to a swamp, befriended an ogre, married a dragon, and lived happily ever after.
LOL! You made my morning! 😂🤣😂🤣
No, they are all dead now
Why? Did it weigh the same as a duck?
@ no they just enjoyed killing
Sunday morning, and Mindshift is so much better than church!
Ha! Well i am glad to hear jt. Thanks
💯
Mindshift doesn’t even know that the serpent of Genesis 3 was a seraphim. All he is a lackluster subversive preacher that doesn’t even know basic doctrines besides breaking them.
@@justice8718 Tell us you haven't watched his videos without telling us you haven't watched his videos...
@ I have watched the whole thing. He’s just a whining soft boy that casually goes over on “what does God have against this man” and then Baalam incites to poison Israel by fornication and Idolatry. Your preacher is simply a fool.
The best thing a talking donkey ever said: "I'm making waffles!"
7:40 "... I have sinned for I did not know.."
That's an issue right there.
Bible Studies: Contradictions 101.
yes, out of this whole ridiculous story, that's the thing that caught me. I'm struck by one thing, and it's not a good thing.
Yesss!
bingo
Just like Adam and Eve, sinning (by doing something that wasn't even immoral and was integral to us becoming truly human according to the Genesis narrative) even though they had no concept of right or wrong. I don't even think the authors of Genesis intended for it to be taken literally, I think they knew they were creating an allegorical myth. It's bizarre how there are so many people in the 21st century that take it literally.
In the church I was in, they liked to say: "God can use anything as his instrument, look, he even spoke through a donkey." I was not popular when I pointed out, shortly after I left the church, in a meeting with the pastor and his wife, that God NEVER spoke through a donkey, according to the bible he just made it possible for the donkey to speak, as himself, not as God.
I heard one preacher who didn’t deny Trump’s moral shortcomings but he did say “god spoke through a donkey so god can speak through trump”
They’ll accept anything that furthers their agenda
Well, he is an ass .
My dad's favorite joke:
"Did you know that people back in the Bible days had rubber skin?"
"Yeah, Moses tied his ass to a tree and walked a mile"
🙄 I didn't say it was good 😂
Same thing.😉
That deserves five facepalms 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ They really twist anything to suit their xtian nationalist (read: racist/misogynist) agenda.
In reality, despite what they try to claim, evangelicals typically hold themselves and their allies to the lowest standard while holding nonbelievers to the highest.
What reason do you have to reject their agenda other than completely subjective feelings and “Nuh-uh”. Where’s your same fervour against Islam which is even more insane?
I have always struggled in my family with this talking donkey story. Most of my extended family absolutely believe it occurred. I have a 49 year old sister who will mention it to me with a look that it’s absolutely true and act like it’s a given that I should nod in agreement. I struggle not to roll my eyes so hard that they get stuck backwards.
*Israelites:* "Well, there goes Balaam again, talking out of his ass!"
Lololol
Nailed it!
I thought it was God who was talking out of his ass. Which raises the question; why would God need a butt hole?
The other bizarre story that Christians ignore is when Jesus is resurrected, "good" dead people walk out of tombs. Yes, it is Night of the Living Dead, the Jesus story. Matthew 27:51-53
And is this recorded by anyone anywhere else? I don't think so, but then maybe the Roman's did not write down everything
Seriously! I expect people with a medieval mindset to buy this sort of nonsense. But do "liberal modern Christians" _really_ believe in it? How do _they_ sort between what they what to dismiss as "allegory" and "parable," and what they have to blindly accept as "real miracles?
Another critical part of the story that Christians ignore or gloss over is that the religion rests on the belief in the efficacy of the primitive and barbaric practice of human sacrifice to appease a blood-thirsty god, no different from throwing a virgin in a volcano or ripping the beating heart from a living man atop an Aztec temple, EXCEPT that Christians believe that, for it to be effective, you have to be sure to sacrifice the right person. This is, for example, why Jesus is called the Lamb of God; it's why they say they are "washed in his blood" or "redeemed by his blood." I expect people with a medieval mindset to buy this sort of nonsense. Do "liberal modern Christians" _really_ believe in it?
Another critical aspect of the story that Christians ignore or gloss over is that the religion is as polytheistic as any other ancient religion, with _at least_ as many greater and lesser gods as the Greeks, Romans or Egyptians. The conceit of "monotheism" is just an attempt to paint their religion as superior to other ancient religions. They have a Father god; a Son god; a Mother goddess: the "Holy Ghost" god; Satan, the god of evil; Satan's minions; the dozen or more archangels; the countless other angels (the cherubim and seraphim); all living eternally in the supernatural realm, all with the ability to intervene in nature and in human affairs. I expect people with a medieval mindset to buy this sort of nonsense. Do "liberal modern Christians" _really_ believe in it?
I don't think that believing in lies like religion, even if "for all the best reasons," is a very good reason for believing lies and nonsense. Especially when god beliefs have played such an awful role in much of human history.
