Absent Minded and Yet Predestined

June 15, 2009, 7:56 am by dc-agape.

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Exodus Chapter 3

This is the story of YHWH’s first interaction with Moses.  But it also tells us more about the cruelty that YHWH allows and inflicts upon arbitrary victims.  The story starts with Moses seeing a burning bush.  YHWH likes fire, even though it is associated with hell and damnation!  Well of course the bush attracts Moses’ attention.  This is where YHWH first talks to Moses.

YHWH is not much for introductions for he doesn’t bother to tell Moses who he is.  All he tells Moses is that the burning bush represents the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Here again, YHWH has changed the name of Abram and uses it (Gen 17:5), but he also changed the name of Jacob but does not use it (Gen 32:28).  It is odd to an Atheist that YHWH cannot be consistent.  Shouldn’t an omnipotent supernatural being be consistent?

YHWH tells Moses about how he is concerned about the slavery of the Israelites.  But you must remember that it is YHWH that planned the slavery (Gen 15:13)!  It has also taken YHWH decades to become concerned.  So after setting up the slavery now YHWH going to be their savior and free them from the exact thing he planned them to suffer.  Sounds kinda two-faced to me, how about you?  But it gets even better.  He plans on giving the Israelites the lands already occupied by twelve other nations (Gen 10:15-18)!  That makes the horrific acts of the United States toward the Native American and the African Americans trivial.  It even makes what the nation of Israel is doing to the Palestinians look like child’s play.  But then YHWH is always and completely loving, (bullshit). 

Well Moses is hesitant about going back to Egypt.  He is worried the people will ignore him.  But you have to love the sign that will prove to the people it is YHWH.  They have to follow Moses out of Egypt and travel the 200 miles to the mountain of Horeb.  Don’t signs of proof have to come before people believe you not after? 

It gets cryptic after that.  Moses wants to know who it is that is sending him to save the Israelites.  All YHWH will tell him is “I am who I am”.  Wow, isn’t arrogance!  YHWH has to then repeat to Moses that he is the “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”.  Obviously hearing once from a burning bush is not enough for Moses; he needs to hear it again.

YHWH goes on to tell Moses to assemble the elders of Israel and go see the Pharaoh.  Now YHWH has made sure that the elders will listen to Moses but he has also made sure that the Pharaoh will deny them the right to take a three day weekend.  I say this because of this verse:

Exodus 7:3-4 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt he will not let you go.  Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites.

Isn’t it a grand plan…YHWH will punish the Egyptian, who he chose to enslave the Israelites.  Most of the Egyptians have done nothing wrong; most probably don’t even know that the Israelites are slaves!  Yet YHWH plans on punishing the entire nation for the acts of the Pharaoh who he is playing like a puppet.  Freewill my ass!  A just and loving supernatural being, YHWH is not!  Just to make things worse, as the Israelites leave they are supposed to ask the Egyptian, who YHWH has punished unjustly, for articles of silver and gold.  The Israelites will plunder Egypt as they leave.  Every little detail has been planned out by YHWH, for what might have been centuries before this, so how exactly are we supposed to believe that humanity has freewill?

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