@@scrider5493 Except that the Romans were known for their meticulous historical writings. Surely something like that would have caught the notice of some scribe somewhere! Also the Temple Veil, the big heavy fabric that hung in the temple, split down the middle at the moment Jesus died. And wasn't there an earthquake and darkness across the land as well?
There is obviously so much absurdity within the book, that it leaves one crippled by choice anxieties to select one to highlight as an example of utmost absurdity.
But to the points made. I do personally find that of it all, the _most_ absurd thing is the notion that:
_THE_ creator of existence itself. The alpha and the omega, wanting _all_ of his created worshipers who were, and all of his created worshipers who were yet to be, to receive _the_ single most important message he has for them all...
Decided the best method to communicate the _most_ important message to _all_ of the created worshipers that would evet be...
Was to pop in for and visit a tiny bit of the planet for three and a half decades, once, to personally deliver it and...
So spectacularly fail to make an impact, while visiting, that of the truly, epically comical, tiny percentage of the entirety of humanity, who were blessed with living in _the chosen_ time and place and encountering god personally, while living (fkn god himself people!) In that special time and place selected as the best to deliver _the_ most important message for humanity...
The people didn't care so hard that there was only ever enough word of mouth hype, for a few residents from local towns, to try and see/ meet him.
Literally less than one human being for every year God was here, could even be arsed to write about it, and even then they waited until after he'd gone to pen irreconcilably contradictory accounts and claims about it.
And all of that is so ridiculous, that it just becomes absolutely farcical when Christians claim, with a straight face, that the most important message, delivered by god himself, is just so much evidenced and undeniable, that its inexcusable for anyone to deny it...
The literal god, with the greatest, most important message of all time failed to _personally_ be convincing enough for even word of mouth hype about the _possibility_ of meeting him, to go viral while God was physically here.
But this book of absurdities, 2000 years later, asserted as inerrant, by the same liars who insist they know which words God _meant_ to use. They know the way to _correctly_ frame the verses, to convey what God _actually_ meant, they know better than God what God _actually_ meant in God's word, and message? And this is supposed to be treated seriously? God is so absurdly inept that this is the best way to convincingly convey the most important message, to all of his created worshipers?
Farcical, nonsensical, absurdity, I think this is most comedy gold claim
It is beyond satire.
@@bartstewart8644GOD snapped His Fingers and He created a solar eclipse out of the blue. Of course we believe that a solar eclipse can only happen in very special conditions that we believe to be able to calculate precisely. But GOD also stopped the Sun in the skies to allow His people to kill more Babies and to rape more women
I'd sooner believe in a talking donkey, than in a GOOD God who commits genocide, spurs his "Chosen People" to do the same, demands bloody sacrifices, punishes the innocent for the sins of the guilty, etc, etc.
You do realize that God kills literally everybody right?
If you're butthurt about mortality man you gotta pick your battles dude.
'Do as I say, not as I do'. Book of Narcissism chapter 1 verse 1.
'I am the gas lighter, be a fool for no one but me'. Verse 2
👏🏼
Donkey, the most logical character in the Bible!
"... We can stay up and swap manly stories.."
@BluStarGalaxy "... Phew! Shrek, was that you? I had my mouth open and everything..."
lmfao
bro, a donkey might well be the best character in the whole bible. logical, tempered and articulate. you go, donkey!
@@akulagepard9510 Donkey: "Bruh! Don't you see that dude with the sword?! I dunno whatcha tripping on, but imma go this way..."
Christians: yeah see, that’s just the Old Testament
…
Peter: mentions the talking donkey in his letter.
Christians: Look a talking atheist!
Strawman argument
Guy responds to me with a series of more Strawman arguments, irrelevant to the fact that the ridicule of these passages is based on exegesis, not an empirical understanding of the text
It's literally Assumption, which isn't scientific, or rational, but feelings based, ergo a belief
Ergo complaining about Christian interpretation of the Bible based on your own is just two Christians arguing about ecumenical matters
Which is delicious btw 😋
@@Uncanny_Mountain It is no straw man argument. It points out how believers pick and choose which parts of the OT are relevant and must be followed, and which aren't.
How do I know this? Well, if It's the case that Christians do pick and choose, what would we expect to see? We would see Christians disagree among themselves with what is "correct" and what is not, and they would all base it on the Old Testament. And that is what we see. Depending on which sect you choose to follow, either Saturday or Sunday is the sabbath. And depending on which sect you choose to follow, it is either okay or not okay to divorce.
Just so i understand this correctly, is the critisism of christianity youre making with these biblical arguements suposed to be that you're upset that christians aren't bound to the biblical laws, and you believe they should follow those biblical laws?,....even tho you think that those biblical laws are abhorrent?
But if you believe those biblical laws are abhorrent, then why would you even want christians to practice those biblical laws rather than following what their own christian doctrine is?
@gregsanich5183 The point I think he's making is that:
- Everybody seems to agree that the OT is filled with laws that are abhorrent, but also stuff that doesn't make sense.
- Christians do two things about that. One the one hand they say that the bible is accurate in every word and detail. On the other hand, they don't follow it. Example 1: the OT does not condemn slavery, it just tells you how to treat slaves. Common Christian reaction: "Oh, that's the OLD Testament. We don't follow that. We follow the NEW Testament." My take on that: What about wearing mixed fabrics? What about eating shellfish? What about rounding the corners of your beard? What about beating your children at the city gate if they disrespect you? Example 2: Balaam's donkey speaks. Normal people say that this is ridiculous. Common Christian reaction: "Well, we do, too. It's just an old Testament story to make a point. We don't believe it actually happened that way. Plus, we follow the NEW Testament." Commenter's point: "Peter mentions it in his letter and treats it as real in the New Testament."
My own take is like the commenter's. Christians pick and choose. Some say the OT Sabbath is Sunday. Others say "That's OT stuff that was done away with. The real Sabbath is Sunday." Others: "Doesn't matter." My own take: at least one of those true believers is wrong. Second example: Some say divorce is wrong because OT. Other denominations allow it. They can't both be right.
And It's not just a matter of differing opinions about the OT. Christians differ about the NT as well. Some believe in infant baptism. Others say it is the decision of an adult. Others don't require it at all. Some say there is no unforgivable sin. Others say no. Some say you can be "unsaved" by committing this or that supposed sin. Others say "once saved, always saved." Christians differ on which version of the bible is authentic. Christians disagree on which version of the Ten Commandments is authentic, but they sure have no hesitation about making children read it in classrooms and putting up a version on courthouse steps? (Hey wait, doesn't one of the commandments itself prohibit carvings of anything on Earth or in heaven?)
An interesting thing about this story I never thought about is it seems to endorse the idea that animals are aware of certain supernatural things that humans are not able to see. Like dogs sensing demons in horror movies. I never thought that idea was biblical.
My family was catholic and I remember one time, a priest gave a homily about one time in the 90s when Pope John Paul II visited the US, he decided to go to a particular church to pray and some police dogs were dispatched to make sure the church was safe and no one was hiding inside. When the police dogs got near the altar, they pointed at it as if someone was hiding there, and the priest said what the dogs were actually sensing was the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. A weird inverse of animals sensing evil or demons. Years later I researched the story and found it’s just a Catholic copy pasta and JPII himself and people who knew him never talked about this incident. It makes me wonder how much of what the priests said in church was just based on urban legends or copy pastas they heard or read from other Catholics.
@@GuineaPigDanall of it?
My grandmother's said several times that animals know that god is real and that birds are praising him when they chirp in the morning
@Mkeusquealbby So, my dog is praising him when he barks in the morning? Nahum, don't think so.
@@pinky9440 yea lol and she's not stopped and asked herself why her god is such an egomaniac that he needs people, angels and animals worshipping him all the time
When you realise that people believe this kind of things and accept them as normal it makes a lot more sense that they believe other weird shit too.
I can't believe some will accept talking donkeys and snakes as true but will trash evolution and the age of the earth as fairy tales.
Not to mention the ones who refuse to believe that the earth is a round ball.
@@resourcedragon yes also them. I dont know how much verifiable evidence some people need. Its like going back in time and revisiting arguements from centuries ago. I dare say if someone started a rumour that the moon is made of cheese and is all a big conspiracy that it isnt some albeit maybe not very many would believe it.
@@resourcedragon Luckily the flalt Earth people are the few most moronic!
“I truly believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of god and everything is inspired and true…. Except the parts I find ridiculous, impossible, or against the most common sense of modern times” = EVERY believer! LOL
Most believers are not intelligent enough to discern the difference between what is realistic and what is absurd beyond comprehension.
@@wesbaumguardner8829exactly, I just told a friend of mine you have to read the Bible with discernment when reading the Bible it has some wisdom and great advice on how to live life, mixed in with a bunch of mythology, allegorical stories that we must decode to get the message. But most Christians take all the stories in the Bible literally
The parts of the Bible proclaimed to be 'divinely inspired ' by the institution responsible for originaly producing the bible to begin with, are 3 of the 4 gospels. They call it the Synaptic gospel mysteries.
I like how Balaam just casually talks to the talking donkey😂
Like something likes this happens every day
Given that he does what the voice in his head tells him to do (even when the voice contradicts itself), the talking donkey might not have seemed so odd, lol.
@@littleredpony6868
Well wouldn't you?
Did the Donkey say, “Someone forgot to take their meds…”?
@robinmaclay2661 probably!
My recent rereading of the bible made super confused about Balaam. The poor guy only does what god tells him, and gets punished for it. Also the angel is blocking his way after god told him to go???Reminds me of the prophet who was accosted by a false prophet, stayed and ate and then was killed by a lion. How is one supposed to tell the difference between a true or false prophet?
Yeah, it’s confusing for sure-another reason not to follow this deity. Yahweh isn’t very clear or consistent in instructions except the weirdly specific stuff about not eating shellfish etc in Leviticus
@@BlessYourHeart254 Maybe Yahweh is allergic to shellfish?
Imo god just likes trolling people sometimes, case and point the platypus.
@@allthenewsordeath5772 yeah, a trickster god is more in line with Yahweh's character
@@rochelebierhalspereira7106
To be fair, I’m a believer and it’s rather above my pay grade to interpret every story in every book of the Bible, but God loving puns and practical jokes seems to be rather consistent if disproportionate, Jesus for instance, gave Simon the name Peter, which is Greek for rock and told him that he is the rock on which His church shall be built.
One of my particular Christian friends suggests that I'm not thinking 'critically' but of course she's not willing to listen to Brandon's take on the donkey story. How can one hope to reason with people like this?!?! Thanks again, Brandon, for bringing some critical thinking to the bible.
Always my pleasure. Yes its so frustrating
You’re trying to allure her into the path to sin with your Balaam. That’s hilarious.
@@justice8718don’t know why, but your username reminded me of an old joke.
What do you call a eunuch judge? Justice Cock (I think inspired by the name of an actual judge)
Their entire way of thinking is confirmation bias and assumptions.
@@ZeruTha4040 The Shroud of Turin is literally right there. That thing itself proves that Jesus is divine as he says he is, and it is the most tested object in the world by people who thought they would prove it to be fake. Your own science has always led you to him. It declares him as God.
You gotta love how Balaam just carries on arguing trivialities with the donkey like it happens every day, like some scene with Shrek and Donkey.
I like that the angel explicitly mentions he was going to spare the donkey, as if that would've been the tipping point of injustice at which this would have gone too far.
Lol indeed
Fair.
My ass talks to me after a big bowl of chili😁
Literal LOL’ing. That’s a good one I’m gonna have to use.
I'm guessing you like beans in your Chili.
"Quack!" (The sound of a strong trump from yer b*m)
Donkeys eat hay and were once worshipped by Jews.
Hilarious 😂
The moral of the story is always to have a talking donkey on hand because you never know who you might run into.
"It talks?!"
"Yeah. It's getting him to shut up that's the real trick!" 😂
Genuinely look forward to your videos every Sunday. Thanks for what you do Brandon
Thanks so much, Adam!
There's a scene in the videogame Witcher 3 where your horse (Roach) talks to you. Well, yes, it's true that you just drank a hallucinogen, but you're sure she's really talking to you.
the thing that sort of shocked me when i first read these passages was that God was concerned (afraid?) of the curse of a mere human. why would God be concerned if a prophet (magician whatever) put a "curse" on Israel. Being all powerful etc He should be able to override any curse, afterall, they are just words. but He seems so concerned, like if Balaam did curse Israel, God would be powerless to do anything about it.
forgot to mention, i love you videos, you logic and knowledge of the bible are impressive and convincing.
Because Gnosticism
Let's give it time
A whole Christian will give you some BS logic like
"Gods plan" or something vivid
Maybe like with a
"You've activated my trap card" kinda vibe
Because humans in the story are capable of a lot of sorcery.
I love it when he digs into these biblical fables. Since I haven't spent the entirety of my life studying the bible word for word I'm not able to go into the weeds of these stories. It's nice to have someone who has intimate biblical knowledge that's able to break down all the nuances provide insight. Thanks again Brandon!
Appreciate that so much!
Because you have not read the Bible then you can easily be deceived. Any born again Christian who has read the Bible will not be deceived by weak arguments and personal opinions.
@@Jesuslordoflords-y4m no, but they will be fooled by absurd stories and magic tricks.
@@Jesuslordoflords-y4mMost born again Christians have not read the Bible. They listen to their pastors and what they’ve been taught by their parents and thus are the ones open to deception. Brandon is showing us how to critically analyze and think about these stories in a nuanced manner most Christians never would.
@gavinyoung-philosophy Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher then the earth. So are My ways higher then your ways, And My thoughts then your thoughts.
If you simply obeyed the gospel and live according to the commandments of God then you would have spiritual evidence that the Bible and Jesus is true when you become born again. But instead you listen to personal opinions of finite, corrupt, sinful minds over the infinite mind of God.
Thanks for your deep dive into that donkey story. I appreciate your efforts to try to make sense of this fable.
Talking donkey 🫏 is nothing compared to Zombies walking through the streets of Jerusalem (Mat 27)
Cue Oingo Boingo's "Dead Man's Party".
I knew cod zombies was in the bible 🙏
Even when I was a believer I could never understand what is it that Balaam did supposedly wrong. If you take suggestions on stories like this to analyze, I'd love to see the one about Uzza, who tried to reach to the ark to save it from falling and God stroke him dead, and how David shows his very selfish side.
He metioned how that contradicts Jesus's saying of following the letter of the law rather than the spirit of law in an earlier video.
@@zackcash4941how was he not following the spirit of the law, and even the letter? He did exactly what God wanted of him.
That donkey was the smartest thing I read in that ridiculous book.
The donkey and her foal are still alive. They are very old.
I have heard this story described as the most absurd story in the bible.
And that isn't a low bar.
Bronze Age campfire story enshrined as national literature by a smelly group of nomadic marauders to justify their thievery and barbarism because "our god is better than your god."
Perfect!
Yep!
I bet they never thought the story would make it this far!
You are much more polite when discussing such parasites then I am.
Kicked out 1300 times from over 109 countries. At some point, humanity needs to say enough is enough
"Look, even a foreign sorcerer knew our god was better!"
I vaguely remember the story of the talking donkey, but I didnt know what happened after. Then again, I grew up on a children's bible and a lot is edited. I'm reminded of a sign I saw on a church yesterday that said "the Bible is rated E for everyone" that had me laughing and going "Absolutely NO, it's M for Mature." I had a youth pastor in middle school who tried to make the Bible seem cool by saying it's an R-rated book but we were able to read it.
I looked for a RUclips channel who read the entire bible. I cracked up when I saw the view distribution. The common books like Genesis and Revelation had millions of views but the lesser read books had like 20,000 views. 😂 Christians are lowkey telling on themselves.
One of the best ways to make an atheist is to have them read the Bible.
If you know the beginning and the end it is easier to make up the middle part on the fly.
@shadegreen5351 Just skip to a random page and chances are it'll be about rape and/or genocide anyway.
Thanks for the deeper dive. You are amazing at peeling back layers. I've only ever heard this used as a quick throw away jab in a debate. It's always impressive to hear you dig into these issues and show it's not just the ridiculous nature of talking donkeys but much deeper issues with how God is portrayed and how petty and logically inconsistent he is written to be. The Donkey is just a surface level problem but the there are much deeper issues once you start really looking.
You are so welcome! Thanks for that
Here's the most important point you missed - let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, who interprets omens, engages in witchcraft or cast spells or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who DOES THESE THINGS is detestable to the lord. Have you picked up on the fact that this verse does not claim these practices are false. We can interpret omens, we can cast spells as Balaam does with god's grace and we can speak to the dead. This verse clearly states we can and that's why it's detestable to god.
I have actually READ the bible, a couple of times, cover to cover, when I was a christian. I look back and wonder how I could have missed the total absurdity of many of the stories. Now I see it as normal for most christians, to also have the ability to ignore the stupid stuff. It's "bible brain". I wanted the truth in every other area of my life, but the bible got a pass.
Oh how i relate to
Nah. I have went from this world to that world of heaven. The world I was born into is trash of the lowest of the low, and completely weak, but you fools picked it up and called it treasure.
Critical thinking is very much discouraged in abrahamic cults, so I don't blame any ex-abrahamic for not catching the contradictions and morally questionable things put in their books
@@justice8718Keep Crying!
@@justice8718 You can throw away your present life if you want because you think it is "trash of the lowest of the low". I bet that it's no fun being you. I LOVE seeing the beauty of a landscape and hearing the sound of the breeze passing through. I love the trees, the birds, and my loyal dog. It IS a treasure and I'm so glad it's all around me . I love hearing my child saying "I love you". Life is rich and full. Wake up! Don't miss it! Life is worth living!
Interesting. I wonder if this story could have been originally sewn together from two versions,, one in which God commands Balaam to go, and one in which Balaam has the conversation with the donkey.
It dies i deed feel like something is missing
@@MindShift-Brandon There's a couple different theories here. I think the more favored one is that the talking donkey episode was a separate, but popular, tradition that was inserted into the text for preservation purposes. Another interesting theory was that Balaam may have originally been confronting multiple different deities in these verses that were later redacted into being the same deity when Israel become monotheistic.
Talking donkey's, staying alive in a fish for 3 days, gathering around 15 millions animals on a boat, a talking snake....Wtf?
Many commenters are mentioning Donkey from Shrek.
But before Donkey, there were
Francis the Talking Mule and Mr. Ed. Although technically, Mr. Ed was a horse, but I digress. I don’t believe in God.
But Mr. Ed and Francis were miraculous!😊
Thanks!
Thanks so much for the support!
An observation: Modern Hollywood films with animals will have statements that the animal action is monitored and that no animals were harmed during filming.
It was okay with God to have Baalam’s donkey hit several times - so much for concern about a creature
This story also shows that the “canon” of Scripture is extremely subjective - the story of Balaam is more fantastic than some in the Apocrypha or Gnostic writings or books that were deemed non canonical
The reason why the Book of Enoch and the Gnostic texts are deemed as non-canon is because, Christians want to cover up the contents of those books which expose the kind of God they worship.
The Book of Enoch exposes both Yahweh and Christ as fallen angels (Azazel/Gadriel and Samyaza/Auza). They are the leaders of the Sons of God that descended to the Earth to sleep with women. The first one taugh men how to make war and taugh women how to wear make-up and deceive. The second one, was the one who came up with the idea and bound the others with an oath. It is said that he was a star that took the form of a bull when he became flesh.
The Gnostic texts expose Yahweh as Yaldabaoth or Abraxas. The first is shown to be an evil creator god, the king of all archons (angels) and an error product of the aeon Sophia. The second one demonstrates that God and the Devil are one and the same. It exposes him as the god of warfare and the god of contradictions. He is the totality of all that is created, but cannot rejoin itself with the Pleroma. Both of these appear as the beast and the serpent of old in the Book of Revelation.
As an animal lover, I totally endorse donkeys that talk.
That's too bad, because this story in Numbers has several animal sacrifices. Over 40 beasts are made into burnt offerings, sheep and oxen. But I guess they're just dumb animals not cute talking mascots like Balaam's ass. So Lord Jealous had no trouble letting them be thrown into the fires.
Much preferred over a preacher.
It wasn't that long after finding out about Santa and hearing the donkey story. My young thought was " here we go again with adult BS stories".
Yeah, that's what a logical person aught to say.
"This is what Jesus was stuying "
Glad you included that reminder.
One of my favorite phrases describing this kind of godly behaviour is "arbitrary and capricious". Perfectly captures the puerile nature of the supposedly Supreme Being. 😁
I can’t tell you how much less scary my life’s gotten after deconstructing. I’m no longer seeing demons & angels around every corner or as viable explanations for phenomena. It’s relieving. Halloween hit so much different this year! lol
Hey. Every conversation with the faithful makes me believe in talking jackasses.
imagining Donkey in Shrek and voice of Eddie Murphy.
🙂 Fantastic Breakdown... Many Christians want to say that the Old testament don't count, but it absolutely has to count because it's connected to the New testament with characters... So if you can't take one part literal then you can't take any part literal...
This all could be simply solved if God would just come back and explain it itself...lol
Good job...💯
He doesn’t even have to come back, just put his word into every apparatus humans now carry.
Make it the new scripture, make it so it cannot be wiped, updated with explanations for all the questions people have.
Should be easy for someone that created the universe……..
And yet none of you would believe, even if God did this.
@@Mewlah-cf9wz I would if it was something positively miraculous with no explanation...
A horse named Edward can speak. I know for the ancient chronicle Nick at Nite told me so.
@DrakeTimbershaft I suspect I'm a skosh older than you. I watched Mr. Ed when it first aired. Oh, Willllbur!
Mr. Ed
I have the dvd
Wilbur 3:16
The talking donkey actually does a good job of camouflaging the real insanity of what God is doing and saying in this story.
Miracle's happen in many forms
One of the most ironic parts of this story is the power that is placed on the curse. Everyone acts like it is a neutron bomb and God even acts like his hands would be tied if Baalam is successful. Think about how laughable that is and how it is basically using witchcraft, which is also hilarious.
Your book overview in your Numbers Bible Study is still one of my favorite bits 😂🤣
You bring that book to life.
Fantastic point, like yeah, if the god in the Bible is really all powerful than what the heck is one dude's curse gonna do to his chosen people? Ooooo, very scaaaary. 😂
He asked god for something twice because he didn’t like the first answer. The donkey was meant to teach him not to second guess the entities that he relies on.
My cat said you are wrong talking donkeys are not that strange 😂
So it does make sense that God punished Balaam from a certain point of view. It's an extreme example of narcissism, God told him once not to go along with those people but he asked God again and now it's the narcissistic thing where someone first tells you not to do something, and then after you ask enough times they say "Go ahead" as a trap, fully intending on punishing you if you actually do go ahead with it. It's perfectly in character for the god of the Bible to do that sort of garbage.
The REALITY
is
ALL RELIGIONS and ATHEISM will NOT LAST on EARTH FOREVER
simply because
Atheists, Jehovah's Witnesses, SDAs, Mormons, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Born Again Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and fanatics of all kinds of Religions
will
never be glorified in their make-believe and fairy tale Heaven nor destroyed in their Armageddon and tortured for eternity in their invented and fictitious Hell but just become worthless and useless dusts on earth forever after their inescapable deaths.
The BIBLICAL TRUTH
is
GOD and JESUS CHRIST are opposed and against ALL RELIGIONS and ATHEISM
because
the loving, kind, and merciful GOD's favor and reward of ETERNAL LIFE and existence on earth without sufferings, pains, griefs, sickness, and death as written in Revelation 21: 3, 4
is
definitely NOT for Atheists, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and fanatics of Religions
but
ONLY for LOVING, KIND, RESPECTFUL, and SUBMISSIVE persons on earth
who
willingly submit to the authority of Jesus Christ in their obedience to what's written in Matthew 28: 18
and
the teachings of Jesus Christ about the "Kingdom of God" and "Resurrection of the Dead" written in Luke 4: 43 and John 11: 25, 26
are
obviously NOT for Atheists, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and fanatics of Religions too
but
ONLY for all the LOVING, KIND, RESPECTFUL, and SUBMISSIVE persons on earth
who
died recently and thousands of years ago like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Job, Naomi, Ruth, King David, Jesus Christ's Followers and disciples, and many others
who
are all worthy and deserving of being RESURRECTED back to life in the right and proper time so they can happily and abundantly live and exist on earth forever as submissive and obedient subjects of the "KINGDOM of GOD"
and
fully enjoy the eternal love, kindness, goodness, generosities, compassions, favors, and blessings of GOD and his Christ for eternity under the loving and kind rulership, guidance, and protection of Jesus Christ as his GOD and Father's Chosen King and Ruler of the heavens and the earth as written in Revelation 11: 15.
The moment you read the Bible without severe brain damage or blind faith...you find there's endless silly, hilarious, horrific, genocidal things in it and it kinda becomes a joke
A psycopath' s joke, but a joke nevertheless.
Remember how a lot of the characters in Shrek are from fairy tales? Remember that one of the main characters is a talking donkey.
Thank you for this very good breakdown of this story.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Some of the apologists who get on here for the sole purpose of trying to condemn the nonbelievers sound so bitter, alone, and lost within their faith because all they live for is to insult people who aren't like them!
The Three Little Pigs is more believable than Noah's Ark.
Pigs exist, wolves also exist. Therefore, three pigs are real.
Here you go, a sound argument for the existence of the three little pigs.
In my humble opinion, a Trinity of pigs with three individuals is more credible than a Trinity of one, Check mate, Christian apologists.
Are you not one.... comprised of three...a body, ( physical presence) a mind( cause of action) and a spirit ( that animates and directs the whole)..... unity in multiplicity
@Benjaminsmallwood Jesus in your heart and the Bible in the trash bin.
I agree 💯
In the churches I grew up in, it was KJV only, and I remember as a very young child getting in trouble in Sunday school class because the teacher was talking about Balaam's talking ass.
The two bible asses aka stars have their home in the Cancer constellation. This is also the home base of Issachar aka Bacchus and Dumuzi/Tammuz who have their birthdate of December 25. Remember the ass and her foal that Jesus rode on into Jerusalem. Jerusalem, of the bible, never was down here. It is simply the summer solstice in the Cancer constellation. Zion is the winter solstice in Capricorn. Daughter of Zion is the summer solstice in Cancer. Zion means ship-sun (like in the Argo navis tale). We find Zebulun which is two words of dwelling an un/on the sun aka dwelling of the sun. The standard of Zebulun is a ship and the standard of Issachar (Bacchus) is an ass.
@@harveywabbit9541 and?
And he sat upon the ass of infinity and asked "Who is Satan?" And spoke the ass, "There are three Satans."
I told my Dungeons and Dragons group that Balaam was a druid that forgot he took Speak with Animals 😂
Funny part is that when you actually read the Bible, you see that Satan is a pretty chill dude and that God is an angry, lying egotistical piece of work, who's as inclined to kill you on a whim to bless you because you stroked his ego hard enough.
It’s quite the opposite. Satan is all over the Bible. You’ve been tricked.
People fill voids in their understanding of the universe with religion.
There are several passages in the Pentateuch that don’t make sense. The crossing of the sea of reeds in exodus is one. Frequently, those passages are cobbled together from two or more different sources: p and e for the crossing of the sea, and p and j for Noah’s flood story in genesis. The talking donkey story, however, is such a confused mess that I don’t see how one could divide it into two stories that each make sense. It’s the story that convinced me that the Bible wasn’t inerrant, and I read the Schofield annotations desperately trying to make sense out of it. Schofield didn’t help.
The related story about the seduction in numbers 25 does seem to be combined from 2 different sources. Were the women moabite or midianite?
I have heard about horses doing maths like solving surface integrals. Think that’s more impressing than talking donkeys.
The first position of the children of Israel in this myth, as ascertained from Numbers 22.1, was in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho, i.e., it was near spring.
"And Balak (destroyer = winter), the son of Zippor (singer = summer), saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites " (from amar, to speak = the intercalary days = the dwellers in Midian, the land of strife- the time occupying the last days of winter and the first of spring). And Balak (destroyer), who was king of the Moabites (winter days), sent messengers (astrologers) unto Balaam (a foreigner = leap-year day), the son of Beor (Moon, the day left, after 13 lunations of 28 days each), to Pethor (table = plane of the equator), to inform him of a people just arrived from Egypt (winter), which cover the earth, requesting him (Balaam) to come and " curse me this people” (winter curses the people). Balaam detained the messengers overnight (Num. 22.8) that he might learn the Lord's will in the matter. God told Balaam he could not go with Balak, and that he should not curse the Israelites, for they are blessed, being summer and not winter months. Winter constellations= the cursed and Summer constellations = the blessed.
@@harveywabbit9541 Get help.
This is the very story that sealed the coffin on my Christian existence.
No it wasn't. Your hatred for Christ drives it all. This was just another excuse.
@theol64 I've never hated a fictional, literary character.🙄
Good choice, though there's a lot of other stories that would qualify for that 👍
@@xtina2189
Uh huh. Just like you were a fictional Christian.
@@theol64 LOL, the usual "you hate my specific version of god out of the thousands postulated by various religions, that's why you are no longer a believer" line. Pitiful..try again, religious cultist.
The talking serpent should ride on the talking donkey's back and go on The Truth tour.
Why is God so wrathful? He literally almost killed Balaam for no reason rather than anger of nothing.
Ok, my interpretation of this is that God went on wrath because He already said "no" once for Balaam, and giving the fact that God hates when people disobey Him for the tiniest thing ever and kill the person, He got angered when Balaam asked a second time, which still makes no sense logically since God should fault the enemy nation, not the prophet.
And did I hear it right at 7:40? Did Balaam ask God for forgiveness without a sacrifice or Jesus? WTF! Even if Balaam did not sin, this tiny bit says that God can forgive people without a sacrifice, making the whole animal slaughter and Jesus death meangless.
Also, Here we can See God is fine with divination as long as it benefits His people or Himself.
So wait, Did Balaam sin in the end? and why did Israelites die for that curse? it makes no sense.
why and also HOW? Anger is when we lose our sh!t. When we cannot stay calm. An almighty magic dude should have enough power to keep his cool
This has to be one of the most ridiculous stories in the Bible. As you said, when the donkey talks there's no helpful information. I've always marveled that the first thing Balaam says isn't, "Yikes, my donkey is talking!!". He just answers it 😏🙄
Until the donkey says “I’m making waffles!” with a voice that sounds like Eddie Murphy
you said you were late to the atheist/skeptical landscape but to me your channel is really important for the people who are at the verge of deconversion and full of doubts. atheists love to make fun of the donkey and i always thought we always could have a in depth look at that story from the perspective of the christian
Appreciate that!
In the perspective of the Christian, this is when Balaam saw the face of Jesus and witnessed his power.
@@justice8718Thanks!! *sarcasm*
Usually the problem with a talking donkey is getting them to shut up.
We already know a talking donkey is real, he sounds like Eddie Murphy!
And he makes waffles! Mmm... Waffles!!!
I love these secular bible stories. Thinking about stories like these was more of a catalyst for deconversion for me than "bigger" issues like the problem of evil. As you pointed out, this god is just nonsensical. His actions in this story are stupid and self-defeating. If this god were real, he's both needlessly cruel and hopelessly incompetent.
This story is so many levels of effed up.
And then balaam said- aaaaagh a talking donkey!!
Ask this question to a friend who doesn't know much about chirstianity: which character doesn't exist in the bible: a) a green ogre that lives in a swamp, b) a princess that turns into a monster at night, c) a talking donkey, d) an evil tyrant that has a complex about his short height. They will nevel get the right answer. :)
✋ Me! I wasn't raised with Christianity and I got in trouble growing up for going "what??" laughing out loud at the dinner table when my very Catholic uncle mentioned the talking donkey in the Bible for the first time.
13:00 Son of Sam!! Talking dog. David Bercowitz.
Wow. Grimm’s fairytales have nothing on the Bible. I think I wasn’t that gullible because I was never a literalist. But to be fair - on some level I was no better as I tried to believe in the resurrection. Just as bad. Time to check the pride. Thanks Brandon. ☺️
Lol that is funny when you put it that way. Thanks Beegee!
When you "try" to believe something, you do not believe it in the first place.
I did the same, but I pretended I believed because I liked one girl who went to church at the same time as me.
@ I tried to believe because my dad and brother were pastors and my entire extended family were believers. My oldest daughter “gave up the ghost” so to speak at 15 telling me it just did t make sense. It took me another 35 years before I admitted she was right! The things we do for love or lust! 🤣
Your approach is not 'go easy with the talking donkey thing', it's talking donkey with bonus points.
I’m not sure which is the weirdest story in the Bible. It’s a toss up between this one and the time that God just randomly tried to murder Moses for no apparent reason. Or maybe Samson.
Moses, like Reuben, is a personification of Aquarius.
I used this story countless times to argue with believers, now not so much, they are stubborn like a donkey. No pun intended.
We always knew this was a weird story, but cognitive dissonance and fear conditioning not to question the higher ways and mind of God made this seem plausible to us.
Nothing about it was weird. Balaam was arranged to meet and see Jesus and this man throws a fit about it because Jesus arranged and met with Balaam in a very unexpected way.
@justice8718 you say unexpected and I say weird 😉
@ Nothing about it was weird. You just see one unusual event and lose all focus on who Balaam was and what he did to Israel.
@@justice8718You're in denial that this story is without a doubt FREAKING WEIRD!!
@@DanielKevin-lg2fb Nah. It’s just a wicked man encountering the paranormal and rejecting God (again).
Life is a wild balancing act on the razor-thin edge between the profound and the absurd. Here we stand in an age where I can video call a stranger in Antarctica while ordering sushi that gets delivered by a drone-all within minutes-and yet, many of us are still captivated by ancient tales of talking donkeys and flaming bushes. These stories, penned millennia ago, are credited to an omnipotent author who, paradoxically, knows everything but still has time for a personal chat with billions of humans about their lost car keys or questionable life choices. It’s as if humanity has hacked reality with quantum leaps in technology, only to keep one foot firmly planted in the primordial swamp of myth. Life is nothing short of a cosmic improv skit where the punchlines keep getting better, yet the audience never stops arguing about the script.